Responses of Cavity - Nesting Birds to Stand - Replacement Fire and

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United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station Research Paper RMRS - RP - 11 September 1998 Responses of Cavity - Nesting Birds to Stand - Replacement Fire and Salvage Logging in Ponderosa Forests Southwestern Victoria A. Saab Jonathan G. Dudley Preface In spring 1994, the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Boise (formerly Intermoun - tain Research Station), Boise National Forest, and Region 4 of the Forest Service initiated long - term studies on how cavity - nesting birds respond to different fire conditions in ponderosa forests of western Idaho.

The work was started in response to the high - intensity wildfires of 1992 and 1994 on the Boise National Forest. This publication provides information to managers and biologists on the effects of stand - replacement wildfire (a no - action alternative to the Forest Health Initiative [USDA and salvage logging on cavity - nesting birds. Cavity - nesting birds were selected for these studies because many are (1) de - pendent on fire processes and patterns over large landscapes for their dispersal and movements, (2) designated as sensitive species by Federal or State agencies, and (3) responsive to fire and timber management activities.

We know little about the ... more. less.

implications of fire suppression, stand - replacement wildfire, or prescribed fire with timber management for sensitive bird species. Thus, we need to gather information on the " forest health " action and no - action alternatives to understand the trade - offs associated with future decisions in green areas for sensitive cavity - nesting birds, and to identify possible conflicts for sensitive species management. The first phase of the project was to evaluate effects of high - intensity, replacement wildfire on cavity - nesting birds and their associated habitats. This paper summarized results from 1994 to 1996 and was first distributed as a report in 1997 (Study No. 4202 - 1 - 7 - 7, Progress Report 94 - 96, April 1997). We encourage managers and biologists to provide comments on this ongoing project. These studies were funded primarily by the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Boise, with additional support from Forest Service Intermountain and Pacific North - west Regions, Boise National Forest, and the University of Colorado. The Mountain Home Ranger District on the Boise National Forest has graciously provided housing and assisted with logistics. We acknowledge the following Forest Service employees who provided essential assistance to the development, implementation, and review of these studies: Boise National Forest Region Larry Donohoo Monica Schwalbach Larry Tripp Dave Hal Gibbs John Erickson Rocky Research Station Lyn Hejl Deidre Dether Warren Cathy Barbouletos Dave Rittenhouse Washington Office Kathy Geier - Hays Richard Holthausen Field assistance was provided by: Dan Shaw Christa Braun Holiday Sloan Hufford Jennifer Chambers David Gary Vos Steve Breth Danielle Bruno Suzanne Mike Radko, Myers, and Bobbi Fuller of the Rocky Mountain Research Station assisted with graphics and maps. Cover photo was taken by Ron Workman. Abstract Saab, Victoria A.; Dudley, Jonathan G. 1998. Responses of cavity - nesting birds to stand - replacement fire and salvage logging in ponderosa of southwestern Idaho. Res. Pap. RMRS - RP - 11. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 17 p. In spring 1994, the Research Station (now Rocky Mountain Research Station), Boise National Forest, and Region 4 of the Forest Service initiated long - term studies on bird responses to different fire conditions in ponderosa forests of southwestern Idaho. The first phase of the project is to evaluate effects of high - intensity wildfire on cavity - nesting birds and their associated habitats. During 1994 - 1 996 we monitored 695 nests of nine cavity - nesting bird species (including three Forest Service Sensitive Species: Black - backed, White - headed, and Lewis' woodpeckers) and measured vegetation at nest sites and at 90 randomly located sites. The burned forests used for study areas were created in 1992 and 1994 by primarily wildfire, thus most standing trees were snags. Nests and vegetation were monitored in three treatments: standard - cut salvage logged, prescription salvage logged, and unlogged controls. Tree densities for small diameter trees cm to cm to diameter breast height [dbh]) in the unlogged units averaged 81 snags per ha (33 per acre) and for larger trees cm dbh averaged 17 snags per ha (7 per acre). In salvage - logged units about of the trees were harvested, tree densities for small trees averaged 43 snags per ha (1 7 per acre) and for large trees averaged 5 snags per ha (2 per acre). Lewis' Woodpecker was the most abundant (208 nests) and successful cavity nester on the 2 - 4 year - old burns, while Black - backed and White - headed woodpeckers were rare (23 nests). Lewis' Woodpecker and American Kestrel experienced the highest nesting success in the logged units, whereas Northern Flicker and Hairy Woodpecker were most successful in the unlogged units. All bird species selected nest sites with higher tree densities than that measured at random sites, and cavity nesters as a group selected clumps of snags rather than snags that were retained in uniform, evenly - spaced distributions. Among bird species, Black - backed Woodpeckers used nest sites with the highest tree densities, while Lewis' Woodpeckers selected relatively open nest sites. Cavity - nesters as a group selected larger diameter and more heavily decayed snags 'than that expected based on availability of such snags. Snags with the highest probability of being classified as nest trees were characterized by heavy decay and broken tops that pre - dated the wildfire. We discuss management implications of ment fire and post - fire salvage logging for cavity - nesting birds. Future plans are outlined, including bird and plant responses to different fire conditions replacement fire, fire suppression, and prescribed fire). The intent of this work is to provide information on the action and no action alternatives to the Forest Health Initiative. Keywords: Lewis' Woodpecker, Black - backed Woodpecker, White - headed Woodpecker, Ameri - can Kestrel. Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Western Bluebird, Mountain Bluebird, salvage logging, stand - replacement fire, Forest Health Initiative Rocky Mountain Research 324 25th Street Ogden, UT 84401 Contents Introduction 1 Objectives .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . , . , . . . , . . . . . . , , . , . . . . . , . . . . . . , . . . . . . . , . . , . . . . . . . . 1 Study Area ....................................................................................... 2 Methods ............................................................................................... 3 Silvicultural Prescriptions ........................................................... ........ 3 Bird Surveys and Monitoring ................................... .... .......................... 3 Vegetation Sampling at Random Points ................................................. 3 Nest Site Characteristics ...................................................................... 4 Data Analysis ............................................................................... 4 Results and Discussion ..................................... ... .............................. . . 4 Bird Surveys and Monitoring .............................................................. . 4 Vegetation at Random Sites and Nest Sites ............................................ 7 Conclusions .................................................................................................. 1 1 Implications for Management ..................................................................... 11 Future Plans ................................................................................................. 11 Literature Cited ............................................................................................. 12 Appendix 1. Tree and shrub species sampled within the Foothills Fire and Star Gulch Fire study areas during .. ............................... . 14 Appendix 2. Descriptions of habitat variables measured at nest and random sites in burned forest of southwestern Idaho on the Boise National Forest during ................ ............................................ . 15 Appendix 3. Bird species observed within the Foothills Fire and Star Gulch Fire study areas during ...... .... .. ........ ... ...... .. .. .. ...... . ... ... . 16 The Authors Victoria A. Saab is a Research Wildlife Biologist with the Rocky Mountain Research Station at the Forestry Sci - ences Laboratory in Boise, ID. She completed a degree in wildlife ecology at Oklahoma State University, an degree in fish and wildlife management at Mon - tana State University, and a Degree in biology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She joined the Forest Service in 1989. Jonathan G. Dudley is a Wildlife Biologist with the Rocky Mountain Research Station at the Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Boise, ID. He received his B.S. degree in wildlife biolgy from Washington State University in 1988. Responses of Cavity - Nesting Birds to Stand - Replacement Fire and Salvage Logging in Ponderosa Forests of Southwestern Idaho Victoria A. Saab Jonathan G. Dudley Introduction Wildfire has been an important ecological process in shaping landscapes and bird distributions of western North America Forests affected by fire, and subsequent salvage logging, are increas - ingly prevalent across much of the Intermountain West. Since 1986 on the Boise National Forest alone, nearly 600,000 acres (240,000 ha) of forest and shrublands have burned as a result of wildfire com - pared with only 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) in the previ - ous decade (1976 - 1985) et al. 1994). This recent increase in wildfires (especially of high inten - sity) has been attributed to several years of drought and primarily to the past 60 years of management for fire suppression, which resulted in high fuel loads, insect outbreaks, and disease 1980, Sampson et al. In the Northern Rocky West, ponderosa pine (scientific names for woody veg - etation are listed in the Appendix forests of settlement landscapes were typically maintained by frequent (at 3 - 30 intervals), low - intensity ground fires that favored larger, older trees in open, park - like conditions 1980, Steele et al. 1986, Steele 1988, 1988, 1990, Keane et al. 1990, Sloan 1994). The exclusion of these frequent fires has al - lowed open forests to become much denser with under - story invasions by shade tolerant conifers such as Douglas - fir. These changes in fire regimes and subse - quent alterations in the composition and structure of western forests have also affected bird communities (Hejl 1992, 1994). habitats and subse - quent insect outbreaks are known to attract nesting birds Blackford 1955, Koplin 1969, Raphael White 1984, Raphael et al. 1987, 1995, 1996). Little is known, however, about bird responses to fire suppression, stand - replacemen t fires, or silvicultural treatments designed to mimic presettlement conditions " foresthealth " treatments of tree thinning with prescribed fire). Information about influences of fire processes on bird communities is needed for incorporation into ecosystem manage - ment strategies. Cavity - nesting species may respond differently to fire's effects because nesting and forag - ing requirements vary among species. For the long - term persistence of avian communities that evolved in fire - maintained landscapes Intermountain West, a better understanding is needed of bird and plant responses to different fire conditions. In 1994, Intermountain Research Station (now Rocky Mountain Research Station), Boise National Forest, and Region 4 of the Forest Service initiated long - term studies on bird and plant responses to different fire conditions in ponderosa forests: high intensity stand - replacement fire; fire suppression; and prescribed, low - intensity, ground fire ( " forest health " treatments). Objectives The purpose of this project is to provide manage - ment recommendations on the associations of bird communities with fire influenced habitats and land - scapes. The primary goal of the studies is to provide information to National Forest managers on the ac - tion and no action alternatives (required for National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA] analysis) associ - ated with the Forest Health Initiative (USDA and with salvage logging. This report summa - rizes some preliminary results from the first phase of this project regarding influences of ment wildfire and salvage logging on the cavity - nesting bird community. Specific objectives include: 1. Examine nest - site selection by cavity - nesting birds in [stand - replacing] conditions under three treatments: (a) standard - cut salvage - logged units, wildlife - prescription salvage - logged units, and unlogged units [controls]. USDA Forest Service Res. Pap. 1998 2. Determine yearly trends in nesting densities and reproductive success in relation to salvage - logged and unlogged units. 3. Conduct vegetation sampling and analyses to evaluate differences in structural habitat features between salvage - logged and unlogged units. 4. Provide recommendations for manage - ment to meet stand level requirements for the long - term persistence of cavity - nesting birds. Study Area The study areas are in the Foothills (USDA 1992) and Star Gulch fires (USDA on the Boise National Forest in southwestern Idaho and Ada Counties) (Fig. 1). The Foothills experienced a moderate to high - intensity crown fire during September 1992 that burned 104,328 ha (257,690 acres), of which 54% was on National Forest lands. The Star Gulch Fire occurred in August 1994 and burned 28,000 ha (70,000 acres) at varyingintensities, creating a patchy mosaic of green and burned forest. Pre - fire, overstory vegetation was dominated by ponderosa pine community types at lower elevations and southerly aspects, whereas Douglas - fir community types dominated at higher elevations and northerly aspects. At lower elevations, trees were often widely spaced creating an open forest and many stands were patchily distributed with large openings of shrubs bigsagebrushand and grasses bluebunch wheatgrass Forest stands were more contiguous on north slopes and at higher elevations. Potential vegetation charac - terized by habitat types for the Foothills and Star Gulch study areas include ponderosa wheatgrass, and dry, open - forest phases of' sedge (Calamagrostis rubescens), and Douglas - firlninebark at primarily lower elevations south end of the Foothills Fire (Steele et al. 1981; K. Geier - Hayes pers. comm.). Amixofwet and dry phases of Douglas - fir [elk sedge; pinegrass; white spirea; and ninebarkl occurs at higher elevations and the north end of the Foothills Fire (Steele et al. 1981; K. Geier - Hayes pers. Streams Salvaged - - I - Standard Salvaged Unlogged Control 1992 1994 Star Gulch 10 0 10 20 Kilometers Figure 1 - Study area locationsfor studies ponderosa forests, 1994 - 1 996. 2 USDA Forest Service Res. RMRS - RP - 11 1998 Wildfire intervals typically ranged from 5 - 22 years before European settlement, with dry sites burning more frequently and at lower intensities than moist forests et al. 1986). More detailed descriptions of the study areas are reported in Saab (1995). Three general treatments were applied to the Foot - hills Fire: standard - cut salvage logging (see descrip - tion below), half the standard - cut salvage logging (wildlife prescription for big game security cover), and no logging (controls) (USDA 1992). We selected two replicates in each treatment for a total of six study sites that each average 500 ha (1,235 acres) in size. The study sites average 70% forested and 30% open Rattlesnake Creek and Elk Creek were selected for treatments of standard - cut salvage logging; Flat and Grape Mountain for the wildlife and, Devil's Creek for one of the unlogged - control sites in 1994 (Fig. The study sites with salvage-logged treatments (Rattlesnake Creek, Elk Creek, Grape Mountain, and Flat) are of relativelylow elevation (1,200 m - 1,970 and dominated by ponderosa pine, whereas the unlogged - control site in the Foothills Fire, Devil's Creek, is relatively high elevation (1,667 m - 2,333 (5,500' - 7,700') of mixed coniferous forest dominated by Douglas-fir. Because the unlogged Devil's Creek site was not a good representation of the logged sites within the Foothills Fire, we selected two study sites within the Star Gulch Fire that are more representa - tive of the treated areas in Foothills. The two study sites within the Star Gulch Fire are centered around Virgil Gulch in the North Fork Cottonwood Creek drainage and Stove Gulch in the Cottonwood Creek drainage (Fig. 1). Each site is relatively low elevation (1,273 m - 1,970 (4,200' - 6,500') dominated rosa pine, and burned at moderate to high intensity. These characteristics are better examples logged areas in the Foothills and proposed areas for " forest health " treatments (Saab and thus provide better comparisons. Methods Prescriptions The standard - cut, salvage - logged prescription on the Foothills Fire included: (1) on north slopes, all merchantable trees cm (10 inches) diameter at breast height (dbh) were harvested with a snag reten - tion requirement of 15 (6 and of those snags at least three were required to be cm (20 inches) dbh, two between 30 - 51 cm (12 - 20 inches) dbh, and one between 25-30 cm (10 - 12 inches) dbh; and on south slopes, 66% of merchantable trees cm (12 inches) were harvested, and requirements for snag retention were met in the 33% that was not harvested on south slopes. For the wildlife, logged prescription, 50% of all merchantable trees cm (12 inches) were harvested and the snag retention requirement was met in the 50% not har - vested. In addition to these broad treatments, most of the study area was seeded with a mixture and non - native plants to enhance revegetation, and con - tour felling was used to reduce erosion. Ponderosa pine seedlings were planted in selected areas. Details of prescriptions for timber harvest and fire rehabilita - tion are on file at the Supervisor's Office and the Mountain Home District of the Boise National Forest (USDA 1992, other documents). Bird Surveys and Monitoring Nest surveys for nine cavity - nesting birds (Lewis', Black - backed, and woodpeckers [For - est Service Sensitive Species in Regions 1, 4, or 61, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Mountain Blue- bird, Western Bluebird, American Kestrel, and Euro - pean Starling) (scientific names listed in Appendix were conducted by walking variable-width transects that were established every 200 m (656 so we came within 100 m (328 of all places within each study site. There are 26 - 43 transects in each study site and transect lengths average 1.6 km (1.0 mile). For more detailed methods of nest surveys, see Saab Nests were monitored every three to four days to determine status and fate of all nests. Vegetation Sampling at Random Points Ninety random stations (30 in each treatment: stan - dard salvage - logged, wildlife salvage - logged, and unlogged), that were located at least 250 m (820 apart, were used to monitor vegetation, and determine topographic measurements (Fig. and surrounding landscape features. We selected these plots to describe the habitats available to birds for the analysis of habitat selection. Methods follow those described fur BBIRD (Martin and Guepel 1993, Montana Coopera - tive Wildlife Research Unit 1994, Ralph et al. 1993) with some modifications. Each random location en - compasses four, 11.3 m - radius circular plots (0.10 acres) for a total of 360 circular plots, where microhabitat variables that may be critical for suc - cessful nesting are measured. Those vegetation mea - surements include herbaceous ground cover, woody debris, shrub and tree densities, canopy cover, and species composition of woody plants (Appendix Appendix 2 and Saab (1995) describe structural habi - tat variables, physical factors and methods in more detail. All snags m (4.5 tall were measured. A random sample of 105 circular plots were selected to evaluate snag longevity in a stand-replacement fire USDA Forest Service Res. Pap. 1998 Figure 2 - Design for vegetation sampling at random sites that were located at least 250 m (820 ft) apart on the Foothills and Star Gulch burns on the Boise National Forest. Four, 1 1.3 m - radius circular plots (0.1 acre) were established at each of random locations. under logged, partially logged, and unlogged condi - tions. Each snag was marked with numbered plastic tags. Plots used for the snag longevity study are sampled every year to compare decay rates and falling rates among tree species and to evaluate management goals for snag retention. Nest Site Characteristics Nest were measured in the described for snags (Appendix 2). In addition, we recorded nest height, cavity age, species that excavated the cavity, orientation of the cavity, stump m tall) ft), log, or other Raphael and 1984). Habitat characteristics and topographic measure - ments surrounding a nest tree were sampled with the methods described for the random stations using one, 11.3 (37.1 circular plot centered at the nest. On each plot, we recorded vegetation type (sub - jectively classified as ponderosa pine, Douglas - fir, open pine, aspen, coniferous riparian, decidu - ous riparian, and subalpine fir). Habitat conditions for vegetation types were indicated as one or more of the following: unburned, burned, understory logged, partially logged, and unlogged. Data Analysis Type IV sums of squares, analysis of variance SAS Institute, Inc. and multiple analy - sis of were used to test for non - selection of habitats by comparing nesting habitat variables with random habitat variables, and for comparisons of habitat characteristics among species to evaluate interspecific and differences. Paired comparisons for the three treatments were evaluated by Tukey tests Institute, Inc. 1990). To test for nonrandom selection of categorical habitat characteristics tree decay class, tree diameter class), we computed the proportion of each category used by a species and compared that to the proportion available in that category using the log - likelihood ratio G - test (Williams 1976). Institute, Inc. 1990) was used to the percent - ages of nest and random trees that were correctly classified as a suitable nest tree cavity Nesting success was estimated using the species with a sample size of 10 or more nests per treatment. The program CONTRAST and Williams 1989) was used to test for differences in daily nesting survival between salvage - logged (standard and wildlife combined) and unlogged treatments. Means are followed - by one stan - dard error SE). Differences in habitat measure - ments and nesting success were considered at p Results and Discussion Bird Surveys and Monitoring We monitored 695 nests of nine cavity - nesting spe - cies during 1994 - 1996 on the Foothills and Star Gulch burns (Table 1). Eighty - seven bird species were re - corded in the study areas and 67% of those species were (Appendix 3, includes sci - entific names). Coincidental to surveys for cavity nest - ers, we observed nests of 43 species (Appendix 3). Of the songbird recorded in the study areas, 4 USDA Forest Service Res. 1. 1998 Table 1 - Number of cavity - nesting birds monitored in burned forests of southwestern ldaho during 996. Standard Wildlife Unlogged salvage salvage controls Total American Kestrel 32 14 6 52 Lewis' Woodpecker 118 84 6 208 Downy Woodpecker 0 0 1 1 Hairy Woodpecker 23 11 57 91 White - headed Woodpecker 2 0 4 6 Black - backed Woodpecker 2 2 13 17 Northern Flicker 44 16 39 99 European Starling 18 2 0 20 Western Bluebird 52 32 19 103 Mountain Bluebird 18 19 61 98 Total 309 180 206 695 Table 2 - Number of hectares surveyed for cavity - nesting birds in burned forest of southwestern ldaho during 1994 - 1 996. Acres are reported in parentheses. Standard Wildlife salvage salvage controls Total 1994 1261 (31 16) 816 (2016) 435 (1075) 2512 (6207) 1995 862 (2130) 344 (850) 974 (2407) 2 180 (5387) 1996 374 (924) 239 (591 ) 974 (2407) 1587 (3922) Table 3 - Relative abundance of nests per kmfor nine cavity - nesting bird species surveyed in three treatments during 1994 - 1 996. The sample size (N) is the number of sites within each treatment. Nest abundances per km increased si g nificantl y with increasing years since the fire (df = 3, F = 5.85, p = 0.01). Abundances did not statistically differ among treatments (df = 2, F = 0.62, p = 0.55). No. Year Standard salvage' Wildlife salvage a Unlogged controls o N after fire Foothills Foothills Foothills Star Gulch 1 1.06 (2) 2 0.84 0.99 1.10 2.72 (7) 3 3.81 4.17 (4) 4 5.03 4.50 (2) . 'Salvage treatments are located in the 1992 Foothills Fire. control sites were changed after the first year of data collection from the 1992 Foothills Fire to the 1994 Star Gulch Fire; se e methods section for explanation. 1 and 2 after fire were not significantly different, based on a comparison Tukey test (SAS Institute, Inc. 1990). 3 and 4 after fire were not significantly different, based on a comparison Tukey test (SAS Institute, Inc. 1990). Lazuli Buntings and Chipping Sparrows appeared to be the most widespread and abundant species. The amount of area surveyed for birds has been reduced since 1994 (Table while nesting densities have significantly increased over time (Table 3). The number of field personnel has remained the same but less area has been monitored due to increases in the number from 1994 - 1996. In 1996, we monitored only one replicate in each of the salvage - logged units (west side units) and continued to monitor both repli - cates in the unlogged sites on the Star Gulch Burn (Fig. Lewis' Woodpecker was the most abundant cavity nester in the burns, however, they were rarely found nesting in the unlogged controls (Table 4). These are the highest nesting densities ever recorded for the species. This woodpecker is strongly associated with fire - maintained, old - growth ponderosa pine and has experienced long - term, population declines USDA Forest Service Res. Pap. RMRS - RP - 11. 1998 Table 4 - Number of nests per surveyed in each treatment for years 1994 - 1996. Nests per mile are reported in parentheses. No. (mile) Unlogged Standard salvaae Wildlife salvaae controls Lewis' Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Western Bluebird Mountain Bluebird American Kestrel European Starling Woodpecker Black-backed Woodpecker throughout its range 1997). Based on popu - lation trends, habitat loss, and vulnerability to man - agement activities, Lewis' Woodpecker was identified as a species of management concern in the Columbia River Basin (Saab and Rich 1997). This species is generally not found in burned forests until years after (Bock 1970, Raphael and White yet Lewis' Woodpecker was the most abundant nesting species in the 2-4 year - old Foothills Burn. Conditions created shortly after this fire were appar - ently highly suitable for nesting Lewis' Woodpecker. Those conditions were most likely increases in arthropod populations, shrubby understories, open canopies, and nest cavities created by strong excava - tors (see Saab and Dudley 1995). Although sample sizes were small for nests of backed Woodpeckers, their densities were more than doubled in the unlogged units (Table 4). Nesting bers of Black - backed Woodpeckers have been signifi - reduced in burned, logged stands compared to stands in and (see Harris 1982, 1996, and Saab, in prep.). From 1994 - 1996, an increasing trend in number of nests was observed for most species (Table and, for all species combined, nesting densities have cantly increased (Table 3). Woodpecker populations are known to increase after forest wildfires, up to 3 - 5 years (Blackford 1955, Bock and 1970, Taylor and 1980, Harris 1982, 1996). Nesting densities doubled per km surveyed from 1995 to 1996 for Hairy and Black - backed woodpeckers, and Western and Mountain bluebirds (Table 5). Densities of Northern Flicker and American Kestrel appeared stable from 1995 to 1996, while densities were slightly down for Lewis' Woodpecker (Table Daily nesting survival did not statistically differ between treatments for any species, except Hairy Woodpecker (Table Hairy Woodpeckers were successful in the unlogged units (92%) compared to logged units (61% and 39%) and this was statistically = 0.01). Statistical comparisons were lim - ited by sample sizes for Lewis' Woodpecker and can Kestrel, who nested almost exclusively in the salvaged and by Black - backed and Table 5 - Number of nests per km surveyed in all treatments for years 1994 - 1 996. Nests per mile are reported in parentheses. No. (mile) 1994 1995 1996 Lewis' Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Western Bluebird Mountain Bluebird American Kestrel European Starling White - headed Woodpecker Black - backed Woodpecker Not in 1994. USDA Forest Res. Pap. RMRS - RP - 11. 1998 Table nesting success (calculated using the method) and number of nests (N) in each treatment for years 1996. The program CONTRAST and Williams 1989) was used to test for differences (p - value) in daily nesting survival between salvaged - logged (standard and wildlife combined) and unlogged treatments. Overall nesting Standard salvage Wildlife salvage Unlogged P - Value a -- --- ... - - - -- ... - - - - --- Lewis' Woodpecker (206) 87 (1 18) 72 (82) 100 (6) Hairy Woodpecker 75 (91) 61 (23) 39 92 (57) 0.01 Northern Flicker 70 (97) 62 (42) 82 (16) 75 (39) 0.49 Western Bluebird 70 (100) 66 (51) 80 (31) 60 (18) 0.46 Mountain Bluebird 51 (96) 42 (17) 46 (19) 56 (60) 0.46 American Kestrel 84 (40) 90 (26) 63 (11) 100 (3) White - headed Woodpecker (6) 100 (2) 100 (4) Black - backed Woodpecker 100 (15) 100 (2) 100 (2) (11) P - values corrected 1997 progress report. woodpeckers, who were rare in our study areas. Tradi - tional of nesting success revealed that backed and woodpeckers were equally successful in all treatments; however, we caution that these sample sizes are too low for drawing conclusions. Nest predation was the most common cause of nesting failures, accounting for 97% of recorded failures = 124). The nest failures were classified as or weather related. Vegetation at Random Sites and Nest Sites Our studies on the 1992 Foothills Fire started two years after the burn in spring at which time the salvage logging was completed. Most trees standing after the Foothills Fire were snags because Foothills was a high - intensity crown Tree densi - ties for small diameter trees cm to cm to diameter breast height in the unlogged units averaged 81 snags per ha (33 per acre) and for larger trees cm dbh averaged 17 snags per ha (7 per acre) (Fig. 3). In salvage - logged units about 50% of the trees were tree densities for small trees averaged 43 snags per ha per acre) and for large trees averaged 5 snags per ha per acre). About cm dbh were harvested (Fig. based on the average densities of standing trees in all unlogged units (see Fig. 1). Based on the 1994 vegetation sampling, number of trees (primarily snags) per ha did not statistically differ between the standard treatment and the wild - life prescription for any dbh size class (Fig. Tree densities were higher in the unlogged controls compared to the salvage - logged treatments cm dbh, 2, = = 0.02; cm dbh, df = 2, F = except in the mid - diameter size class cm dbh, df = 2, (Fig. 3). Two years after the Foothills Fire, average shrub densities (see 1 for species composition) did not statistically differ among treatments (stem sizes 2 - 8 cm diameter; unlogged controls, = 40,631.25 9,283.75 stems per ha 3,713 stems per acrel; wildlife, = 30,018.75 4,923.75 stems per ha stems per acre]; = 26,546.25 4,765.0 stems per ha 1,906.0 stems per acrel; df= 2, F 0.33). Thus, salvagelogging was completed on the Foothills Burn in 1994, tree and densities were statistically similar between the logging treatments (standard and wildlife). The remainder results in report are based on data collected during 1994 - 1995 for nest = 416) and sites unless noted All bird species selected nest sites with higher tree densi - ties than that measured at random sites (standard, df = 7, F = 4.91, p c 0.001; wildlife, df = 6, = 7.21, p unlogged controls, df = 6, = 0.001; TREATMENTS STANDARD DBH WILDLIFE CONTROLS 0 5 10 15 20 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 NUMBER Figure 3 - Average number of trees (primarily snags) per ha in three treatments after salvage logging was completed. T - bars represent 1 SE. Bars with the same small case letters are not significantly different, see Results section. 2 years in study area. 1 year in Star Gulch study area. USDA Forest Res. Pap. RMRS - RP - 11. 1998 Fig. bird species, Black - backed Woodpeck - ers selected nest sites with the highest tree densities = 122.5 28.3 trees cm per ha (49.0 11.4 trees dbhl per acre), whereas Lewis' Woodpeckers used the most open nest sites = 61.75 cm ha 2.3 trees dbh] per Lewis' Woodpecker is an aerial insectivore requir - ing openings for foraging maneuvers, which might explain why their nest sites were relatively open. This species, however, selected nest sites with higher tree densities than that measured at random in theunlogged controls (Fig. 4). The unlogged controls were not used by nesting Lewis' Woodpeckers during 1994 or 1995, suggesting that the controls did not provide suitable foraging habitat or nesting habitat. Tree densities in the unlogged controls were uniformly high compared to logged areas. In the salvage - logging prescriptions, trees were retained in evenly - spaced, uniform distri - butions, while within those treatments, ing birds were using clumps for their nest sites. This suggests that we can improve the prescriptions to favor cavity - nesting birds by changing the distribu - tion of trees retained (from uniform to clumped), even when the same number of trees are harvested. Higher densities of large snags, cm (20 " ) dbh, tended to surround nest trees compared to random sites (standard, df 7, p = 0.05; wildlife, df = 6, unloggedcontrols, df= 6, F p = 0.05; Fig. although this was statistically signifi - cant only in the wildlife treatment. Lewis' Woodpecker and Northern Flicker, the largest woodpecker species nesting in the burns, used nest sites with the highest densities of large trees. Nest - site use of larger trees is dependent on the decay stage, and larger diameter trees generally take longer to decay than smaller diameter trees (Bullet al. 1997, Morrison and Raphael 1993). Most large snags in our study areas were not heavily decayed which is not surpris - ing because decay had occurred only for years since the fires. Large trees are critical for foraging and nesting use in the future, as decay attracts insects and creates softer snags that are easily excavated. Larger diameter trees will stand longer because their falling rates are slower than smaller diameter trees (Bull et al. 1997, Morrison and Raphael 1993). This is particu - larly true for shorter, large diameter trees (Morrison and Raphael 1993). Nest trees selected by Black - backed Woodpeckers averaged the smallest diameter = 32.3 cm 2.8 compared with other cavity nesters = Fig. Arnongwoodpeckerspecies, the average diameter of actualnest trees was largest for Lewis' Woodpecker and Northern Flicker, averaging about 43.7 cm (17.2 " ) dbh. Nest trees selected by cavity nesters as a group had significantly larger diameters than random trees in all treatments (standard, = 4, G wildlife, df = 4, G = controls, df 4, G 24.9, p = 0.001; Fig. 8). Nest trees for cavity nesters as a group were also more heavily decayed than trees measured at random plots BLACK - BACKED WP TREATMENTS NORTHERN FLICKER WESTERN 71 STANDARD MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD WHITE - HEADED WP RANDOM 001 BLACK - BACKED WP I (12501250 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD - WESTERN BLUEBIRD HAIRY WP NORTHERN FLICKER 62.5 LEWIS' RANDOM 3 NUMBER TREES 23cm Figure number of trees dbh) per hectare surrounding nest trees and random trees during 1994 - 1 995. P - values were derived from each treatment, see Results section. T - bars represent 1 SE. USDA Forest Res. Pap. RMRS - RP - 11. 1998 LEWIS' WP NORTHERN FLICKER HAIRY WP LEWIS' WP NORTHERN FLICKER RANDOM WESTERN BLUEBIRD MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD BLACK - BACKED WP HAIRY WP NORTHERN FLICKER MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD HAIRY WP . . . . . . . . . . BLACK - BACKED WP RANDOM WESTERN BLUEBIRD WHITE - HEADED WP TREATMENTS STANDARD WILDLIFE CONTROLS I I I I I I I I I I I 0 5 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 NUMBER TREES Figure 5 - Average number of trees cm dbh) per hectare surrounding nest trees and random trees during 1994 - 1995. P - values were derived from for each treatment, see Results section. T - bars represent 1 SE. TREE DECAY (TREES cm 01 = TREES 20 10 NEST TREES (N 23) RANDOM TREES (N 23) TREES 40 20 0 1 2 3 4 NEST 20) RANDOM 84) 30 TREES 0 1 2 3 4 LIGHT DECAY HEAVY Figure of nest and random trees in each of 5 decay classes cm (20 " ) dbh during 1994 - 1995. The decay class indicateslivetrees, whiledecay class '4' indicates the most heavily decayed snags. P - values were derived from G - tests, see Results section. AMERICAN KESTREL L E W I S NORTHERN FLICKER EUROPEAN STARLING WHITE - HEADED WP WESTERN BLUEBIRD HAIRY WOODPECKER 34 3 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD B L A C K - B A C K E D W P DIAMETER Figure 7 - Average diameter at breast height of nest trees during 1994 - 1995 for nine nesting species. See Results section for test statistics. USDA Forest Service Res. Pap. RMRS - RP - 11.1998 (standard, = 4, G = wildlife, df = 4, G = 111.5, p unlogged controls, df = 4, G = 102.7, Fig. 9). Heavy decay in larger trees cm was also important to cavity nesters as a group (standard, df = 3, G = 22.7, p wildlife, df = 3, G = 7.6, = 0.05; unlogged controls, df = 3, G = 21.7, p Fig. 6). the cavity nesters, White - headed Woodpeckers nested in the most heavily decayed snags, whereas Black - backed Woodpeckers excavated the hardest snags available 8, F = 9.29, Fig. Based on tree top conditions (broken before the fire, broken after the fire, or intact) and decay class (light medium or heavy occupied nest trees from 1994 - 1996 (Table 83% of nest trees = were correctly classified as occupied nest trees and 28% of random trees = 2,165) were pre - dicted as suitable nest trees. Trees (snags) with the highest probability of being nest trees were those with the combined characteristics tops before the fire and with heavy decay. Nest trees of Black - backed Woodpeckers had the lowest probabili - ties of being correctly classified as occupied nest trees, and were not characteristic of the other cavity nesters in the study areas. Blackbacks nested in trees with light to medium decay (Fig. 10) and often with intact tops. This species has strong excavator morphology (Spring and is able to NESTTREES 215) 0 a RANDOM TREES TREES 10 0 I NEST TREES = 125) RANDOM TREES = 295) %OF TREES 0 NEST TREES = RANDOM TREES 547) 00 1 TREES 10 0 Figure 8 - Percentages of nest and random trees in five size classes during 1994 - 1 995. TREE DECAY 70 (TREES I NESTTREES (N 215) RANDOM TREES (N 507) TREES 20 10 2 3 4 NEST TREES (N = 125) RANDOM TREES (N 367) NEST TREES (N 75) 0 RANDOM TREES (N 645) %OF 0 1 2 3 4 LIGHT DECAY HEAVY Figure of nest and random trees in each of 5 decay classes for trees cm (9 " ) dbh during 1994 - 1995. The decay class indicates live trees, while decay class '4' indicates the most heavily decayed snags. P - values were derived from G - tests, see Results section. AVG. DECAY OF NESTTREES (P DECAY HEAVY 0 2 3 4 I I AMERICAN KESTREL MOUNTAIN W E S T E R N B L U E B I R D EUROPEAN STARLING edc HAIRY WOODPECKER W P Figure of nesttrees during 995. Species with the same letters have an average tree decay that is not significantly different. represent 1 SE, see Results secions for test statistics. were derived from G - tests, see USDA Forest Service Res. Pap. 1998 excavate relatively hard snags and live trees. For other cavity nesters in the burns, retaining topped snags in green forests is critical for providing nest trees in the first few years after fires when most snags are hard and not easily excavated. Conclusions Our preliminary findings show that nesting densi - ties have continued to increase up to four years after fire. Among treatments (standard salvage, wildlife salvage, unlogged), overall densities were similar al - though species composition differed. Lewis' Wood - pecker was the most abundant and successful species in the salvaged units, whereas Black - backed Wood - peckers favored the unlogged controls. Nesting suc - cess was in the unlogged controls for Hairy Woodpecker and Mountain Bluebird, highest in the standard salvage for Lewis' Woodpecker and Ameri - can Kestrel, and highest in the wildlife salvage for Northern Flicker and Western Bluebird. Black - backed and White - headed woodpeckers experienced 100% nest success in all treatments. Sample sizes, however, were very low, 17 and 6 nests, respectively. Two years after the Foothills Fire, tree and shrub densities did not differ statistically between the sal - vage - logged treatments. Nesting success for all spe - cies, except Hairy Woodpecker, was not statistically different between the logged and unlogged treatments. We will analyze other habitat characteristics of the salvage prescriptions to determine whether these treat - ments should be considered different. Tree (primarily snags) densities were highest at Black - backed Woodpecker nest sites and lowest at random sites. Among cavity nesters, tree densities were lowest at Lewis' Woodpecker nest sites, yet densities were still higher than those in the random, unlogged controls. Cavity nesters as a group selected clumps of trees rather than uniformly - spaced trees. Cavity - nesting birds used heavily decayed, larger snags more than in proportion to availability. North - ern Flicker, American Kestrel, Lewis' and headed woodpeckers used the largest, most decayed snags, whereas Black - backed Woodpeckers selected the smallest, hardest snags available. Heavily de - cayed, broken - topped snags that pre - dated the fire had the highest probability of being a nest tree com - pared to snags characterized by light or medium de - cay, broken - topped after the fire, or intact - topped trees. Implications for Management Management for a variety of conditions in burned pine forests is needed for successful nesting of the cavity - nesting bird community. A range of stand conditions characteristic of Black - backed and Lewis' woodpeckers would most likely incorporate local habi - tat features necessary for successful nesting of other members in the bird community. Unlogged units with high tree densities (2123 snags cm dbhl per ha; snags per of relatively small, hard snags were typical of Black - backed Woodpecker nest sites, while partially logged units (averaging 62 sriags cm dbhl per ha; snags with clumps of relatively large, soft snags characterized Lewis' Woodpecker nest sites. Retaining clumps of trees rather than uniformly distributed trees would benefit the entire cavity-nesting bird community. We hope this finding will be experimentally tested with different sized clumps on National Forests within the Interior Columbia River Basin. Management for snag recruitment (particularly broken - topped snags) in green forests, with high risks of stand - replacement fire, will provide nest trees during the first few years after wildfire when other trees are not easily exca - vated. In burned forests, retaining more large cm snags should lengthen the time a burn is suitable for foraging and nesting because such snags are known to have greater longevity than smaller snags Morrison and Raphael 1993, Bull et al. 1997). Our studies on snag longevity in logged and unlogged forests will assist with decisions regarding the level of snag retention needed to lengthen the time that post - burn habitats are suitable for cavity nesters. We will be developing a predictive model to assess bird population responses to alternative activities related to management. The model will incor - porate microhabitat (local vegetation characteristics at nest and random sites), macrohabitat (forest stand level), and landscape (surrounding vegetation types and land uses) variables. Information generated from the model can be applied directly to understanding the effects of salvage logging on the long - term persistence (and viability) of cavity - nesting birds in burned for - ests. The model will be useful for evaluating alterna - tives in Forest planning and other NEPA documents. This phase (stand - replacement fire) of the project also provides information on a no action alternative to the " Forest Health Initiative" (see Future Plans below), and will help managers display trade - offs associated with future decisions in green areas for wildlife re - sources. Future Plans Our data have provided some answers to questions regarding management. Continued efforts in burned conditions will focus on increasing sample sizes for Black - backed Woodpeckers, who appear to be the most sensitive to management activities, and estimating their home range size during the USDA Forest Res. Pap. RMRS - RP - 11. 1998 breeding season, examining landscape influences on population sources by determining if the proximity to and amount of unburned (logged and unlogged) and forest has affected bird recolonization and reproductive success within the large - scale burns, continue monitoring of cavity nesters and perma - nently markedvegetation plots (random sites) to evalu - ate plant and bird responses to the rapid changes in the first five years after wildfire, (4) continue monitor - ing of tagged trees to evaluate snag longevity in salvage - logged compared to unlogged units and deter - mine how that affects the length of time a burn is suitable for cavity - nesting birds, and examining the data collected on insect assemblages in the differ - ent treatments if any can - - be detected between avian communities and insect assemblages. The Forest Health Initiative (USDA is re - ceiving widespread attention by land management agencies and the public. We do not know the implica- tions of broad scale, prescribed fire (with timber har - vest, " forest health " prescription) for wildlife resources. Thus, we need to gather information on the forest health action and no action alternatives to understand the trade - offs associated with future decisions in green areas for resources other than tree growth and mortal- ity. Data presented in this report provide information on conditions associated with stand - replacement wild - fire, considered ano action alternative to forest health. Fire suppression of green forests, thought to be outside their range of variability, is another no action tive. We plan (dependenton funding) to evaluate and plant responses to three different fire conditions in ponderosa coniferous forests that char - acterize the no action and action alternatives to Forest Health: high - intensity, stand - replacement fire; fire suppression; and prescribed, low - intensity, ground fire with stand management. We hope to test our predictions about cavity - nesting bird responses to the different fire conditions (Table which will pro - vide information to managers about possible conflicts for sensitive bird species. Literature Cited S.F. 1980. Forest fire history in the Northern Rockies. Journal of J . L . 1955. Woodpecker concentration in a burned forest. - Condor Breininger, D.R., and R.B. Smith. 1992. Relationships between fire and bird density in coastal scrub and slash pine flatwoods in Florida. Midl. Naturalist Bock, C.E. 1970. The ecology and behavior Lewis Woodpecker. Univ. Publications in Zoology, 92. Univ. Calif. Press, Berkeley. 100 pp. Bock, C.E., and J.F. Lynch. 1970. Breeding bird populations of burned and unburned conifer forest in the Sierra Nevada. Condor Brown, J.K. 1974. Handbook for inventoryingdowned woody mate - rial. USDA, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, General Technical Report, INT - GTR - 16. Bull, E.L., and R.S. Holthausen. 1993. Habitat use and manage - ment of pileated woodpeckers in northeastern Oregon. J. Wildl. Manage. Bull, E.L., C.G. Parks, and T.R. Torgersen. 1997. Trees and logs important to wildlife in the Interior Columbia River Basin. USDA, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Gen - eral Technical Report, 1996. Effects of fire and salvage logging on the cavity - nesting bird community innorthwestern - - University of Montana, Table 7 - Predicted responses by cavity - nesting birds to different fire conditions compared to unburned ponderosa forests with regular fire intervals every 10 - 30 High intensity Fire Prescribed fire with stand - replacement suppression stand American Kestrel Lewis' wood p ecker b Red - naped Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker + Black-backed wood p ecker b + Northern Flicker + Pileated Woodpecker Western Bluebird + Mountain Bluebird + Predictions based on information reported from the Koplin (1 Davis (1 Taylor and Harris Raphael and White Raphael et al. Breininger and Smith Bull and Greenberg et (1996). Species in bold are Forest Service Sensitive Species in one or more Regions (1, 2, 4, 6). USDA Forest Service Res. Pap. 1998 Cline, S.P., A.B. Berg, and H.W. Wight. 1980. Snag characteristics and dynamics in Douglas - fir forests, western Oregon. J. Wildl. Manage. Davis, P.R. 1976. Response of vertebrate fauna to forest fire and clear - cutting in south central Wyoming. dissertation, Uni - versity of Wyoming, Laramie. R.D., and Saab. [In preparation]. Black - backed Wood - pecker In: The birds of North America, (A. Poole and F. Gill, The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC. Greenberg, C.H., L.D. Harris, and D.G. Neary. 1995. Acomparison of bird communities in burned and salvage - logged, clearcut, and forested Florida sand pine scrub. Wilson Bull. J.R. forests in the northern Rocky Moun - tains. Natural Areas Journal J.R. 1990. Old - growth ponderosa pine - western larch forests in western Montana: ecology and management. North - west Environmental Journal Harris, M.A. 1982. Habitat use among woodpeckers in forest burns. Thesis, University of Montana, Missoula. Hejl, S.J. 1992. The importance of landscape patterns to bird diversity: from the Northern Rocky Mountains. Northwest Environmental Journal Hejl, S.J. 1994. Human - induced changes in bird populations in coniferous forests in western North America during the past 100 years. Studies in Avian Biology R.L. 1995. Composition replacement fires in northern Rocky Mountain conifer forests. Cons. James, F.C., and H.H. Shugart, Jr. 1970. A quantitative method of habitat description. Audubon Field Notes Keane, R.E., S.F. Arno, and J.K. Brown. 1990. Simulating cumula - tive fire effects in ponderosa forests. Ecology 71: Koplin, J.R. 1969. The numerical response ofwoodpeckers to insect prey in a subalpine forest in Colorado. Condor Martin, T.E., and G.R. Guepel. 1993. Protocols for nest monitoring plots: locating nests, monitoring success, and measuring vegeta - tion. J. Field Ornithology Mayfield, H.F. 1961. Nesting success calculated from exposure. Wilson Bull. Mayfield, H.F. 1975. Suggestions for calculating nest success. Wil - son Bull. S.P. Mealey, and F.O. Carroll. 1994. Forest ecosys - tem health on the Boise National Forest. USDA, Forest Service. Boise National Forest, Boise, ID. Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit. 1994. BBIRD field protocol. Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Univer - sity of Montana, Missoula. 25 p. Morrison, M.L., and M.G. Raphael. 1993. Modeling the dynamics of snags. Ecological Applications Ralph, C.J., G.R. Geupel, P. Pyle, T.E. Martin, and D.F. 1993. Field methods for monitoring landbirds. USDA, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, General Technical Report, PSW - GTR - 144. Raphael, M.G., and M. White. 1984. Use by cavity - nesting birds in the Sierra Nevada. Wildlife Monograph 86. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, Maryland. Raphael, M.G., M.L. Morrison, and M.P. Yoder - Williams. 1987. Breeding bird populations during twenty - five years of succession in the Sierra Nevada. Condor Saab, V.A. 1995. Bird responses to fire, fire suppression, and thinningwith prescribed fire in ponderosa Douglas - fir forests. Study Plan, USDA, Forest Service, Inter - mountain Research Station, Boise, Idaho. 53 p. Saab, V.A., and J. Dudley. 1995. Nest usurpation and cavity use by Lewis' Woodpecker. Unpublished report, USDA, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Boise, Idaho. 13 p. Saab, V.A., and T. Rich. 1997. Large - scale conservation assessment for Neotropical migratory landbirds in the Interior Columbia River Basin. USDA, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, General Technical Report, Sampson, R.N., D.L. Adams, S.S. Hamilton, S.P. Mealey, R. Steele, and D. Van De Graaff. 1994. Summary paper: Assessing forest ecosystem health in the Inland West. In: R.N. Sampson and D.L. Adams, eds., Assessing forest ecosystem health in the Inland West, p. Overview from American Forests Scientific Work - shop, November 14 - 19, 1993, Sun Valley, ID. SAS Statistical Institute. 1990. user's guide. 2. Version 6, 4th ed. SAS Statistical Institute, NC. Sauer, J.R., and B.K. Williams. 1989. Generalized procedures for testing hypotheses about survival and recovery rates. J. Wildl. Manage. Sloan, J. 1994. Historical density and stand structure of an old growth forest in the Boise Basin of central Idaho. Unpublished manuscript. Intermountain Research Station, Boise, ID. Spring, L.W. 1965. Climbing and pecking adaptations in some North American woodpeckers. Condor Steele, R. 1988. Ecological relationships of ponderosa pine. In: D.M. Baumgartnerand J.E. eds., p. 71 - 76. Symposium proceed - ings, ponderosa pine the species and its management. Sept. Oct. 1, 1987, Spokane, WA. Pullman, WA, Washington State University. Steele, R., R.D. Pfister, F.A. Ryker, and J.A. 1981. Forest habitat types ofcentral Idaho. USDA, Forest Service, Intermoun - tain Forest and Range Experiment Station, General Technical Report, Steele, R., S.F. and K. Geier - Hayes. 1986. Wildfire patterns change in central Idaho's ponderosa forest. Western Journal of Applied Forestry Taylor, D.L., and W.J. Jr. 1980. Post - fire succession of avifauna in coniferous forests of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, Wyoming. In: R.M. and N.G. Tilghman, p. 130 - 145. Management of western forests and grass - lands for nongame birds. USDA, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, General Technical Re - port, INT - GTR - 86. Tobalski, B.W. 1997. Lewis' Woodpecker In: The birds of North America, No. 284 (A. Poole and F. Gill, The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The Ameri - can Ornithologists' Union, Washington, DC. USDA 1992. Foothills wildfire timber recovery, Environmental Assessment. Boise National Forest, Boise and Mountain Home Ranger Districts, ID. USDA Western Forest Health Initiative. Forest Ser - vice, Washington, DC. USDA Boise River wildfire recovery, draft Environmental Impact Statement. Boise National Forest, Idaho City and Moun - tain Home Ranger Districts, ID. Williams, K. 1976. The failure of Pearson's goodness of fit statistic. Statistician USDA Forest Service Res. Pap. 1998 Appendix 1. Tree and shrub species sampled within the Foothills Fire and Star Gulch Fire study areas during 1994-1 996 Common name Scientific name Subalpine Fir Rocky Mountain Maple Mountain Alder Western Serviceberry Big Sagebrush Creeping Oregongrape Ceanothus Mountain Balm Gray Rabbitbrush Green Rabbitbrush Red - osier Dogwood Black Hawthorn Mock Orange Mallow Lodgepole Pine Spruce , Ponderosa Pine Black Cottonwood Quaking - aspen Bittercherry Common Chokecherry Douglas Fir Bitterbrush Golden Currant Squaw Currant Missouri Gooseberry Wood's Rose Red Raspberry Thimbleberry Elderberry Scouler Willow White Spirea Mountain Snowberry Abies lasiocarpa Acer incana Amelanchier alnifolia Artemisia tridentata Berberis Ceanothus sanguineus Ceanothus velutinus Chrysothamnus nauseosus Chrysothamnus vicidiflorus Crataegus douglasii Philadelphus lewisii Physocarpus malvaceus Picea engelmannii ponderosa Populus trichocarpa Populus tremuloides Prunus emarginata Prunus virginiana Pseudotsuga menziesii Purshia tridentata Ribes aureum Ribes cereum Ribes setosum Rosa woodsii idaeus parviflorus Sambucus cerulea scouleriana Spirea betulifolia Symphoricarpos oreophilus USDA Forest Res. Pap. RMRS - RP - 11. 1998 Appendix 2. Descriptions of habitat variables measured at nest and random sites in burned forest of southwestern Idaho on the Boise National Forest during 996 Variable Ground Cover Shrub Cover % Herbaceous Cover Bare % Litter Vegetation (Shrub+ Herbaceous) Cover Description Mean of ten ocular tube estimates within 5 m (1 radius subplot 0.008 ha (0.02 ac) (James and Shugart 1970) Downed - Woody Debris cm (1 .O) and cm (1 .O - 3.2 " ) intersecting four planes (Brown 1974) Debris 3.2 - 5.1 intersecting four 37.1 planes Total Number of Small and Medium Debris Total Number of Large Sound or Rotten Debris by Size Class Shrubs Live stems cm .O, within 5 rn radius subplot 0.008 (0.02 ac) (Martin and Guepel 1993) Total Number of Shrub Stems by Species and Size Class Live or Dead (live) to 5 (most decayed) based on presence I Trees Total Number >Breast Height (1.37 m) Within 11.3 m radius plot (0.04 ha) (0.1 acre) I Decay Class or absence of limbs and bark, top condition, height, diameter, sapwood and heartwood condition (Cline et al. 1980) Top Condition Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) Height Presence of Woodpecker Foraging Visual inspection for foraging woodpeckers, bark drilling, or bark flaking Intact, broken before fire, broken after fire, or forked Diameter tape (0.25 cm) (0.1 Clinometer estimate (0.5 m) Presence of Wood - boring Insects I Presence of Cavities Visual inspection for excavated or natural cavities I Visual inspection for insects, pitch tubes, frass, or holes Overstory Cover Aspect Slope Tree Tags % Upper Canopy by Species Compass direction of slope Clinometer Physical Factors USDA Forest Res. Pap. RMRS - RP - 11. 1998 Subsample tagged for snag longevity Mean of four estimates using spherical densiometer Topographic Position Position on Slope Elevation (ft) (GPS) Upper, middle, or lower Geographic Positioning System (GPS) Appendix 3. Bird species observed within the Foothills Fire and Star Gulch Fire study areas during Common name a q b Scientific name Turkey Golden Bald Northern * Sharp - shinned * Cooper's *Northern Swainson's * Red - tailed *American * Blue Ruffed *Wild California *Mourning Flammulated *Great Horned Northern * Long - eared Northern Saw - whet Common *Common White - throated Calliope Black - chinned Broad - tailed *Lewis' * Red - naped *Downy *Hairy * White - headed *Three - toed * Black - backed * Northern * Pileated Olive - sided Western Dusky Hammond's Violet - green Steller's Clark's Black - billed American *Common Cathartes aura Aquila chrysaetos Haliaeetus leucocephalus Circus cyaneus Accipiter striatus Accipiter cooperii Accipiter Buteo swainsoni Buteo jamaicensis sparverius Alectoris chukar Dendragapus canadensis Bonasa umbellus Meleagris gallopavo Callipepla californica Zenaida macroura Otus Bubo virginianus Glaucidium gnoma Asio otus Aegolius acadicus Chordeiles minor Phalaenoptilus nuttallii Aeronautes saxatalis calliope Archilochus alexandri Selasphorus platycercus Melanerpes lewis nuchalis Picoides pubescens Picoides villosus Picoides albolarvatus Picoides tridactylus Picoides Colaptes auratus Dryocopus borealis sordidulus Empidonax oberholseri Empidonax Tachycineta thalassina Cyanocitta Nucifraga columbiana Pica pica Corvus brachyrhynchos Corvus corax con. USDA Forest Service Res. Pap. RMRS - RP - 11. 1998 Common name a e b Scientific name * Black - capped atricapillus *Mountain gambeli *Red-breasted Sitta canadensis * White - breasted Sitta carolinensis *Brown Certhia americana *Rock Salpinctes obsoletus *House Troglodytes aedon Golden - crowned satrapa Ruby - crowned Regulus calendula " Western *Mountain Sialia currucoides Townsend's Myadestes townsendi Swainson's Catharus Hermit Catharus migratorius *European Cassin's Vireo cassinii " Warbling Vireo * Orange-crowned Vermivora celata Nashville Vermivora Yellow-rumped Dendroica coronata Townsend's Dendroica townsendi * Oporornis tolmiei *Western Piranga ludoviciana * Black - headed Pheucticus melanocephalus *Lazuli Passerina amoena *Spotted erythrophthalmus *Chipping Spizella passerina Fox iliaca *Song melodia Lincoln's Melospiza White - crowned Zonotrichia * Dark-eyed hyemalis Western Brewer's cyanocephalus Brown - headed ater Cassin's cassinii Red curvirostra Pine American Carduelis Evening Coczothraustes vespertinus asterisk preceeding a species name indicates nesting within the study areas. in parentheses after the common name indicate migratory status: L long - distance neotropical migrant; S = short - distance neotropcal migrant; = resident. USDA Forest Res. Pap. RMRS - RP - 11. 1998 Saab, Victoria A.; Dudley, Jonathan G. 1998. Responses of cavity - nesting birds to replacement fire and salvage logging in ponderosa forests of southwestern Idaho. Res. Pap. RMRS - RP - 11. Ogden, UT: Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 17 p. From 1994 to 1996, researchers monitored 695 nests of nine cavity - nesting birdspecies and measured vegetation at nest sites and at 90 randomly located sites in burned ponderosa pine forests of southwestern Idaho. Site treatments included two types of salvage logging, and unlogged controls. All bird species selected nest sites with higher tree densities, larger diameter trees, and more heavily decayed snags than that expected based on availability of such trees. This publication is an updated version of a 1997 report, and the study is one in a series of long - term studies on bird response's to different fire conditions in ponderosa forests. This study provides information on bird and vegetation responses to a no action alternative of the Forest Health Initiative. Keywords: Lewis' Woodpecker, Black - backed Woodpecker, White - headed Woodpecker, American Kestrel, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Western Bluebird, tain Bluebird, salvage logging, sta

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