Residual trees: wildlife associations and recommendations

Managers and researchers have devoted considerable attention to old-growth forests and specific components of these forests such as snags and large wo ody debris. Large green residual or remnant trees have been less emphasized . Within the intensively managed coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) for ests of northwestern California, these residual trees are often the only re maining complex structural elements in a matrix of younger forest. As such, they provide important habitat for wildlife normally associated with older forests such as red tree vole (Arborimus pomo), fisher (Martes pennanti), bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), northern spotted owl (Strix o ccidentalis caurina), Vaux's swift (Chaetura vauxi), and wandering salamand er (Aneides vagrans). Despite the obvious value of these trees to wildlife, and the fact that they are essentially a nonrenewable resource, no regulat ory protection exists for these monetarily valuable trees. Accordingly, we recommend increased retention and management of these resources, as well as increased research on their role in managed forest ecosystems.