In a Timber Wars Turnabout, Washington Tree Farm Improves Habitat for Spotted Owl

Dec 02, 2010

Port Blakely voluntarily creates 45,000 acres of habitat favorable to the squirrels, voles and mice that spotted owls hunt

Tree 1007 is a western hemlock, gnarled by nature and now girdled by man. A forester chiseled off a 3-inch-wide band of its thick bark, circling the tree to create a deathly halo of exposed cambium layer. Girdling disrupts the flow of nutrients from the roots and creates a pathway for pathogens. The hemlock will be dead in a year.