01/19/2026
The biodiversity of forests after wildfire is often a secret - as few people wander into forests that have been intensely burned - assuming it’s in ruins! If left unlogged, those forests make a quick comeback, and the wildlife responds within a few seasons. For that reason, the world is at your feet when you’re out there!
Black-backed, white-headed, and other woodpeckers are the carpenters, building homes for themselves and a host of other animals (that sometimes get aggressive and take over a woodpecker cavity). Even spotted owls will use post-fire forests that have not been subjected to logging. Among the most elusive of forest dwellers, the fisher is a member of the weasel family that includes wolverines, honey badgers, otters, and smaller long-tailed weasels. The fisher’s ancestors made their nimble way into North America several million years ago. As small and ferocious carnivores. They are the hunters - and they are the hunted. Bobcats and mountain lions will catch fishers if they can.
Pick any non-windy day and wander into the groves that recently experienced wildfire - especially during springtime. Remote camera work shows us how much wildlife is out there...Just be watchful when you walk through stands of snags (standing dead trees, the homes of many members of the wild) - as they will eventually fall.
Sources:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378112721010240 - Lewis et al - camera work in post-fire habitats revealed the presence of many mammals including wolves.
https://therevelator.org/logging-northern-spotted-owls/ - Logging to ‘Save’ Northern Spotted Owls From Wildfires Will Not End Well
Research shows that spotted owls can thrive with mixed-severity fire, but logging in owl habitat for fire concerns may accelerate their extinction.
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/10/364
Black-backed woodpeckers were nesting in the burned snag forest, and their preferential selection of burned snag forest was statistically significant.
