Save a Forest in Southworth, WA

Southworth Forest Update:

Snags Are Essential Parts of Pacific Northwest Forests

Posted April 28, 2026 by Southworth Forest

The remnants of old red alders and big leaf maples still stand in an open area central within the Southworth Forest.

Snags are standing dead or dying trees that provide another habitat for wildlife. Like everywhere, they are a natural part of forests in the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, many landowners remove snags because they consider them unsightly or a potential danger to homes and other structures. Luckily, those who want to manage their land in ways that benefit wildlife can consult trained arborists about how to preserve snags safely and even create new snags for wildlife.

Typically, woodpeckers will be the first obvious user of a snag. They are known as the "primary cavity nesters" because they create multiple cavities in dead trees but only nest in one for a year, leaving the spaces for other species who cannot excavate cavities for themselves. The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife estimates more than "100 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians need snags for nesting, roosting, shelter, denning, and feeding." The National Wildlife Federation states that dead trees "provide vital habitat for more than 1,000 species of wildlife nationwide." (View additional resources below.)

At the Southworth forest restoration project, there are a number of standing dead trees of various heights. Taller snags with trunks several feet across in diameter are used by bald eagles, hawks, herons, and owls for hunting and resting perches. Their hollows are used by various animals such as squirrels and bats. Smaller snags, especially deciduous trees like cherry, maple, and alder, are useful for smaller birds, animals, and insects. Even the stumps are used as nests by raccoons and opossums, as we have found by inadvertently surprising them on occasion while clearing noxious weeds and replanting native trees.

An arborist we consulted advised leaving four snags per acre on average, which would mean that twenty snags should exist for every five acres of maturing forest space. Over the past ten years, new snags have formed after limbs and tops of trees blew off during increasingly intense windstorms, and some of the older snags have fallen to become nurse logs, nurturing the soil for future trees. In a primary or old growth forest, dead wood remains damp all year round under the closed canopy. In a secondary forest like ours, we have the additional challenge of determining how much dead wood to leave and how much to remove due to increasing fire risk.

Trees falling on houses and cars make the news after every major storm. Many property owners are worried about wind hazards and increased fire danger due to climate change, preemptively removing trees that could safely stand for many decades. They also remove dead and dying trees or down wood in an effort to "tidy up" and make things look nice. Consulting certified arborists trained in wildlife tree creation and maintenance can help preserve some of these trees for wildlife. Topping the tree at a certain height and removing branches that otherwise might fall can greatly improve safety. Yes, some snags might need removed, particularly near houses, but the advice of a trained expert can be reassuring.

At the neighboring, code-violating deforestation of the acreage at 11090 SE Southworth Dr. in Port Orchard in 2019, Kitsap County advised the owners that the snags identified early in that process could be left for the benefit of the area's habitat. But nearly all of them were eliminated, increasing impacts upon nearby forestlands, including the winds that have felled snags to the west of the conversion to pasture. These impacts were confirmed as adverse by the County's hearing examiner in response to a community challenge of the forest removal. It's our hope that by replanting the canopy trees in the adjacent, more natural forest setting, the risk to our snags will gradually reduce and more wood can be left to serve as habitat and naturally decompose.

Wildlife enthusiasts with properties of all sizes frequently find ways to make space in their yards for native plants and habitat, and these areas can be certified with the National Wildlife Federation, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, and Homegrown National Park. They create snags in their yards, either out of trees that are dead or dying, or would otherwise have to be removed, or by salvaging small snags from elsewhere to install. Nurse logs added to native plant gardens provide nutrients for plants and habitat for a variety of animals. Because snags are so essential to Pacific Northwest forests as food, shelter, resting perches, and food storage for many beloved species, you are strongly encouraged to consider this option.

Additional Resources

Websites:

• Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife: Snags - The Wildlife Tree
• National Wildlife Federation: Trees and Snags
• Homegrown National Park

Books:

• Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest by Russell Link, particularly Chapter 16: Dead Trees and Down Wood, pages 127-134
• Dead Wood: The Afterlife of Trees by Ellen Wohl
• Knowing the Trees: Discover the Forest from Seed to Snag by Ken Keffer

Children's Picture Books:

• Snag It: Who Needs a Dead Tree? by Mary Holland
• When a Tree Falls: Nurse Logs and Their Incredible Forest Power by Kirsten Pendreigh
• What Good is a Dead Tree? A Science Mystery by Doug Wechler

Old cherry trees are the last vestiges of a grove that has died after the protective canopy around it receded in the 2000's.

A decaying alder trunk rests against a Western Red Cedar in the large cedar grove central to the forest.

Twisted old snags such as this one not only provide a habitat to many species, but they also have much character.

A long-dead Douglas fir provides benefit along the north end of the Southworth Forest in an area where wind impacts have felled many of its siblings.

Dead ocean spray clumps are great perches for birds, and they have also thinned in areas where the canopy has retreated.