“Dying and dead wood provides one of the two or three greatest resources for animal species in a natural forest… if fallen timber and slightly decayed trees are removed the whole system is greatly impoverished of perhaps more than a fifth of its fauna.”

A wildlife tree is any standing dead or live tree with special characteristics that provide valuable habitat for the conservation or enhancement of wildlife.

When the Town of Gibsons removes hazardous trees from public lands, we will often leave a portion of the tree trunk standing, as well as some woody debris on the forest floor.

As the leftover wood starts to decompose, it provides food, safe nesting sites in the form of cavities and platforms, roosting and denning sites, hunting perches, display stations, and foraging sites for a wide variety of species.

To learn more about Wildlife Tree Management in BC, please click here.