California to Study Whether Woodpecker Endangered

By Matt Weiser, Sacramento Bee

December 15, 2011

State wildlife officials today voted to list the black-backed woodpecker as a candidate for protection under the California Endangered Species Act.

The woodpecker is unique in that it prefers to nest in burned trees, and feeds on insects that attack trees after a fire. Environmental groups argue the current practice of rapidly logging burned forests before the lumber rots has deprived the woodpecker of habitat.

The California Fish and Game Commission, meeting in San Diego, voted 3-1 to declare the woodpecker a candidate for listing. The Department of Fish and Game has 12 months to prepare a status review on the species, then the commission will vote again on whether to protect the bird.

"It should reduce the amount of logging on post-fire habitat, but it will by no means prevent logging," said Justin Augustine, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, which petitioned for the listing along with the John Muir Project. "This would just add some balance so we do some meaningful analysis of this type of logging."

California currently allows salvage logging of burned trees under streamlined regulations so property owners can harvest the wood before it rots. Delays to protect the woodpecker could mean lost wood value.

"It certainly could lead to that," said Bob Mion, a spokesman for the California Forestry Association. "It's a little hard to predict what's going to happen."

The woodpecker exists across Canada and most of the northern United States, but is considered rare almost everywhere. California is its southernmost range.

State officials struggled over protecting the bird because an clear picture of its population in the state is not available. Partly for this reason, the Department of Fish and Game recommended against candidacy. But the commission said there was enough evidence to warrant further study. To avoid harm to property owners and fire prevention programs, it waived interim protections for the bird during the study period.