Black-backed woodpecker

The black-backed and three-toed woodpeckers are two of the most intriguing birds that inhabit the Black Hills National Forest. Closely related, both woodpeckers have black and wide barred sides and a yellow patch on top of their head, although the three-toed woodpecker has a white back. Both species also share similar habitat needs -large areas of old growth forest, abundant and large snags (dead standing trees), a preference for burned areas, and a taste for wood-boring insects like mountain pine beetle.

Both woodpeckers are also rare and imperiled. Both have suffered extensive habitat loss and degradation as a result of past and present-day logging, thinning, snag removal, and fire suppression: virtually the entire forest is experiencing snag shortages; very little old growth now exists and only as small, isolated patches; and past and present management continues to log and thin to suppress mountain pine beetles that the woodpeckers feed on. While estimates of population size vary, reports indicate both species are rare and threatened with extinction in the Black Hills.

The latest threat to these imperiled woodpeckers is the "Elk Bugs and Fuel" project, a Forest Service proposal to "thin" (= log) over 10,000 acres of the Black Hills National Forest and construct over 40 miles of roads in order to "suppress" mountain pine beetles. The "Elk Bugs and Fuel" project will directly impact both the black-backed and three-toed woodpeckers by cutting down their habitat and taking away their food - the mountain pine beetle. The proposed thinning will also prevent old growth forest from developing and, since mountain pine beetles create snags, the thinning will perpetuate snag shortages in the Black Hills. Given their imperiled status, the "Elk Bugs and Fuel" project will only push both woodpeckers closer to extinction in the Black Hills and may very well be the "straw that breaks the camel's back."

The Forest Service is now asking for public comment on the "Elk Bugs and Fuel" project. Now is our opportunity to raise our voices in support of protecting the black-backed and three-toed woodpeckers and in opposition to this misguided thinning project. Please mail, e-mail, or call the Forest Service and tell them to:

• Adopt a No Action Alternative. Tell the Forest Service that the "Elk Bugs and Fuel" project would be more beneficial to the health of the Black Hills (e.g., black-backed and three-toed woodpeckers) if it did not occur. No Action means the best action.
• Protect the black-backed and three-toed woodpeckers and their habitat. Tell the Forest Service to fully protect these imperiled woodpeckers by adopting a No Action Alternative.
• Protect all other rare and imperiled plants and animals. Tell the Forest Service to fully protect all "sensitive" and other rare and imperiled plants and animals.
• Restore old growth and snags. Tell the Forest Service to restore old growth and snags that have been lost as a result of past and present logging and thinning.
• Protect the mountain pine beetle. Tell the Forest Service that the mountain pine beetle is a natural and integral part of the Black Hills ecosystem. Tell them that this beetle must be protected - not demonized - to ensure a healthy forest.

For more information contact Jeremy Nichols at Biodiversity Conservation Alliance: (307) 742-7978, jeremy@voiceforthewild.org