Feb 10th '11

I think it is not just the forest structure that is critical to N. Spotted Owls. It's that north of Oregon, they are somewhat stressed as to prey species available. Up here in Washington, it seems that their main prey species is the Northern Flying Squirrel. And those squirrels need an abundance of old forest fungi, including truffles, in order for themselves to be abundant. Down in Oregon Spotted Owls can fall back on Tree Voles and maybe other prey, as the diversity of small animals would probably be richer. Well, that's just my current guess.

Phil Hotlen
Bellingham, WA