Yosemite's Burned Forests Thrive with Life

In the wake of the Rim Fire in and around Yosemite, much of the media has erroneous described the fire as catastrophic and devastating.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  While animals who like green, unburned forests will need to seek habitat elsewhere (there is far more green than burned forest in the Sierra Nevada), many other species will flock to the parts of the Rim Fire that burned the hottest.  Wood-boring beetles, several species of woodpeckers, avian aerial insectivores, mule deer, several rodent species, and morel mushrooms are among the organisms that will thrive in the new forest of freshly dead trees.  In the coming years, others will take advantage of the flush of new vegetation and the associated abundance of seeds and insects.  We hope you will join with us and rejoice in the new, magical, ecologically critical snag forest habitat created by the Rim Fire! 

A recent opinion piece in the LA Times by fire ecologist Dr. Chad Hanson provides an excellent overview of the ecological benefits of the Rim Fire and why this snag forest habitat should be treasured and conserved.

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