Native trees key to health of area, wildlife habitat

The black cottonwood is this area's most valuable native tree for a variety of wildlife species. It provides nesting habitat for approximately 60 percent of Idaho's native bird species. Some of these, such as the Bullock's Oriole, nest almost exclusively in black cottonwood. Cottonwoods also help control erosion, provide streamside shade for coldwater fish, serve as windbreaks and shade for homes, and are fire resistant.

Unfortunately, the black cottonwood is under-appreciated. With the unprecedented growth Bonner County is experiencing, has come the destruction of groves of our native cottonwoods.

An example is the large clearing that was created for a future development to be located along Highway 200 near the Kootenai Cutoff Road. The trees are gone and, with them, the shade, a buffer and the habitat that wildlife species, including mammals and birds, were dependent upon.

The neotropical song birds that successfully nested in these trees last year, having survived the rigors of migration, arrived on their breeding grounds with no place to build a nest and rear young.

Ironically, while some landowners and developers are cutting down native cottonwoods, Avista Utilities, has been working to protect the groves on their property in Sanders and Bonner counties, and has placed conservation easements on land with healthy groves.

As we rush to build on every available parcel of land, we need to be aware that new homes and businesses can be built with native trees intact. Leaving them eliminates the need to plant exotic nursery grown trees, and helps decrease the carbon footprint that we all leave.

MARY COSTELLO

Sagle