NatureMapping Habitat - Conifer Forest

Definition of "Conifer Forest" - General Code 900: Areas containing greater than 50% of trees, primarily conifer, as the primary vegetation. Note: Urban areas with a lot of large trees are not forests; use the developed code.

Conifer Forest: Secondary Conifer Forest (972)

Descriptive Habitat Code: Conifer trees (9) intermediate in age (7), with closed canopy (1).

Secondary forest - A forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, timber harvest or wind throw.

American Black bear
Ursus americanus
Code: URAM
Photo: Natures Pics

Distribution and Habitat:
It is found in mountainous, forested, and wetland habitats

Diet:
It is an omnivore and feeds upon a variety of foods which include vegetation, carrion, fish, fruit, grubs, and hoofed mammals.

Interesting fact:
The largest black bear ever recorded weighed approximately 600 pounds, although the average size is around 200 pounds. The black bear may have brown or tan fur. It climbs trees easily.

American Black Bear Fact Sheet >

Cougar
Puma concolor
Code: FECO
Photo: TFK

Distribution and Habitat:
Cougars range from northwestern Canada to Patagonia, South America. They make their dens in rocky outcroppings, dense thickets and under uprooted trees.

Diet:
Cougars are carnivorous (eat meat). Their main prey are different species of ungulates, including moose, elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, and caribou in North America.

Interesting fact:
Cougars, also known as mountain lions or pumas, are native to Washington state. About 2,500 live in this state, double the populations of the early 1980s, and their numbers are growing.

Cougar Fact Sheet »

Elk
Cervus elaphus
Code: CEEL
Photo: Natures Pics

Distribution and Habitat:
Elk are widespread in Washington and found in a variety of habitats such as shrub steppe, bunchgrass, shrub plant communities, open meadows near open or closed canopy forests.

Diet:
Elk browse on grasses, shrubs, tree bark and twigs.

Interesting fact:
Bull elk bugle to attract cows and advertise their dominance to other bulls.

Elk Fact Sheet »

Fisher
Martes pennanti
Code: MAPE
Photo: USFWS

Distribution and Habitat:
Fishers are found only in North America. They range from the Sierra Nevada of California to the Appalachians of West Virginia and Virginia.

In western forests, fishers are found in late-successional conifer forests with a high percentage of canopy closure, abundant large woody debris, large snags and cavity trees, and understory vegetation.

Diet:
Fishers are carnivorous (eat meat) - they primarily eat mice, porcupines, squirrels, snowshoe hares, birds, and shrews.

Interesting fact:
Fishers like to catch and eat porcupines.

Fisher Fact Sheet »

Gray Jay
Perisoreus canadensis
Code: PECA
Photo: Natures Pics

Distribution and Habitat:
The Gray Jay is common in moderate and high elevation conifer forests throughout the state and locally at lower elevations in western Washington in coastal rain forests of the Olympic Peninsula.

Diet:
Grey Jays are omnivorous, they feed on meat, fruit, insects and various vegetable substances. They are attracted to campsites where they appropriate as much food as possible. They are known by many people as Camp Robbers.

Interesting fact:
The Gray Jay frequently approaches people for food. It may even land on your hand for a morsel.

Gray Jay Fact Sheet »

Mule Deer
Odocoileus hemionus
Code: ODHE
Photo: Natures Pics

Distribution and Habitat:
Mule Deer are found throughout Washington, including the islands, in hardwood and coniferous forests, dense shrubs or other young successional stages with small trees or shrubs.

Diet:
Mule Deer are herbivores; they browse or graze depending on the season. They feed on a variety of vegetation including green plants, nuts and corn, and trees and twigs. They like to browse on Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine.

Interesting fact:
Mule Deer have large ears that can move independently in different directions

Mule Deer Fact Sheet »

Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
Code: DRPI
Photo: Natures Pics

Distribution and Habitat:
The Pileated woodpecker can be found in open pine forests with large widely spaced older trees. They claim their territory by drumming on trees with its bill. They can be found in Canada and in western Washington all the way down to northern parts of California and most areas of the eastern United States.

Diet:
A large part of their diet is made up of carpenter ants and beetles. It also eats fruits and nuts.

Interesting fact:
The Pileated Woodpecker uses its bill to dig rectangular holes in trees to find ants.

Pileated Woodpecker Fact Sheet »

Red Fox
Vulpes vulpes
Code: VUVU
Photo: Natures Pics

Distribution and Habitat:
In Washington, the Red Fox is indigenous in forests of the central and east Cascades and has been introduced in other parts of the state.

Diet:
Their favorite foods are rodents, rabbits and small birds.

Interesting fact:
Red Foxes stalk their prey just like cats.

White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
Code: ODVI
Photo: Natures Pics

Distribution and Habitat:
White-tailed deer are found in North America from southern Canada through Central America. Deer prefer open woodland, but are often found on the fringes of urban areas and in farming country.

Diet:
White-tailed deer are herbivores. These deer feed on a variety of vegetation including buds and twigs of maple, sassafras, poplar, aspen and birch.

Interesting fact:
"White-tailed" refers to the white underside of the deer's tail, which it displays and wags when it senses danger.

White-tails, particularly the young, are preyed upon by bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes, and wolves.

White-tailed Deer Fact Sheet »