Black-backed Woodpecker – Oregon Conservation Strategy

Photo Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Overview

Species Common Name Black-backed Woodpecker
Species Scientific Name Picoides arcticus
State Listing Status Sensitive

Ecoregions

Blue Mountains

Located in NE Oregon, the Blue Mountains ecoregion is the largest ecoregion in the state. It provides a diverse complex of mountain ranges, valleys, and plateaus that extend beyond Oregon into the states of Idaho and Washington.

East Cascades

The East Cascade ecoregion extends from the Cascade Mountains’ summit east to the warmer, drier high desert and down the length of the state. This ecoregion varies dramatically from its cool, moist border with the West Cascades ecoregion to its dry eastern border, where it meets sagebrush desert landscapes.

Special needs

Black-backed Woodpeckers inhabit forested areas, usually above 5,000 feet. They use dead trees with heartrot for nesting and those with high densities of wood-boring beetles for foraging. They may be associated with large-scale forest disturbances that produce a high density of snags (e.g., forest fires, disease pockets, and bark beetle outbreaks).

Limiting factors

Black-backed Woodpeckers are rare and locally distributed in Oregon. Given their apparent dependence on older forests and diet specialization, reductions in snag availability due to fire suppression and forest health management may limit distribution.

Data gaps

Assess abundance and trends. Improve understanding of habitat relationships and nesting ecology.

Conservation actions

Maintain areas of high snag density, especially above 5,000 feet where compatible with other forest management objectives. As an example, bark beetle-infested trees could be retained in areas where they present low risk of insect infestation to adjacent forests, thereby providing some habitat value for Black-backed Woodpeckers.

Key reference or plan

Conservation Strategy for Landbirds of the East-Slope of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington