It might surprise you to learn that a dead tree has immense value as wildlife habitat. While standing, a dead and decaying tree’s soft wood offers woodpeckers and other birds the opportunity to excavate nesting holes into the trunk or branches. Wood-boring insects speed the process of decay and serve as food for woodpeckers. As the bark sloughs away from the trunk, the space underneath provides prime habitat for female bats and their pups. When a dead tree falls to the ground, or even before, small mammals and snakes will occupy the spaces within and under the bark. Squirrels and other animals use downed trees as runways to move about the forest, and snakes will rest their head on a log for easy access to prey. Fungi colonize dead wood, as do lichen and other decomposers. 

If falling wood poses no danger to you or your home, leaving dead trees and old stumps to degrade in the environment naturally is a simple way to provide habitat for many forms of wildlife.

Native wildlife use native plants for nesting sites, as cover from predators, and as food. Native herbivorous insects convert enormous quantities of native vegetation into food suitable for migratory birds, small mammals, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. Native plants also provide food to wildlife directly, whether as vegetation for large herbivores or as berries and seeds for our many frugivorous and omnivorous birds and mammals. Because native plants are so vital to revitalizing native ecosystems, they’ve become popular additions to the home garden. Check out the Red Oak Rain Garden native plant guides and Illinois pollinators habitat page for garden layouts using backyard-friendly native plants. Having trouble finding native plants to put in your garden? Look here for a list of native plant resources. Want to include native grasses in your home landscape? Grasses at a Glance has you covered.