The Problem with Still-Standing but Dead Trees
While The Walking Dead terrifies millions of people every Sunday night, it’s the “standing dead” populating our woods that keeps fearful foresters up at night. In the Pacific Northwest and Rockies alike, zombie trees—those still standing but dead from fire, disease, insects, or lack of water—are mingling amid their living brethren waiting for the right time to wreak havoc. In fact, according to a recent analysis commissioned by the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, there are already more than 350 million standing dead zombie trees populating the 14 million acres of national forestland in Oregon.
