Editing Thuja plicata (section)

=== Use by wildlife ===
Western redcedar provides cover for bears, raccoons, skunks, and other animals which nest inside trunk cavities. It is used as a nest tree by cavity-nesting bird species such as [[yellow-bellied sapsucker]]s, [[hairy woodpecker]]s, [[tree swallow]]s, [[chestnut-backed chickadee]]s, and [[Vaux's swift]]s.<ref name="Tesky"/> [[Pileated woodpecker]]s on the [[Olympic Peninsula]] prefer very large western redcedars with [[heart rot]] when selecting [[roosting]] sites, but do not use them for nesting, instead relying on Pacific silver fir (''[[Abies amabilis]]'') for that purpose.<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Aubry |first1 = Keith B. |last2 = Raley |first2 = Catherine M. |date = April 2022 |title = Selection of Nest and Roost Trees by Pileated Woodpeckers in Coastal Forests of Washington |journal = [[Journal of Wildlife Management]] |volume = 66 |issue = 2 |pages = 396{{hyphen}}402 |publisher = [[The Wildlife Society]] |via = [[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |doi = 10.2307/3803172|jstor = 3803172 }}</ref> Old-growth valley bottom forests of western redcedar and western hemlock are the preferred habitat for [[white-tailed deer]] in the [[Priest River]] drainage of northern Idaho. The dense canopies of these forests prevent deep snow accumulation, which makes movement difficult for the deer.<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Pauley |first1 = George R. |last2 = Peek |first2 = James M. |last3 = Zager |first3 = Peter |date = October 1993 |title = Predicting White-Tailed Deer Habitat Use in Northern Idaho |journal = [[Journal of Wildlife Management]] |volume = 57 |issue = 4 |pages = 904{{ndash}}913 |publisher = [[The Wildlife Society]] |via = [[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]] |doi = 10.2307/3809096|jstor = 3809096 }}</ref>

The foliage, especially that of saplings, is an important food source year-round for [[browsing (herbivory)|browsing]] [[ungulate]]s such as [[Roosevelt elk]] and [[black-tailed deer]], especially during the winter months when little else is available.<ref name="Tesky"/> Western redcedar foliage is more palatable for browsing herbivores than the commonly associated Sitka spruce and western hemlock. Browsing by introduced [[Sitka black-tailed deer]] is a major source of mortality for seedlings and saplings in old-growth forests on Haida Gwaii, where the deer lack natural predators. The presence of deer there has been linked to a decline in western redcedar [[recruitment (biology)|recruitment]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Stroh |first1 = Noémie |last2 = Baltzinger |first2 = Christophe |last3 = Martin |first3 = Jean-Louis |date = 2008 |title = Deer prevent western redcedar (Thuya plicata) regeneration in old-growth forests of Haida Gwaii: Is there a potential for recovery? |journal = [[Forest Ecology and Management]] |volume = 255 |issue = 12 |pages = 3973{{ndash}}3979 |publisher = [[Elsevier]] |doi = 10.1016/j.foreco.2008.03.039|bibcode = 2008ForEM.255.3973S }}</ref> The seeds may be eaten by birds and rodents such as [[deer mice]], but are apparently not the preferred food source for most species, possibly due to their small size or unpleasant odor.<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Gashwiler |first1 = Jay S. |date = May 1967 |title = Conifer Seed Survival in a Western Oregon Clearcut |journal = [[Ecology (journal)|Ecology]] |volume = 48 |issue = 3 |publisher = Ecological Society of North America |pages = 431{{ndash}}438 |doi = 10.2307/1932678|jstor = 1932678 |bibcode = 1967Ecol...48..431G }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Gashwiler |first1 = Jay S. |date = September 1970 |title = Further Study of Conifer Seed Survival in a Western Oregon Clearcut |journal = [[Ecology (journal)|Ecology]] |volume = 51 |issue = 5 |publisher = Ecological Society of North America |pages = 849{{ndash}}854 |doi = 10.2307/1932678|jstor = 1932678 |bibcode = 1967Ecol...48..431G }}</ref> A 1937 study conducted in western [[Cowlitz County, Washington]] demonstrated a strong preference among deer mice for Douglas-fir and western hemlock seeds over western redcedar seeds.<ref>{{cite report |last1 = Moore |first1 = A. W. |date = June 1940 |title =  Wild Animal Damage to Seed and Seedlings on Cut-over Douglas Fir Lands of Oregon and Washington |work = United States Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletins |volume = 709 |page = 8 |doi = 10.22004/ag.econ.168487 |doi-access = free}}</ref> However, [[pine siskin]]s apparently favor western redcedar seeds over those of Douglas-fir and western hemlock.<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Gashwiler |first1 = Jay S. |last2 = Ward |first2 = A. Lorin |date = 1966 |title = Western Redcedar Seed, a Food of Pine Siskins |journal = The Murrelet |volume = 47 |issue = 3 |pages = 73{{ndash}}75 |publisher = Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology |doi = 10.2307/3533673|jstor = 3533673 }}</ref>