Recently, the large old dead trees standing before you were logs lying on the forest floor in a nearby windrow. We dug holes four-feet deep to hold the logs as we manually hoisted each log into its place. In erecting these snags, we are restoring vital structures back to the stand. When this site was clearcut everything went, regardless of whether it was living or dead. Dead trees play vitally important roles in healthy forest ecosystems. This is particularly true when considering the habitat needs of the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), the largest woodpecker found north of Mexico. The Pileated Woodpecker creates cavities in dead trees as it hunts for wood-boring insects and looks for places to roost and nest. These cavities serve as crucial habitats for no less than eighty other species of small mammals and birds. The dependence that other creatures have on the activities of the Pileated Woodpecker earns it its title as a 'Keystone Species'.