The loose bark of dead trees is an ideal roosting spot for little brown bats and spring peepers, those tiny frogs that are another early sign of spring. Raccoons, red squirrels, northern flying squirrels and deer mice also use cavities for nesting or denning. Snags, like living trees, have their own life cycle. Flood Plain Along the length of the stream, the flood plain, or flat area that is flooded when the water level rises, shifts from side to side. Streams, like forests, are dynamic and continually change shape.
Trees blow down and block the channel, forcing the water to seek a new path.
Banks are eroded and rate of flow changes. The wooded valley provides a travel corridor for many species of birds, amphibians and mammals and provides food, shelter, and water. Trees and shrubs along the stream help stop erosion and prevent the stream beds from silting up. This siltation can smother the gravel beds needed for trout and salmon spawning habitat. The woodland covering most of Prince Edward Island before the arrival of European settlers was called the Acadian forest, dominated by large, old trees.