Dead or dying trees, also called snags, are sometimes viewed as an eyesore, but a B.C. scientist is warning that if they don’t present a safety hazard, it’s important to leave them be… Among B.C. bats, 14 of 15 species roost in trees, 11 roost in dead trees and eight of them roost exclusively in dead trees… Other species, like chickadees and nuthatches, require trees that were dead for even longer, so their beak can penetrate the ‘spongy’ wood… A solution was the wildlife danger tree assessor’s course, developed as a partnership between the B.C. government and the University of Northern B.C., which teaches professionals to identify the differences between a safe snag and a dangerous one. These factors include the tree’s root system and the direction the tree may fall.