Boreal Forest

Canada's Boreal is one of the last frontier forests in the world. It provides essential services that human society depends on, like

• Purifying the air that we breathe and the water we drink
• Slowing the pace of climate change by being the largest terrestrial storehouse for carbon

Most of the planet's other great forests have been lost to industrial development, but Canada's Boreal is still home to millions of migratory songbirds, majestic caribou herds, a diversity of fragile plants and large predators like lynx and wolverine.

The threat

The greatest threat to Canada's Boreal is industrial development and its effects, such as climate change. Although much of the forest is still relatively intact, industrial activities like logging, mining, and oil and gas development continue to eat away at our remaining wilderness areas.

Industrial activities impact the Boreal Forest by:

• damaging wildlife habitat
• fragmenting forests and wetlands with roads, seismic lines and other disturbances
• increasing human access into remote regions
• changing water and nutrient cycles
• contaminating wilderness areas with toxic chemicals

Logging

Each year, more than 8,000 square kilometres are logged in Canada.

• Much of Canada's southern Boreal forest has been licenced to logging companies.
• Approximately one million hectares of Canada's public forests and roughly 90 percent of this area is clearcut.
• Logging can cause the loss of old growth forests from the landscape, degradation of wildlife habitat and conversion of conifer-dominated forests to hardwood.

Oil and gas

Underneath Canada's Boreal Forest lies an oil deposit the size of Florida - the oil sands.

• Alberta's Boreal Forests have already been fragmented by 88,000 oil and gas well sites, and a massive expansion of oil sands extraction is planned in the coming years.
• The development of oil sands mining leases will result in the clearing of 300,000 hectares of Boreal Forest and constructing 30,000 km of roads, leaving 80% of the remaining Boreal Forest within 250m of a road, pipeline or well site.

Mining

Over 90% of the Boreal forest is currently open for mining exploration and claim staking.

• While mine sites themselves are relatively small and isolated, the big impact comes from the network of roads and seismic lines created during exploration, and the tailing ponds and waste left behind after mining.
• Staked lands are considered 'unavailable for protection' unless the industry agrees to remove the Crown's mineral reserves.

Resources

Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement
This historic agreement between conservation groups and the Forest Products Association of Canada covers more than 72 million hectares of public forests licensed to FPAC member companies across Canada.

Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI)
Based in Ottawa, the Canadian Boreal Initiative brings together diverse partners to create new solutions for Boreal Forest conservation and works as a catalyst supporting on-the-ground efforts across the Boreal by governments, industry, First Nations, conservation groups, major retailers, financial institutions and scientists.

Boreal Songbird Initiative (BSI)
The Boreal Songbird Initiative is a non-profit organization dedicated to outreach and education about the importance of the Boreal Forest region to North America’s birds. BSI works to mobilize environmental and birding groups and individuals to influence Canadian government and industry policies.

International Boreal Conservation Campaign (IBCC)
The IBCC is an initiative of the PEW Charitable Trust with major support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Lenfest Foundation.

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada
WCS Canada generates and shares knowledge and understanding about key wildlife species and their survival needs with conservation groups, resource agencies and governments. This science, developed through detailed field research, helps to guide decisions and planning for how to best protect both species and ecosystems.

Take Action

Sign the Peel statement of support

Help create the largest protected area in North America by signing on to this statement of support for the First Nations' goal of protecting the entire Peel River watershed.

Read more | Add your name at Protect Peel

Speak up for the Nahanni headwaters

Parks Canada has consulted Canadians on this new park in the headwaters of the South Nahanni watershed, adjacent to the recently expanded Nahanni National Park Reserve. Although the official comment period has ended, your input to Parks Canada is still important.

Read more | Write a letter

Protect Alberta’s Athabasca Heartland

For the first time in 10 years, the Alberta government has given the green light to creating new protected wilderness areas in the province. The region that will be affected is the Lower Athabasca, where oil sands developments threaten one of Alberta’s last strongholds of ecological integrity.

Read more | Sign the petition

Sign the pledge for caribou

By saving the threatened woodland caribou's remaining Boreal forest habitat across Canada, we'll also help protect one of the world's largest remaining carbon reserves, and slow the effects of climate change.

Read more | Add your voice now

Publications

CPAWS response to the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan (2011)

CPAWS responds to Alberta's plan for the future of the oilsands region.

Cliffs Chromite Project in Ontario’s “Ring of Fire” (2011)

CPAWS and Mining Watch Canada joint letter to the Federal Government regarding the environmental assessment of the Cliffs Chromite Project in Ontario's "Ring of Fire".

Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (2010)

The Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement covers more than 72 million hectares of public forests licensed to Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) member companies across Canada. It includes 21 forest companies, who are members of the Forest Products Association of Canada, and nine leading environmental organizations. Under the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, FPAC members commit to the highest environmental standards of forest management and conservation, while environmental organizations commit to global recognition and support for FPAC members efforts.

Canadian Wilderness, Fall 2010 (2010)

Features:

• Joining Forces in the Boreal forest
  Conservation groups and forestry companies are dropping their grudges in a new era of collaboration and conservation.
• Nova Scotia breakthrough
  Forest companies and conservation groups agree on wilderness protection.

Departments:

• President's desk:  New approaches for ancient places
• Conservation Watch: Anglers, geotourists, and Boreal leaders
• CPAWS News across Canada: New parks, and support for protected areas
• CPAWS People: Walking the (Sky)Line for CPAWS

CPAWS Public Forest Carbon Briefing Notes, April 2009 (2009)