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The global Boreal is the largest terrestrial carbon "bank account" on the planet

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Boreal bird life is unusually diverse

With almost 200 species from 35 bird families, species richness among land birds is higher in Canada's boreal forest than in many adjacent landscapes to the south.
Canada's boreal forest is the global nesting ground for more than half the populations of 40 land bird species and more than 80 percent of the populations of 14 species. Several of these birds - including Palm Warblers, Tennessee Warblers and Black-backed Woodpeckers - breed almost exclusively in the region.
Warblers, sparrows and thrushes account for 22 of the 25 most common boreal land bird species. These three bird families account for a larger number of boreal birds than all other land bird families combined.
Three of every four Canadian warblers -- 27 species and as many as one billion birds -- nest in Canada's boreal forest. Some of the most common include Yellow-rumped Warblers, Tennessee Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, Blackpoll Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warblers and Bay-breasted Warblers.
Populations of 40 species of boreal-nesting land birds have fallen in recent years. Rusty Blackbirds, Connecticut Warblers, White-Throated Sparrows and many others have seen their numbers drop in Canada or across the continent. The reasons for the declines are unclear.

Canada's boreal forest is a global ecological treasure

Canada's boreal forest is among the largest intact forest eco-regions left on earth. It is 50 percent larger than the remaining intact Amazon rain forest and contains some of the world's last significant wilderness areas.
The boreal forest covers 53 percent of Canada - more than one billion acres - across almost every province and territory from the Yukon to Labrador.
Canada's boreal region contains some of the world's largest supplies of unfrozen fresh water. It is one of the largest terrestrial storehouses of the carbon, helping to regulate the world's climate. And it is home to some of the largest populations of woodland caribou, bears and wolves.
More than 600 First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities are located in Canada's boreal region. Aboriginal people have relied on the boreal forest for thousands of years, and in many places, they continue to be its primary inhabitants.

The future is uncertain for Canada's boreal forest

While much of Canada's boreal forest remains untouched, large portions of the region have recently been allocated for industrial use - mainly by long-term forestry tenures as well as by oil, gas and mineral claims and hydro-electric dams.
In 1999, Canada's Senate recommended that at least 20 percent of the country's boreal forest should be protected and another 60 percent should be managed carefully with the preservation of biodiversity as the primary objective. To date, only about eight percent of Canada's boreal forest has been conserved in parks and other protected areas
Land-use planning for Canada's boreal forest is underway now in virtually every province and territory. Decisions within the next three to five years will determine the fate of much of the remaining intact forest.

Almost three billion warblers, thrushes, sparrows, flycatchers, hawks and other land birds migrate to Canada's boreal forest to nest each spring.
About 60 percent of all Canadian land birds and almost 30 percent of all North American land birds breed in the boreal region.
As many as one billion land birds come to Canada's boreal forest from winter homes in the United States. Almost two billion of these birds - neotropical migrants like warblers and flycatchers - make the springtime trip from South or Central America.
About five billion land birds - adults along with their new young - migrate out of the boreal forest in the autumn.


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