Boreal Conservation Framework Lays Out Vision for Protecting Vital Breeding Grounds for Billions of North American Birds

Boreal Conservation Framework Lays Out Vision for Protecting Vital Breeding Grounds for Billions of North American Birds

Article courtesy of Lynn Tennefoss, National Audubon Society

Stretching from Alaska to the Atlantic Ocean, Canada’s boreal forest is one of the world’s largest forests. It accounts for 25% of the earth’s remaining intact forests, covers 1.3 billion acres, and is larger than the Brazilian Amazon. With more fresh water than any place on earth, Canada’s boreal forest supports some of the largest populations of wildlife such as grizzly bears and wolves, and provides vital breeding grounds for up to a third of North America’s land birds and 40% of its waterfowl.

In December 2003, the Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI) announced a landmark vision to protect this global treasure. The Boreal Conservation Framework proposes a new approach to balancing conservation and economic development: the establishment of a network of large interconnected protected areas covering about half of Canada’s boreal region, and the use of cutting-edge sustainable development practices in remaining areas. The Framework reflects an extraordinary alliance of conservation organizations, First Nations, and timber and oil companies who have signed on to the Framework. (Information about the Framework can be found at CBI’s web site: www.borealcanada.ca)

While vast tracks of the boreal region remain unspoiled at this point, the release of the Framework comes at a time when development is rapidly escalating and land use decisions in every Canadian province and territory will determine the fate of much of the boreal region within the next three to five years. With over 90% of the boreal under public ownership, a critical next step will be to persuade Canadian governments to play a central role in making the Framework’s vision a reality.

Much of the resource development in the boreal is being driven by U.S. consumption. The U.S. is the leading importer of Canadian forest products and oil and gas. Eighty-one percent of Canada’s forest products go to the United States, and most of the wood cut in Canada’s boreal is used to make paper, including catalogs, junk mail, magazines, and newspapers. And the U.S. buys more of its oil and gas from Canada—60% of which is produced from the boreal—than any other single source.

Of the 298 bird species that have some of their breeding grounds in the boreal forest, at least 40 species of land birds and several species of ducks are already experiencing population declines in part due to habitat loss from logging and oil and gas development.

While American consumption is largely responsible, it also means that American citizens and companies can influence the fate of this global treasure. The boreal is perhaps the greatest forest conservation opportunity left on earth.

An international campaign focused in the U.S. is emerging. The Boreal Songbird Network is a new network of conservation groups that include: the Boreal Songbird Initiative, the National Audubon Society, the NationalWildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the American Bird Conservancy. These groups are working to build a broad base of international support for boreal conservation and the adoption of the Boreal Framework.

For more information on how you can help protect the boreal forest, please go to the Boreal Songbird Initiative web site at www.borealbirds.org. The Boreal Songbird Initiative is a new project dedicated to educating bird conservationists and naturalists throughout the United States about the importance of North America’s boreal forest to migratory birds.