The Struggle to Save Our Boreal Forests

Mealy Mountains National Park of Newfoundland and Labrador (Photo Credit: Parks Canada).

    On February 5th, 2010, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador created a 13, 000 square kilometre protected area consisting of both the Mealy Mountain National Park Reserve and the Eagle River Provincial Park.  This is an important watershed. This area will contain a large proportion of boreal forest, wetland, tundra within the Atlantic Flyway. The boreal forest is the world's oldest old-growth forest and contains more freshwater and a large carbon sink than the Amazon. The new protected area will serve as an incredibly important area for approximately 2,000 threatened caribou and the breeding and migratory routes for sensitive bird species, such as the peregrine falcon, olive-sided flycatcher, rusty blackbird and several others which are threatened or of considerable concern. Also it serves as an important area for practicing aboriginal traditions such as hunting, trapping, and fishing, for the Inuit, Innu, and Métis. Mentioned in the previous blog on climate change the boreal forests are at serious risk, since the temperatures are causing species to shift towards the north. These tree species are slow growing and seedlings may be out-competed from invasive species taking advantage of the newly habitable regions.


    This topic is very important because it is fuelling other provinces to get involved, either to insure protection of these sensitive areas or maybe to gain recognition of the sizeable protected area contributions. Either way it is good news for these threatened species', aboriginal communities, and conservationists. An example of a current project under way it the protection of the Plan Nord region, occuring the the upper northern region of Québec, Figure below.

  

Area encompassing Plan Nord in Northern Québec (Photo credit: The Economist)

    This highly ambitious plan is aiming to protect 20% of the Plan Nord area by 2020 and 50% by 2035. This project is estimated to utilized 100 million dollars in order to plan for the next five years.

Sources Cited:

Canadian Boreal Iniative. (2012, February 5). Protection of 50% of the Plan Nord region. Retrieved April 5, 2012, from http://www.borealcanada.ca/pr/02-05-2012-e.php

Parks Canada. (2011, May 25). Proposed National Park Reserve in the Mealy Mountains. Retrieved April 5, 2012, from http://www.pc.gc.ca/agen/wwf/conservation/mealy.aspx

Sutton, C., & MacDonald, A. (2010, February 5). Nature Canada Hails Establishment of National, Provincial Parks in Labrador. Retrieved April 5, 2012, from Nature Canada: http://www.naturecanada.ca/newsroom_feb_05_10_MealyMountains.asp

The Economist. (2011, May 12). Boreal Blues: In the frigid north tension grows between conservation and development. Retrieved April 5, 2012, from http://www.economist.com/node/18682689