Petition to Save the Boreal Forest
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Posted by Rosemary Drisdelle Apr 2, 2008 |
Canada’s 1.3 billion acres of boreal forest stretches all the way across the country and includes forests, wetlands, and northern tundra. It’s home to many species of plants and animals that rely on it for everything, and is the home and/or breeding range of literally hundreds of species of birds. Warblers and many other songbirds, shorebirds, ducks, geese, swans and countless other species nest and raise young there every year.
People use Canada’s boreal forest as well—and most don’t use it sustainably. Millions of acres are destroyed each year for lumber harvest, mining, hydroelectric projects, and gas and oil exploration. Only a tiny 8% of this vital ecosystem is protected, while almost a third is earmarked for development. Eight percent is not nearly enough if we want the species that rely on the boreal to survive.
SaveOurBorealBirds.org, a group of at least 17 environmental and bird conservation groups from both North and South America, is asking for everyone’s help to save the boreal forest. You can read more about the boreal forest ecosystem and the many birds that depend on it at their website, and sign the petition (directed at Canadian government) to protect the ecosystem before it’s too late.
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