Middleport, New York, USA Photograph by The GLOBE Program   Eastern North America: Southeastern Canada into northeastern United States Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   44,900 square miles (116,400 square kilometers) -- nearly the same size of Pennsylvania Critical/Endangered

· A Mosaic of Habitats and Species
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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A Mosaic of Habitats and Species

From the waters of the St. Lawrence River to the oak and pine forests of the Albany Pine Barrens, this ecoregion is known as a mosaic of diverse habitats supporting a variety of species. And its great diversity of wildlife ranks the Eastern Great Lakes Lowland Forests among the 20 richest ecoregions in the continental United States and Canada.

Special Features

One of the unique features of this ecoregion is its mosaic of freshwater marshes, dunes, bogs, fens, and hardwood and conifer swamps. A very rare and unusual prairie habitat type called pavement barrens, or alvar communities, can also be found here. You would have to travel all the way to islands in the Baltic Sea or to Estonia to find another example of this globally endangered habitat type, which supports groups of prairie species.

	Pavement barrens are areas of hard, moisture-deficient rocky soils interspersed within forests. Some plants can survive the temperature extremes of winter cold and summer heat that can place great stress on these exposed "islands" of habitat.

Wild Side

In forests of eastern hemlock, pines, maple, and oaks, the air is filled with a chorus of sounds from more than 200 different bird species, ranging from cardinals and downy woodpeckers to wood ducks and eastern screech owls. White-tailed deer browse on the twigs of young trees while gray squirrels and eastern chipmunks scurry away from prowling coyotes. On the limestone cliffs of the Niagra escarpment, birds perch on some of the oldest trees in eastern North America--ancient white cedars up to 800 years old. Along the St. Lawrence River, Caspian terns and American bitterns search for prey.

Cause for Concern

The once-pristine St. Lawrence River now has the distinction of being one of the most polluted waterways in North America. And in the forests that surround it, bird songs are being drowned out by the sounds of saws and hammers as summer homes are constructed or forest trees are cut to make room for apple orchards. This growth destroys even more habitat than the 95 percent that has already been lost to suburban development outside cities such as Montreal, and Albany, New York. The largest intact block of habitat that remains is no bigger than 100 square miles (250 sq km).

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.