Hach-Otis Sanctuary, Willoughby Hills, Ohio, USA Photograph by Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Areas & Preserves   Eastern North America: Eastern United States Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   94,400 square miles (244,500 square kilometers) -- about the size of Oregon Critical/Endangered

· Oases in a Forest
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Oases in a Forest

In the Southern Great Lakes Forests ecoregion you can still hear the drum of pileated woodpeckers and the haunting calls of screech owls--but far less often than when forests and wetlands covered this region. These natural areas, once rich with elk, wolves, and other wildlife, have been almost totally converted by intensive industrial development. Nonetheless, in the remaining patches you can still find wild turkeys, green-backed herons, and breeding populations of migratory songbirds such as the wood thrush. Against the backdrop of growing cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, and Toronto, these remaining forests and wetlands are important oases for many species.

Special Features

Rolling hills make up most of this ecoregion, although some parts are nearly flat. Extremes in the climate include hot summers with frequent tornadoes and cold, often snowy winters. Among rare treasures of this ecoregion are extensive interior wetlands and freshwater bodies with sand-dunes. In this rare habitat, you can find plant communities that occur nowhere else on Earth. Several of these areas also serve as critical migratory stopover points, supporting millions of birds on their twice-a-year continental journeys.

	Some people consider the flute-like song of the wood thrush to be the most beautiful of all of the North American songbirds.

Wild Side

Northern cardinals shine bright red against the snow as they fly in search of seeds, while white-tailed deer and squirrels dart among the oaks, hickories, sugar maples, beech trees, and basswood that fill the Southern Great Lakes Forests. The forest floors are rich with humus and leaf litter, creating an ideal environment for a diversity of insects and other invertebrates.

Cause for Concern

Nearly all of the ecoregion in and around cities such as Toronto, Buffalo, Detroit, and Cleveland has been heavily altered by people. Between the industrial and urban development of these cities and the clearing of land for agriculture, there are no habitat blocks of any significant size left in this ecoregion. Even the tiny fragments that remain are under continued development pressure from urban sprawl and agriculture. And the few patches of habitat that are not being converted are being degraded by pollution and invasion from exotic species.

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