S. Moresby, British Columbia, Canada Photograph by K. McNamee   Western North America: Queen Charlotte Islands in western Canada Temperate Coniferous Forests   3,900 square miles (10,000 square kilometers) --slightly smaller than Connecticut Vulnerable

· A Place to Rest
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
More Photos

A Place to Rest

For migratory birds such as wandering tattlers, the Queen Charlotte Islands are a true oasis. This archipelago of more than 150 islands, known for its natural beauty, is the perfect resting place for waterbirds flying north to Alaska and south to Mexico. It is also a prime nesting area for bald eagles, tufted puffins, auklets, and thousands of other seabirds, which find abundant fish and other animals there to feed on. Inland, the lush, old-growth forests provide nesting sites for sharp-shinned hawks, and other raptors. Peregrine falcons nest on cliffs along the shore.

Special Features

The steep and irregular slopes of the western Queen Charlotte Islands contrast sharply with gently sloping lowlands in the east. Scientists theorize that parts of the islands escaped being covered in ice during the last Ice Age, forming a refuge for certain plants and animals that now have limited distribution.

	The Queen Charlotte Islands black bear is the largest black bear in the world.

Wild Side

Old-growth forests with stands of giant sitka spruce, western hemlock, and red and yellow cedars are home to an amazing diversity of life on the Queen Charlotte Islands. The richness of life on these isolated islands--from birds of prey soaring above the canopy to hundreds of different species of mosses, ferns, and huckleberries blanketing the forest floor -- is astounding. Migrating whales and sea lions pass through the islands' waters, while an amazing variety of seabirds nest along the steep shorelines. As one of the most isolated archipelagoes in western North America, this ecoregion is home to some endemic plants, subspecies of birds, small mammals, and a subspecies of black bear.

Cause for Concern

Clearcut logging has destroyed nearly half of the forests on these islands, leaving behind bare land that is prone to landslides and serious erosion, given the high amount of rainfall. Forest clearing has also made the land more attractive to the introduced black-tailed deer, which is now eating the native forest species, such as western red cedar, before they have a chance to regenerate. Introduced beavers are also creating problems for native wildlife. Their damming of small streams is making it difficult for coho salmon to travel upstream and spawn. Similarly, introduced rats, squirrels, and raccoons have reduced the size of seabird colonies by eating eggs and young birds.

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