Pippin Lake, Alaska, USA Photograph by Richard D. Huseth   Northwestern North America: Western United States (Alaska) Boreal Forests/Taiga   6,600 square miles (17,200 square kilometers) -- slightly larger than Hawaii Relatively Stable/Intact

· An Ancient Lakebed
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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An Ancient Lakebed

If you visited this part of the world one million years ago, you would find yourself in the middle of a huge lake. Today the area is a gently rolling plain surround by high mountains. This flat terrain and underlying permafrost create many small lakes and wetlands.

Special Features

The lakes and wetlands here are excellent nesting habitat for bird species. Its north-central portion supports high numbers of breeding trumpeter swans. Many taiga areas have permafrost, and the Copper Plateau Taiga is no exception. The soil below the surface is permanently frozen year-round! The thin layer of soil on top thaws only during the summer and is poorly drained, which leaves it soggy.

	High numbers of trumpeter swans breed in this ecoregion. These large birds, which can measure 5 feet (1.5 m) from beak to tail, get their name from their loud honking call.

Wild Side

The only plants that live here are those that can tolerate wet conditions. There are coniferous forests dominated by white spruce as well as broadleaf forests with black cottonwood and quaking aspen. Scrub bog communities have birch, sedges, and ericaceous shrubs. The Copper River supports salmon, particularly king and sockeye. The Nelchina caribou herd migrates through the western part of the ecoregion. Predators such as wolves, wolverines, and brown bears call the area home, too.

Cause for Concern

An estimated 10 percent of this ecoregion's habitat has been lost, primarily due to development in the Glenallen area and from timber harvesting in the Copper River Valley and Chitina. The roads connecting areas of development, the major rivers, and areas of timber harvest are responsible for the majority of habitat fragmentation in the ecoregion. Recreation and tourism are increasing and may pose a future threat. While hunting here is managed, caribou and moose are taken in larger numbers, which can reduce those available for brown bears and wolves.

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