Athabasca Sand Dunes, Saskatchewan, Canada Photograph by K. Lozinsky   Northern North America: Central Canada Boreal Forests/Taiga   210,800 square miles (545,900 square kilometers) -- about the size of Montana and Washington combined Vulnerable

· Lakes and Rock Outcrops
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Lakes and Rock Outcrops

If you were to fly over this ecoregion, you'd see a rolling landscape dotted with lakes, wetlands, and rock outcroppings. Beautifully colored lichens--a symbiotic combination of algae and fungi-cover many of the rocks. Wetlands called bogs and fens are dominated by black spruce. This ecoregion also supports part of the large northern boreal coniferous forest.

Special Features

Most of the ecoregion experiences cool summers and very cold winters. But the Lac Seul Upland area has a slightly wetter and warmer climate, with less than the rest of the area. The Athabasca Plain contains some of the most significant active sand dunes in boreal North America.

The great horned owl and hawk owls and are found in this ecoregion. Great horned owls get their name from feather tufts on their head; they do not have true horns. And while great horned owls are found in many habitats in North America, hawk owls frequent only boreal forests, including those of this ecoregion. Hawk owls probably got their name from their long tail feathers, which from a distance give them the appearance of a hawk or falcon. Active during the day and night, hawk owls can often be found perched at the tops of spruce trees.

Wild Side

Black spruce, jack pine, trembling aspen, white birch, white spruce, balsam poplar, and balsam fir are the dominant trees of these boreal forests. The Athabasca Plain provides important winter range for woodland caribou. Many other species of wildlife make their homes year-round in this ecoregion. Moose, beavers, muskrats, snowshoe hares, red-backed voles, red squirrels, and least chipmunks are some of the many herbivores that live here. Numerous predators roam this area, including martens, ermines, fishers, otters, black bears, wolves, and lynx. The many wetlands and lakes support a diversity of bird species, such as white pelicans, sandhill cranes, ducks, geese, double-crested cormorants, and common loons. Ground- and tree-dwelling birds are also plentiful, including spruce grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, willow ptarmigans, common nighthawks, red-tailed hawks, ravens, bald eagles, and gray jays.

Cause for Concern

Nearly 80 percent of this ecoregion remains intact. Habitat pressures are most severe in Manitoba, where the ecoregion is considered 65 percent intact. Rapidly expanding forestry projects; mining for uranium, nickel, gold, and copper; and flooding from hydroelectric development are the main habitat threats.

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