What is the Boreal Songbird Initiative?

The Boreal Songbird Initiative (BSI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to outreach and education about the importance of the Boreal Forest region to North America's birds, other wildlife, and the global environment. BSI works to mobilize environmental and birding groups and individuals to influence Canadian government and industry policies.

Why is a United States organization working to protect the Canadian Boreal Forest? Because it is one of the largest intact forest ecosystems left on earth and it is critical to North American birdlife. International attention is a key part of conserving the Canadian Boreal because of the volume of trade between the U.S. and Canada. Resource development in the Boreal is largely being spurred by American consumption. The U.S. is the leading importer of Canadian wood products as well as oil and gas. Presently trees being logged in the Boreal are primarily pulped and turned into disposable products such as toilet tissue, junk mail, and catalogs.

Consumer choices made in the United States are driving much of the demand for the resources of the Boreal. The U.S. purchased 20 billion dollars (approximately 80% of Canada's timber exports) worth of Canadian forest products in 2001, most of it cut from the Boreal. Large amounts of the paper Americans receive every day as junk mail, advertising inserts and catalogues comes from Canada's Boreal Forest and boreal trees provide more than a third of all newsprint used in the United States. Yet little of the paper that newspapers and catalogues are printed on is recycled.We import more oil and gas from Canada than any other country, consuming about 35 billion dollars in Canadian energy products each year.

The historical international focus of U.S. birding and naturalist groups has to date been southward, on the wintering grounds of many North American migratory birds, but now it has become apparent that our attention must be focused north on the Boreal breeding grounds of many of these birds as well.

The Boreal Songbird Initiative is a project of the Pew Environment Group.