Quebec Premier Jean Charest and the boreal forest.
Credits: Charest: © Hans Westerling (via Flickr); Boreal: © Garth Lenz
The Premier of Quebec, Jean Charest, gave his long-anticipated Inaugural Address on Wednesday. For the majority of us living outside of Quebec most parts of the speech wouldn’t have been too relevant to our daily lives (things like education [...]

Me (Jeff Wells) looking for birds on the coast of British Columbia during December.
Credit: Valerie Courtois, Canadian Boreal Initiative
It’s that time of year again. No, I’m not talking about that time of year when you start kicking yourself in the butt for straying from your New Year’s resolutions (although it may prove to be an [...]

Beyond the furthest reach of highways, electric lines, and suburbs and farms that tend to dominate southern Manitoba and Ontario lies a 43,000 square kilometer (16,600 square miles—about the size of Denmark) expanse of rugged and intact boreal forest where a number of First Nations still lead highly traditional ways of life. Although more modern [...]

Bohemian Waxwings in Canada’s boreal forest.
Credit: Valerie Courtois, Canadian Boreal Initiative
This year, the UN’s International Year of the Forests, provides us with an opportunity to take a step back and look more carefully at our relationship with forests. Hundreds of millions of people live in or directly rely on forests, while the remainder of us [...]