Boreal Songbird Initiative : Reports & Other Publications
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Reports & Other Publications

   
 

Following you will find a variety of scientific reports and other publications related to Canada's Boreal Forest and the migratory birds that breed there.

Toxic Tar Sands

Canada's Toxic Tar Sands: The Most Destructive Project on Earth
All Canadians are impacted by the Tar Sands, no matter where they live. If you live downstream, your water is being polluted. In Saskatchewan you are a victim of acid rain. In Ontario, you are exposed to harmful emissions from the refining of Tar Sands Oil. And the impacts do not stop at Canada’s border – US refineries are re-tooling to handle the dirty oil from Alberta. With the Tar Sands, Canada has become the world’s dirty energy superpower. The Canadian government gives tax breaks to polluters, fails to enforce its own environmental laws, and is engaging in cover-up about how the Tar Sands have harmed our health and our environment.
Environmental Defence
Report [PDF] >

Seeking a Balance

Seeking a Balance: Assessing the Future Impacts of Conservation and Development in the Mackenzie Watershed
Growing industrial disturbance will fragment intact areas of Boreal Forest if development continues according to present plans. These changes would eliminate Woodland Caribou populations in the region and would reduce the abundance of songbirds, such as a predicted 60% decline in the Black-throated Green Warbler population.
Canadian Boreal Initiative
Report [PDF] >

Oil Sands Report Card

Under-Mining the Environment: The Oil Sands Report Card
The average score of all companies assessed in this report was 33% (out of 100), highlighting the need for substantial improvement in the environmental performance of oil sands mining operations.
WWF-Canada/Pembina Institutue
Report [PDF] >

Fort Chipewyan Water Report

A Study of Water and Sediment Quality as Related to Public Health Issues, Fort Chipewyan, Alberta
This independent report examined water and sediment quality indicators in the area of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta. It finds that the people and biota of the Athabasca River Delta and western Lake Athabasca are exposed to higher levels of some contaminants than are those upstream. It recommends that further studies be undertaken to address the cause health issues in Fort Chipewyan.
Treeline Ecological Research
Report [PDF] >

USFWS Birding Analysis

Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis
Just how popular is birding in the United States? This report provides up-to-date information so birders and policy makers can make informed decisions regarding the protection of birds and their habitats. This report identifies who birders are, where they live, how avid they are, where they bird and what kinds of birds they watch.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Report [PDF] >

Ontario Fish Report

Freshwater Fish in Ontario's Boreal: Status, Conservation and Potential Impacts of Development
This comprehensive review of freshwater fish conservation issues focuses on the Boreal Forest in Ontario. Find information about the impact that development has on aquatic ecosystems in forests, including habitat conversion, over-fishing and pollution, and mercury contamination. Also find recommendations for ensuring that the mistakes of the past are not repeated in northern Boreal Forest land.
Wildlife Conservation Society Canada
Summary [PDF] >
Full report [PDF] >

Consuming the Boreal Report

Consuming the Boreal Forest: The Chain of Destruction from Logging Companies to Consumers
Canadian, American, and European corporations are fueling the destruction of Canada’s Boreal Forest to create everyday consumer products. The report names high profile and recognizable customers of logging and pulp companies Kruger, Abitibi-Consolidated, SFK Pulp and Bowater. Rona, Coles/Indigo, Harlequin Books, Time Inc, Best Buy, Sears, Waz Essen and OfficeMax are among the more than thirty five customers named.
Greenpeace
Report [PDF] >

Driving It Home

Driving It Home
The mounting quest for oil alternatives threatens drastic increases in heat-trapping global warming pollution and severe impacts on popular habitats across the United States and Western Canada unless clear safeguards are adopted quickly. The warning comes as lawmakers are facing growing pressure to give huge new subsidies and other incentives to companies involved liquid coal, oil shale and tar sands.
NRDC
Report [PDF] >

Birds and the Mackenzie Gas Project

Birds and the Mackenzie Gas Project
Seven Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in the Northwest Territories are discussed due to concerns that they could be affected by Mackenzie Gas Project-related activities. This data was presented to Canada's Joint Review Panel as an Intervener Report.
Nature Canada
Report [PDF] >

Robbing the Carbon Bank

Robbing the Carbon Bank: Global Warming and Ontario's Forests
Robbing the Carbon Bank represents the first comprehensive attempt to expose the impacts of logging Ontario’s intact boreal forest on global warming. The report finds, among other startling facts, that Canada’s boreal forests store a whopping 47.5 billion tons of carbon – 7 times the entire world’s fossil fuel emissions – a giant carbon bank account.
Forest Ethics
Report [PDF] >

Global Forest Watch Canada Report on Ontario

Recent Anthropogenic Changes within the Boreal Forests of Ontario and Their Potential Impacts on Woodland Caribou
The results of a survey of logging, road building and other human disturbances in Ontario’s boreal forests reveals that the region is being rapidly impacted by logging and associated roads. The study was undertaken using satellite imagery and analysis.
Global Forest Watch Canada
Report [PDF] >

Report: The Real Wealth of the Mackenzie Region

The Real Wealth of the Mackenzie Region
The ecological goods and services provided by nature in the Mackenzie watershed region are estimated to be 10 times the total economic value generated by natural capital extraction industries and other activities within the watershed.
Canadian Boreal Initiative
Summary [PDF] >

Full report [PDF] >

Birdwatcher's Guide to Global Warming

The Birdwatcher's Guide to Global Warming
Recent studies indicate that global warming could affect birds in many ways, shifting their distributions and altering their migration behavior and habitat, and even diminishing their survival ability.
American Bird Conservancy/National Wildlife Federation
Report [PDF] >


Bird Species and Climate Change Report

Bird Species and Climate Change
A synthesis of current scientific understanding of anthropogenic climate change impacts on global bird species now, and projected future effects.
World Wildlife Foundation/Climate Risk
Summary [PDF] >

Full report [PDF] >

Oil Sands Fever: The Environmental Implications of Canada's Oil Sands Rush
Alberta is now Canada's pollution capital for industrial air pollutants. And the oil sands are the single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions growth in Canada. A more positive future is possible.
The Pembina Institute
Full report [PDF] >

2° is Too Much! Implications of Global Warming for Canada's Water Resources
Canada has a precious liquid treasure that we cannot afford to squander. It is not too late. We can still avoid dangerous impacts from global warming if serious, immediate, and sustained action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Sage Center/World Wildlife Fund Canada

Overview brochure [PDF] >
Full report [PDF] >

Counting Canada's Natural Capital: Assessing the Real Value of Canada's Boreal Ecosystems
The economic value of the non-market services provided by the Boreal region is over two times greater than the net market value of resource extraction activities. The value of the current total carbon stored in Canada's Boreal is estimated at $3.7 trillion.
The Pembina Institute

Full report [PDF] >

The Boreal Forest Region: North America's Bird Nursery
The Boreal Forest Region is vital to the abundance of bird life in the U.S. and Canada. Nearly half of all North American birds (325 species) rely on the Boreal, and over 300 of those species regularly breed there.
Bird Studies Canada/Boreal Songbird Initiative

Full report [PDF] >

Christmas Bird Count Report

The Importance of the Christmas Bird Count to Our Understanding of Boreal Bird Populations
In the United States, winter bird communities are often overwhelmingly made up of Boreal bird species. On many CBCs, Boreal birds make up 50-90 percent of the species tallied, even in the southern United States.
Boreal Songbird Initiative

Full report [PDF] >

The Boreal in the Balance: Securing The Future of Canada's Boreal Region
Canada's Boreal region offers a tremendous opportunity for conservation at a large scale, but there is a diminishing window of time to plan for conservation solutions.
Candian Boreal Initiative
Full report [PDF] >

Boreal Futures: Governance, Conservation and Development in Canada's Boreal: State of the Debate
This report examines the state of the boreal region today, and makes recommendations to achieve sustainability in this nationally – and globally – significant region.
National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE)
Full report [PDF] >

Canada's Large Intact Forest Landscapes
Intact forest landscapes are becoming increasingly rare at the global level, due in large part to their vulnerability to the effects of large-scale human interventions – effects that are not easily or quickly reversed.
Global Forest Watch
Executive summary [PDF] >

Canada's Boreal Forest: Vital to North American Bird Life
The fate of much of the continent's bird life depends on the future of the Boreal Forest.
Canadian Boreal Initiative/Boreal Songbird Initiative
Full report [PDF] >

State of the Birds: USA: 2004
How are our nation's birds really faring? Audubon's science team has pooled the best data available since Silent Spring to report on their overall health. Depending on the habitat in which they live, they could be flying high or sinking fast.
National Audubon Society
Full report [web link] >

Bringing Down The Boreal: How U.S. Consumption of Forest Products is Destroying Canada's Endangered Northern Forests
The logging of the Boreal Forest has a surprisingly strong connection to the United States. The United States is the primary market for Canadian Boreal Forest products.
Forest Ethics
Full report [PDF] >

Through the Trees: The Truth Behind Logging in Canada
Unchecked industrial development will degrade forest ecosystems and lead to species extinction and declines in ecosystem functioning.
Greenpeace/National Resources Defense Council/Forest Ethics
Full report [PDF] >

Importance of Canada's Boreal Forest to Landbirds
This report illustrates just how important the boreal forest is to landbirds across North America, the Western Hemisphere and globally, by examining broad patterns in their population sizes, trends and links to wintering grounds.
Bird Studies Canada
Executive summary [PDF] >
Full report [PDF] >

America's Gas Tank

America's Gas Tank: The High Cost of Canada's Oil and Export Strategy
Canada, not Saudi Arabia, is the single largest supplier of oil and gas to the United States. This report shows that United States demand for fossil fuels is destroying Canadian air, land, and water resources.
NRDC/Sierra Club of Canada
Full report [PDF] >

Ecology & Society

Ecological Sustainability of Birds in Boreal Forests
This paper focuses on boreal bird populations as one aspect of the Boreal system to be sustained, and also on the role birds play in sustaining the Boreal system.
The Resiliance Alliance
Paper [web link] >

Resolution Supporting Protection of the Boreal Forest
This resolution is regarding protection of bird habitat in North America's Boreal Forest.
American Bird Conservancy Policy Council
Resolution text [web link] >

Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) Resolution
This resolution is in support of $100 million in funding for the Neotripical Migratory Bird Conservation Act and supporting changes to enhance bird conservation.
American Bird Conservancy Policy Council
Resolution text [web link] >

   

Find Boreal media in our News Database

81% of Cape May Warblers breed in the Boreal

Support the Conservation Framework to protect the Boreal

 
Banner photo credit: Northern Images, by Wayne Sawchuck