Canadian policies impacting US songbird populations

Canadian policies impacting US songbird populations
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As a Canadian I want to apologize to all my American friends on Huffington Post about what our policies up North are doing to the cute little chickadees and warblers you see in your backyard.

While those of us already familiar with the Canadian Boreal Forest are deeply aware of its ecological importance, many are still surprised when they learn how threatened it is. In addition to storing the equivalent of 27 years worth of the world's carbon emissions from fossil fuels, the Boreal Forest also acts as the summer nesting grounds for billions of migratory birds. Nearly 50% of the 700 species common to the United States and Canada rely on the Boreal Forest for their existence.

Unfortunately, only 12% of this vital forest has been permanently protect, whereas over 30% has already been designated for logging and energy development. Development and human impact has taken a tremendous toll on North American birds, which was highlighted by the Interior Department's State of the Birds Report in March.

To make matters worse, a report by the National Audubon Society in February found more than half of the 305 bird species studied have moved their wintering grounds further north as a result of rising temperatures from global warming. These findings only reemphasize the importance of maintaining a healthy Boreal Forest, as declining bird populations moving further north will depend on the pristine forests for their survival.

A host of environmental organizations and scientists have been working on getting the Boreal into Canada's political agenda, and two Canadian premiers (similar to governor in the US) have announced their ambitions to protect 50% of their Boreal Forests from development. But the work isn't over - neither province has put these announcements formally into law, and other provinces like oil-rich Alberta have shown little concern for the Boreal.

In response, a group of environmental organizations, led by the Boreal Songbird Initiative, have started a petition urging Canadian leaders to protect more of the Boreal Forest and put existing commitments into law. They have already gathered nearly 60,000 signatures, and hope to bump that number up before its release next week.

I wonder what Steven Colbert thinks about Canada impacting on his much loved American Bald Eagle?

Again, apologies from the Great White North.

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