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Thank Canada for 35.9 Million Acres Protected

The Perfect Gift for the Birder(s) in Your Life

Help Us Make 2008 A Successful Year

In November, Prime Minister Harper announced the protection of 25.5 million acres in Canada’s Northwest Territories – one of the largest conservation actions in the history of North America. Harper has announced several other protections recently, for a grand total of 35.9 million acres of Boreal Forest protected this year. Thank Harper for protecting Nahanni National Park, East Arm Great Slave Lake National Park, and other key areas.

Send a thank-you letter >
More about protections >

Stuff those stockings with the Birder’s Conservation Handbook by our own Senior Scientist, Dr. Jeff Wells. A handsome volume in hardcover or paperback, the Handbook outlines North America’s top 100 species at risk, and explains how we can help these imperiled birds. Called “a gold mine,” “a valuable guide,” and a “new classic,” the Birder’s Conservation Handbook is this year's must-have for any birder’s bookshelf.

Get 'em while they're hot >

We are proud of the many successes we have accomplished throughout 2007. Our list of goals continues to grow as we look forward to 2008. Your tax-deductible contributions have meant so much to our efforts. Please consider a year-end donation to the Boreal Songbird Initiative. Through January 31, give $100 or more and we’ll send you a bag of Boreal Blend Coffee and a signed copy of the Birder’s Conservation Handbook.

Donate to BSI today >

Boreal Awards Celebrate First Nations, Industry, and Young Rappers

What do Aboriginal communities, teen rap musicians, and a U.S. lingerie company have in common? According to the Boreal Leadership Council – plenty; they have all been instrumental in helping to conserve Canada’s Boreal Forest and in raising awareness of its global importance. This year’s Boreal Awards went to the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation; the Poplar River First Nation; Limited Brands (parent company of Victoria’s Secret); and George Woodhouse, Blake Godward, and David Lawless – three 10th graders from Owen Sound, Ontario, who created a rap song and music video about the Boreal Forest. The video is spreading through YouTube and will be screened at an environmental film festival in California next year.

Check out the video on YouTube >
More about the 2007 Boreal Awards >

Boreal Birds Vacationing in the U.S. This Winter

Canada’s Boreal Forest is the Fort Knox of Carbon Storage

“Wish Crook” Highlights Sears’ Role in Forest Destruction

Although wintry weather is barely upon us, birders in northern border states from Minnesota to Maine are already enjoying one of the occasional joys of winter birding – an influx of boreal irruptive species like Bohemian Waxwing, Pine Grosbeak, Evening Grosbeak, and Common Redpoll. The early fall months have already seen a sizable irruption of Red-breasted Nuthatches, Purple Finches, and Pine Siskins out of Canada's Boreal Forest to areas as far south as Georgia.

Find out which Boreal birds you can expect in your backyard this winter >

Pre-eminent ecologist Dr. David Schindler describes Canada’s Boreal Forest as “a bank vault containing one of the world’s most valuable resources for impacting climate change.” 186 million billion tons of carbon are locked inside the Boreal ecosystem – the equivalent to 27 years worth of the world's carbon emissions in 2003 from the burning of fossil fuels. At the UN Climate Convention in Bali, BSI and its partners unveiled key maps outlining carbon storage in the Boreal’s peat, permafrost, and soil, revealing to the international community the vital role the Boreal Forest plays in mitigating global warming.

See the Boreal carbon maps >

When Sears announced its 188-page Holiday Wish Book this season, conservation group ForestEthics made a wish of its own. Interrupting Sears’ holiday celebration in New York’s Times Square, ForestEthics introduced its “Wish Crook” – highlighting Sears’ destructive paper policy. Sears mails more than a million catalogs a day, and they’re made almost entirely of trees rather than recycled content. Many of those trees come from vital bird habitat in the Boreal. This event launched a full-scale campaign to change Sears’ paper policy for the better.

Get Sears out of the Boreal >
Download Wish Crook >
Download Naughty/Nice List >

A Town’s Toxic Questions:
Is Oil Development Causing Cancer?

CBC News investigates health problems in Alberta's Fort Chipewyan. Locals believe and research suggests that increased rates of death from cancers and other diseases in this small community are related to the Alberta Tar Sands production facilities upriver from the town.

Watch the video >

Boreal Songbird Initiative E-Update, December 2007