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Thursday, February 25, 2010
Dear Reader,
Our 2010 is off to a wonderful start, and we hope yours is too. We're pleased to have so much positive news to share with you this month about birds and Canada's Boreal Forest – enjoy!
Boreal Protection Announced in Labrador
 Canada's government has announced North America's newest national park, which will cover 3,800 square miles (10,700 km2) in Labrador. The Mealy Mountains National Park will be larger than Yellowstone and Yosemite combined and contains some of the world's oldest Boreal Forest. The area will act as a vital refuge for threatened species in the Boreal, including woodland caribou as well as White-crowned Sparrow, Blackpoll Warbler, and the eastern population of Harlequin Duck.
Read article in The New York Times >
Read Dr. Wells' blog post >
Report Identifies Aboriginal Knowledge as Key to Boreal Forest Conservation
 The traditional knowledge of Canada’s Aboriginal people offers Western scientists a vitally important information source, especially as the Boreal Forest faces increasing threats from climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation, and invasive species. We've recently co-released a report, Conservation Value of the North American Boreal Forest from an Ethnobotanical Perspective, which describes the deep ecological knowledge that only comes from millenia of living off the land. The report also notes that the subsistence value of Canada's Boreal Forest to Aboriginal people is estimated to reach up to $575 million.
Learn more about the report >
Read our Senior Scientist Dr. Jeff Wells' blog post >
Listen to radio interview with Dr. Nancy Turner about the report >
We're Tweeting for Boreal Birds
 It's official – we've joined the ranks of the tweeters we work to protect, and started Tweeting. What better way to get the word out about Boreal birds than with Tweets? We're not sure if the birds can understand us, but you can – just follow us on your Twitter account and get the regular scoop on all things Boreal and birds. (If Tweeting isn't your style, you can also find us on Facebook and our blog.)
Follow BSI on Twitter >
Become BSI's fan on Facebook >
Read our Boreal Bird Blog >
Protect Boreal Birds in Canada and the U.S.
 In Canada, our partner Nature Canada is focusing on the Suffield National Wildlife Area, an important area for grassland birds and wetland Boreal birds that have seen steep declines, including Common Nighthawk and Short-eared Owl (Species at Risk) and Rusty Blackbird (Species of Special Concern).
Ask Ministers Prentice and MacKay to protect Suffield National Wildlife Area >
In the U.S., our partner Ducks Unlimited seeks to protect wetlands that serve as wintering grounds and stopover habitat for many migratory Boreal species, including Bufflehead, Northern Pintail, American Black Duck, Green-winged Teal, Trumpeter Swan, Ring-necked Duck, and the endangered Whooping Crane.
Ask President Obama and the EPA to protect U.S. wetlands >
We Love WeLoveBirds.org and You Will Too
 Two of our partners, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, have created WeLoveBirds.org, an online community where bird-lovers can share stories and information about birds and help protect birds from activities that harm them and their habitat. We're honored to be a featured guest blogger on the site, where you can also find nest cams, upload photos and videos, ask other members questions about bird identification, read bird news from around the world, and access a library of bird information.
Fly on over to WeLoveBirds.org >
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