Pioneer forests

As shown in this map showing intact forest landscapes, the large strip on the east side of the Great Northern Peninsula is quite noticeable. A walk in this Pioneer forest today would feel much the same as when the Beothuks lived here, when the Vikings sailed along the coast, or when the first English and French people eventually settled. Through a process that we do not completely understand, the wet climate of the eastern coastal valleys seem to suppre ss fire and insect outbreaks.

The Great Northern Peninsula area is the best,
relatively intact example of the
boreal old-growth forest

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Key role in climate change

Climate change and forests are intrinsically linked. On one hand, changes in global climate are already stressing forests through higher mean annual temperatures, altered precipitation patterns and more frequent and extreme weather events. At the same time, forests and the wood they produce, trap and store carbon dioxide, playing a major role in mitigating climage change. And on the flip side of the coin, when destroyed or over-harvested and burned, forests can become sources of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. When fossil fuels are burned they release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to an atmospheric carbon dioxide increase that, in turn, contributes to global warming and climate change.

Trees and forests help alleviate these changes by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converting it during photosynthesis to carbon, which they then "store" in the form of wood and vegetation, a process referred to as "carbon sequestration."

Trees are generally about 20 percent carbon by weight. In addition to the trees themselves, the overall biomass of forests also acts as a "carbon sink." For instance, the organic matter in forest soils - such as the humus produced by the decomposition of dead plant material - also acts as a carbon store.
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/focus/2006/1000247/index.html

Wide-range of specialized species

The boreal forest teems with life, from tiny fragile lichens, various edible berries and small colorful songbirds to some of the world's largest remaining populations of woodland caribou, black bear, and smaller mammals such as Lynx, Beaver, Mink and Hare The boreal region filters millions of litres of water on an average day, stores carbon, produces oxygen, rebuilds soils and restores nutrients, holds back floodwaters and releases needed water into rivers and streams and provides food and shelter for hundreds of species, big and small, including humans.

In imminent danger...

This area on the east side of the Great Northern Peninsula is currently untouched. However, it is slated to be included in the upcoming five-year plan for Forest Management district #17. A forest access road extending eastward towards this crucial natural gem will remove all the old-growth characteristics of the pioneer forests as it stands now.

The amount of fiber to be removed from this area is said to be "only" 16,000 m³ PER YEAR. This, however might not be seem like a lot, but it will prove to be devastating to the structure of the whole eastern environment, the tranquility and peaceful serenity that exists there now.

Outfitting industry

The ACCESS is also an issue for the current highly successful outfitting operations that are ongoing in the area, and have been for the past number of years. The access road will open up the East side of the Great Northern Peninsula. Any amounts of activity on the back steps of the outfitter lodges would be detrimental to their whole marketing concept of a "remote" hunt.

Forest access roads are the least understood sources of impacts on wild places and wild species. Many people understand the impacts of logging, mining or other developments on natural areas, few people appreciate the dramatic impact of roads. But despite their low profile, roads - particularly poorly planned roads, are a real and growing threat!

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Wildlands League has published a very informative report, which can serve as a real eye-opener to some of us.

The report goes on to describe and discuss such items as:

• Why roads are a problem.
  
• How roads increase pressure on wildlife.
  
• Roads open forests to increasing industrial use.
  
• Roads change the place.
  
• Roads can be toxic.
  
• Water and Roads: A bad mix.

The report can be found at http://www.wildlandsleague.org/attachments/Roads.Report.pdf