Midwestern Canadian Shield forests


The Midwestern Canadian Shield forests ecoregion, in the Taiga and Boreal forests Biome, are of northern Canada.

Setting

This is an area of rolling hills with lakes both small and large, wetlands, and rocky outcrops on the Canadian Shield in northern Saskatchewan, north-central Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. Specific areas include the Athabasca Sand Dunes, and many lakes such as Cree Lake, Upper Foster Lake and Reindeer Lake in Saskatchewan. The area has a cold climate, very cold in winter although the hills around Lac Seul are warmer and wetter than most of the ecoregion, while the Athabasca Plain and the uplands above the Churchill River and Hayes River are cooler. There are patches of permafrost throughout

Flora

Much of the landscape, including the Athabasca Plain, is the boreal forest that covers so much of Canada at this latitude, consisting of black spruce, jack pine, quaking aspen, white birch, balsam poplars, white spruce, and balsam fir. The dominant tree of the wetlands is black spruce, while the rocky outcrops are covered with lichens.

Fauna

Mammals of the ecoregion include moose, American black bear, woodland caribou, barren-ground caribou, Canada lynx, grey wolf, American beaver, North American river otter, American marten, stoat, fisher, muskrat, snowshoe hare, southern red-backed vole, American red squirrel and least chipmunk.
Birds include ducks, geese, American white pelican, sandhill crane, spruce grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, willow grouse, common nighthawk, red-tailed hawk, common raven, common loon, bald eagle, Canada jay, northern hawk owl, great horned owl, American herring gull and double-crested cormorant.

Threats and preservation

Most of the natural forest remains intact with most alteration having occurred in Manitoba due to logging, mining and hydro-electric power generation. Protected areas include Opasquia Provincial Park, Woodland Caribou Provincial Park and Pipestone River Provincial Park in northwestern Ontario, Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park in eastern Manitoba and Lac la Ronge and Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park in Saskatchewan.