Canada’s Boreal Forest

Striking a balance between conservation and development

This video is hosted by YouTube. In order to view it, you must consent to the use of “Marketing Cookies” by updating your preferences in the Cookie Settings link below. View on YouTube

This video is hosted by YouTube. In order to view it, you must consent to the use of “Marketing Cookies” by updating your preferences in the Cookie Settings link below. View on YouTube

“There’s not many places like this left,” says Chris Smith, wildlife biologist. With more than 35 years of experience, Smith heads Ducks Unlimited Canada’s boreal conservation programs, managing the nonprofit group’s science-based efforts to protect forest and wetlands in the region.

The boreal region of Canada stretches across more than a billion acres, and is one of the largest intact forest ecosystems on Earth. Pew’s International Boreal Conservation Campaign encourages a balance between development and conservation and works with the people who live there to achieve that goal. People of the Boreal is a multimedia project that tells the stories of those who have the most to gain or lose from decisions about how the region is managed.

Learn more about Ducks Unlimited Canada biologist Chris Smith, and view the entire People of the Boreal series.

Chris Smith, at work in a boreal marsh near his home in Cranberry Portage, Manitoba
Chris Smith, at work in a boreal marsh near his home in Cranberry Portage, Manitoba
Article

Conservation and Development in the Boreal Forest

Chris Smith seeks a healthy environment and economy that help Canadian woodlands—and its people—thrive

Quick View
Article

Chris Smith seeks a healthy environment and economy that help Canadian woodlands—and its people—thrive.

Pimachiowin Aki Boreal Forest
Pimachiowin Aki Boreal Forest
Article

People of the Boreal

See one of the last great forest regions on Earth—and meet the people who call it home.

Quick View
Article

See one of the last great forest regions on Earth—and meet the people who call it home.