Canada Is Now Home to the World’s Largest Stretch of Protected Boreal Forests

The province of Alberta has announced the creation of four new protected parks

By Brigit Katz

smithsonian.com 

More than half of Canada’s landmass is comprised of boreal forest—a vast and tree-filled region that extends across the country. To help conserve the forest, the province of Alberta has designated four new protected parks in its northeastern region, reports David Thurton of the CBC. When added to other contiguous conserved lands in Alberta, the new parks make up the largest stretch of protected boreal forests on the planet.

Logging and other industrial activities, like oil sands development, will not be permitted in the new parks, which have been named Kazan, Richardson, Dillon River and Birch River. As part of its conservation efforts, Alberta will also expand the existing Birch Mountains Wildland Provincial Park…