Standing Tall: Forests for Life
Background: Endangered Forests
The Acadian Forest region covers the Maritimes and parts of New England. Its unique and diverse mixture of trees is found nowhere else on the planet. It is a meeting place, where the northern Boreal Forest blends with southern hardwoods, creating a remarkable variety of forest ecosystems.
The Acadian Forest: Endangered!
The World Wildlife Fund rates the Acadian Forest among the most endangered in North America. Over three hundred years of logging and land clearing has drastically reduced and changed the native forests of this region. Now, what remains of the natural mix of hardwoods and softwoods are being cut and transformed into softwood tree farms. Today, only a tiny fraction of old growth Acadian Forest (PDF, 160 kb) remains in Nova Scotia.
Our Acadian Forest has Old Roots
The Acadian Forest is ancient; it has been developing since the last Ice Age. Many of our trees naturally reach ages ranging from 200 to more than 400 years old. These include towering white pines, majestic red spruce, blazing sugar maples, solid yellow birch, and the grandmother of them all, the hemlock – which can live to be 800 years old. The Acadian Forest is made up of trees of all ages, with younger trees poised to replace dying older ones.
Read more about Nova Scotia’s Acadian Forest!