A recently completed resource road crossing a wetland utilizing angular aggregate as a porous road base layer. The layer can provide for surface and shallow subsurface water passage. |
A high concentration of animals can be found in Canada's wetlands, including waterfowl, ducks, geese, loons, herons, mallards, swans, minks, raccoons, moose, fish, invertebrates, and some endangered species. With over 450 species of birds found in Canada, half of them use the boreal forest, and up to five billion migrate south and back each year. Many of these animals rely heavily on the wetlands to provide shelter and food and would become displaced if food supplies were disrupted or the wetlands were to disappear altogether.
With Canada being home to 25 percent of the world's boreal forests, it occupies over 6,000,000 square kilometers, of which more than 30 percent is boreal wetlands. Although Canada's boreal forest contains large wilderness areas (with about half still undisturbed by roads, cities or industrial development), landscape changes, resource development and climate change all have impacts on its natural resources and wildlife.
Wetlands benefit humanity greatly by providing flood control, storage of carbon, water purification/filtration, and shoreline protection. The more we understand how human activity impacts wetlands, the more we can work towards sustainable solutions to conserving wetlands and the wildlife that relies on it. Collaboration between SFI, Ducks Unlimited Canada, FPInnovations, and SFI program participants, is supporting responsible management of the boreal forest wetlands.
Sustainable Solutions
Road development may have impacts on waterfowl habitat as well as wetland hydrology. However, there is considerable uncertainty that remains regarding the impacts that these resource roads have on wetland processes and ecological values. There has been some debate surrounding what the most effective planning, construction and maintenance methods are when it comes to reducing the impacts of resource roads on wetlands.