The boreal forest, or taiga, extends in North America from the base of the Seward Peninsula in western Alaska eastwards through Yukon, the southwestern parts of the Northwest Territories, the northern parts of the Prairie Provinces, narrows around James Bay, then across Quebec and Newfoundland (Rowe 1959). Over this distance of about 6,200 kilometres it varies from 500 to 900 kilometres wide, and occupies 17 percent of the land area of the continent. It exhibits several variants, such as the wet rain forest of the Pacific slopes of British Columbia, the spruce-fir-birch forest of northern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the pines-hemlock forest of the northern watersheds of the Great Lakes, the pine and spruce of Quebec and the Maritime Provinces and the dense black spruce forest of Newfoundland (Shelford 1913; Shelford and Olson 1935). Even with these variants it is recognizable as a single type. In the early days of ecological classification it was known as the spruce-moose biome (Benton and Werner 1958; Shelford and Olson 1935).

Because the taiga, depending on its exact definition, encompasses between 25 and 40 percent of the land area of Canada there is great concern among taiga specialists about the long-term effects of changes to the forest and its animals. Unfortunately, the concern is unfocussed; indeed, we know relatively little about the intricate operations of the taiga ecosystems. Some of the basic physical relationships of the climate and the trees have received recent attention; e.g.- Project BOREAS (funded mainly by NASA), as well as studies by Forestry Canada (and others) on carbon storage (Krankina and Harmon, 1994), but food webs, energy flow, population dynamics of vertebrates as well as invertebrates, even distributions of some vertebrate species are known only sketchily. An important recent paper by Willson (1996) indicates the types of ecological processes and interactions that could be studied in future at Taiga Biological Station.

There are many threats to the integrity of the taiga ecosystems. Most publicity has focussed on the clear-cutting of the West Coast rain forest and the mountain forests of British Columbia while the threats to the rest of the taiga ecosystems are not generally recognized (Jardine, 1994). There is, however, wide-spread loss of the top carnivores, the wolf, the wolverine and, in the west, the grizzly bear. Populations of other species, such as white-tailed deer and moose, are distorted because of "management" for sports hunting. Populations of some species of carnivores are modified by management or by lack of control of "recreational trapping." For one important species, woodland caribou, there is widespread loss of the food base (lichens) because of clear-cutting and fires (Cumming and Beange, 1993; Pruitt, 1997). Sometimes the loss of this food base is not readily recognized, as when areas of lichens surviving after fire become unavailable and travel by caribou impossible because of thick deadfall of fire-killed trees (Schaefer and Pruitt, 1991). Over wide areas the vegetation has changed from the ground lichens and arboreal lichens of the stable-aged forest to that of the vegetation of pioneer and early successional stages. There is interference with populations of wolves and caribou because of roads associated with mining, pulping and lumbering. In spite of our knowing we should not do it, extractive roads are still being pushed into wilderness areas. For example: in the woodland caribou winter range of the Prairie Creek and Redrock Creek regions of Alberta and here in Manitoba an all-weather road on the east side of Lake Winnipeg (visit MNS Parks Committee web page for details) to allow invasion of areas of caribou winter range for clear-cutting. There is interference with woodland caribou fawning sites by tourist activities such as camping on critical points and islands.

The present distribution of taiga ecosystems across the continent is the result of about 10,000 years of development of soils and shuffling of plant and animal species and communities. The vegetation zones projected by Environment Canada that would result from doubling of atmospheric C0₂ show loss of most of the taiga with only isolated remnants surviving. Until we become much more familiar with the workings of the systems we cannot differentiate which human activities are really detrimental and which are more benign.

I began Taiga Biological Station (TBS) in 1973 from donated materials and by volunteer labour. It is situated 5 kilometres from a road, accessible only by canoe, ski or snowmobile, north of Wallace Lake, Manitoba, at 51°02'40" North Lat., 95°20'40" West Long. Our past studies have concentrated on the area from Wallace Lake north to Aikens Lake and from the Ontario border west to the Broadleaf River and Leaf Lake. The area has been partly within and partly without Atikaki Provincial Wilderness Park, as the boundaries have been shifted by the Provincial Government. TBS consists of four log buildings with an inventory of scientific equipment (microscope, radiotelemetry materials, snow instruments, live traps, etc.) and bush equipment (skis, canoes, outboard motors, chainsaw, snowmobile, sleds and so forth). We also have a small library of field guides, life history accounts and basic natural history books. Our most valuable asset is our location; in a region that has a complete pre-contact mammal fauna, including wolves, wolverine, fisher, woodland caribou and other species.

Dr. William O. Pruitt, Jr.

TBS is dedicated to the study of the animals and plants of the taiga in an undisturbed condition. We have produced a total of 50 graduate theses and scientific publications, such as studies of woodland caribou before and after fire, home ranges and interrelationships of marten and fisher with snow cover, effect of subnivean carbon dioxide accumulation on small mammals, ecology of beavers, wolves, activity of invertebrates under the snow cover, etc. (See Bibliography of Theses and Scientific Publications from Taiga Biological Station). These studies have been supported by research grants from various agencies. Long-term support has been from the Taiga Biological Station Research Trust, administered by the Fort Whyte Foundation, which brings in enough funds each year to support a graduate student resident at the Station. I have calculated that Taiga Biological Station has brought in to the area somewhat more than a quarter of a million dollars in research funds.

In 1977 we established a series of 6 one-acre study plots in a spectrum of vegetation types on which we have regularly sampled the populations of small mammals and vegetation recovery after fire. Dr. Karen Johnson, Curator of Botany at the Manitoba Museum, also has numerous study plots for her long-term research of vegetation recovery after fire.

The most important habitat changes to the research area were caused by a series of massive forest fires during the drought years of the 1980s. We have parlayed these disasters into research opportunities, so that all our studies now have a "burn recovery" component. Of course, all our studies also have a strong winter-ecology slant.

The time has come to repeat some of our earlier studies such as on wolves, woodland caribou and mink; to extend the work to include studies on black bears, snowshoe hares and lynx. We need basic work on bogland and upland bog water relations. The extensive upland bogs are critical to survival of woodland caribou, yet we know very little about how they would be affected by ditching, draining and pulping-cutting activities sometimes a number of kilometres away. Some of the small upland lakes have been leased to wild rice businesses which add biocides and fertilizers as well as change water levels by damming or by blasting channels through rock ridges. We have no idea how these changes affect water quality and supply to villages of aboriginal people downstream. We also need detailed delimitation of food webs, not only in the undisturbed forest but also how various intensities of cutting affect them. Because of our extensive data base I look on Taiga Biological Station as a centre of research; we should become the focus of data collection, research and monitoring for all mid-continent taiga.

Our activities have not been restricted to research. A total of about 500 university students have participated in week-long winter field trips during which they have undertaken a series of day-long field exercises, under frequently-rigorous conditions, which demonstrate aspects of mammalogy and boreal ecology. We also have given natural history labs at the primary school in the nearby village of Bissett and have hosted Natural History Days for such groups as Outward Bound, the Manitoba Wilderness Corps and St. John's Ravenscourt School.

Continuity of the research and teaching is not assured, however. I retired from the University of Manitoba on 30 June 1996. I know that because of drastic reductions in University finances I will not be replaced. Such a situation would leave Taiga Biological Station vulnerable to quick dissolution. I believe that the best way to ensure the safety, continuity and expansion of the existing data set is to establish at the University of Manitoba a Chair of Natural History of the Boreal Forest. Across Canada there are several Chairs concerned with aspects of the Boreal Forest. These are all, however, associated with exploitation (e.g. - forestry, wildlife management). An endowed Chair such as I visualize would enable the occupant to attract outside funding so as to continue a planned, logical sequence of research at TBS. The program would ensure that topics of less popular or commercial appeal but great scientific implication would not be neglected because of lack of outside funds. Many of our studies have furnished basic data to guide regulatory agencies as well as users of boreal forest resources towards responsible activities. An endowed Chair would also ensure that the Department of Zoology could continue to offer such field-oriented courses as Mammalogy and Boreal Ecology. These courses are the incubators for future field scientists.

The Office of Private Funding of the University of Manitoba estimates that a fund of $2 million is required to establish a fully-endowed Chair. They require a "lead gift" of about one-half this amount before they will launch a campaign. Now, University professors and field biologists, by their very nature, have little accumulated reserve to contribute to such a fund. What is needed are philanthropists who might be interested in supporting this proposal. I request that each of you distribute photocopies of this Proposal to potential sponsors.