Jeff Wells, writing on www.borealbirds.org, has good reason to be thankful. And so have we. This week, the province of Ontario put millions of acres of boreal forest, the nesting grounds for billions of “our” migratory and wintering songbirds, under protection. Read the full letter of thanks here; it is absolutely lovely.

From the Canadian Press on google (the full story can be found here) :

A massive swath of northern Ontario boreal forest, considered the world’s largest carbon storehouse, will be off-limits to forestry and mining activities… Premier Dalton McGuinty said Monday.

McGuinty offered few details, but said the government would consult industry, environmentalists, aboriginal communities and other local residents to develop a plan over 10 to 15 years that would protect half of the province’s pristine boreal forest from commercial activities.

“It’s home to the largest untouched forest in Canada and the third largest wetland in the world,” McGuinty said of Ontario’s boreal forest.

If you, like me, raised your eyebrows at the 10-15 year time horizon, you can feed your healthy skepticism here.