Globally Unique

The Inland Temperate Rainforest, stretching from the headwaters of the Fraser and Columbia Rivers to the northern extremes of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, is the only place on earth where temperate rainforests are found so far from any ocean.

Here, weather systems from the Pacific collide with the Columbia Mountains to create lush interior forests, important habitat for many unique plants and animals including the endangered mountain caribou.

Mountain caribou rely exclusively on extensive unbroken tracts of old-growth rainforest for food and security from predators.

Conservation Northwest works closely with Canadian and US allies to protect Canadian old-growth forests and transborder wildlife. Together, we use outreach, education, collaborative efforts, and industry and government accountability.

Our work is intended to maintain a landscape that supports wide-ranging species such as mountain caribou, grizzly bears, lynx, and bull trout.

Moving to sustainable forestry

It's the market for timber in the US that largely drives the clearcutting of old-growth forests in British Columbia. The BC province exports two-thirds of the wood products from its old-growth forests to customers in the US.

We support a vibrant timber industry and lumber trade between our two countries, but that industry must be ecologically sustainable. To that end we encourage Americans and Canadians to buy wood products only if they are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Protecting old-growth habitat is elemental to protecting rare forest-dependent wildlife including mountain caribou.