Cascade Mountains leeward forests

The Cascade Mountains leeward forests are a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of North America, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) categorization system.

Cascade Mountains leeward forests
Stein Valley Nlaka'pamux Heritage Park
Ecology
Realm	Nearctic
Biome	Temperate coniferous forests
Borders	List British Columbia mainland coastal forests Central and Southern Cascades forests Eastern Cascades forests Fraser Plateau and Basin complex Okanagan dry forests Palouse grasslands
Bird species	187[1]
Mammal species	81[1]
Geography
Area	46,300 km2 (17,900 sq mi)
Countries	Canada United States
States	British Columbia Washington
Conservation
Conservation status	Relatively Stable/Intact
Habitat loss	67.07%[1]
Protected	43.48%[1]

Setting

This is a band of mountain habitat running north–south along the leeward side of the Cascade Mountains in British Columbia, Canada and Washington, United States, with the Okanagan Highland to the south on the US-Canada border and the Chilcotin Ranges to the north.^[2]

This is a varied mountain landscape of rugged, snowy peaks, glaciers and alpine meadows. In the southern ranges the temperature varies from 15 °C (59 °F) in summer to −3.5 °C (26 °F) in winter with the northern ranges 2–3 °C (4–5 °F) cooler.

Flora

Higher elevation subalpine slopes are home to Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii), subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) while lower montane forests consist of lodgepole pine, quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), white spruce (Picea glauca) and Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir.

Fauna

Wildlife of the mountains includes bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus), grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) and black bear (Ursus americanus), black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus), coyote (Canis latrans) and cougar (Puma concolor couguar)^[2] with smaller mammals such as the northern flying squirrel. The birds include spotted owl, dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) and a number of birds of prey. The Fraser River is particularly important for salmon and also acts as a barrier to the movement of wildlife within the region.

Threats and preservation

Most of this forest is still intact although threatened by logging, mining and other human intervention. Large blocks of intact forest include North Cascades National Park in Washington and the following areas of British Columbia; Big Creek Provincial Park and Spruce Lake Protected Area, the Stein Valley Nlaka'pamux Heritage Park, E. C. Manning Provincial Park, Tsʼilʔos Provincial Park, Cathedral Provincial Park and Protected Area, Skagit Valley Provincial Park, Marble Range Provincial Park, Cascade Recreation Area and Edge Hills Provincial Park near Fraser Canyon.

See also

• List of ecoregions in Canada (WWF)
• List of ecoregions in the United States (WWF)

References

1. Hoekstra, J. M.; Molnar, J. L.; Jennings, M.; Revenga, C.; Spalding, M. D.; Boucher, T. M.; Robertson, J. C.; Heibel, T. J.; Ellison, K. (2010). Molnar, J. L. (ed.). The Atlas of Global Conservation: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities to Make a Difference. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-26256-0.
2. "Cascade Mountains leeward forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.

External links

• Media related to Cascade Mountains leeward forests at Wikimedia Commons

Nearctic temperate coniferous forests ecoregions v t e
Alberta Mountain forests	Canada
Alberta-British Columbia foothills forests	Canada
Arizona Mountains forests	United States
Atlantic coastal pine barrens	United States
Blue Mountains forests	United States
British Columbia mainland coastal forests	Canada, United States
Cascade Mountains leeward forests	Canada, United States
Central and Southern Cascades forests	United States
Central British Columbia Mountain forests	Canada
Central Pacific coastal forests	Canada, United States
Colorado Rockies forests	United States
Eastern Cascades forests	Canada, United States
Fraser Plateau and Basin complex	Canada
Florida scrub	United States
Great Basin montane forests	United States
Haida Gwaii	Canada
Klamath-Siskiyou forests	United States
Middle Atlantic coastal forests	United States
North Central Rockies forests	Canada, United States
Northern California coastal forests	United States
Northern Pacific coastal forests	Canada, United States
Northern transitional alpine forests	Canada
Okanagan dry forests	Canada, United States
Piney Woods forests	United States
Puget lowland forests	Canada, United States
Sierra Juárez and San Pedro Mártir pine–oak forests	Mexico
Sierra Nevada forests	United States
South Central Rockies forests	United States
Southeastern conifer forests	United States
Wasatch and Uinta montane forests	United States