North Central Rockies forests
The North Central Rockies forests is a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of Canada and the United States. This region overlaps in large part with the North American inland temperate rainforest and gets more rain on average than the South Central Rockies forests and is notable for containing the only inland populations of many species from the Pacific coast.
Setting
This ecoregion is located in the Rocky Mountain regions of southeastern British Columbia, southwestern Alberta, northwestern Montana, northern Idaho, and northeastern Washington. The climate here is varied. Areas west of the Continental Divide experience greater precipitation and the moderating effects of the Pacific Ocean, while areas east of the Divide experience a drier, more continental climate. In the Canadian portion of the ecoregion, mean annual temperatures range from in the east to west, summer mean temperatures range from to, and average winter temperatures range from to. Valleys experience warm, wet summers and mildly cold, snowy winters, while subalpine zones experience cool, wet summers with the possibility of frosts, and very cold, snowy winters. Precipitation is moderate to high, with valleys usually receiving between and, and high elevations receiving well over.Flora
This ecoregion is predominantly coniferous forest. Lower elevation forests are dominated by Western hemlock, Western red cedar and Subalpine fir, with medium-smaller and mixed populations of Lodgepole pine, Rocky mountain douglas-fir, Ponderosa pine, Western white pine, Mountain hemlock and Western larch. Subalpine zones are dominated by Engelmann spruce, Subalpine fir, and, in areas affected by fire, Lodgepole pine. This ecoregion also contains meadows, foothill grasslands, riverside woodlands, and tree line/alpine zone communities.Fauna
Mammals of the North Central Rockies forests include the gray wolf, grizzly bear, wolverine, woodland caribou, black bear, mountain goat, mule deer, white-tailed deer, Rocky Mountain elk, moose, coyote, cougar, bobcat, fisher, red fox, groundhog and American marten.Conservation status and protected areas
Though large portions of this ecoregion are intact and protected, its conservation status is listed as "vulnerable". The main threats to this ecoregion's integrity are resource extraction and development, increasing human activity, logging, mining, livestock grazing and the introduction of exotic species.Protected areas in this ecoregion include Glacier National Park and Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex in northwestern Montana, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks in southeastern British Columbia, Waterton Lakes National Park in far southwestern Alberta and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness in northeastern Idaho.