Introduction

The beauty and wonder of northern boreal muskeg is truly an eye-opener into the diversity of muskeg ecosystems. Muskeg is not just a term to mean “those horrible bug infested water logged areas where men and machinery get stuck”, but a term to describe the intricacy and complexity of wetland ecosystems unique to the boreal forest circumpolar.

The two main types of wetlands that comprise northern boreal muskeg are bogs and fens. However marshes and swamps also occur to a minor extent. Bogs and fens are the most common while marshes and swamps are less common in the northern boreal ecosystem. All of these wetland types are important because they provide essential wildlife habitat, support unique plant communities, purify the water, and reduce soil erosion.

Muskeg ecosystems are complex and diverse. While bogs differ from fens and marshes differ from swamps, there are also seasonal differences. As the seasons unfold from spring to winter the plant community representing each type of muskeg environment changes in structure and colour. Delicate new buds of the swamp birch, black spruce and willow emerge in the spring, while sticky droplets of the carnivorous sundew shimmer in the warm sun and the aroma of bog orchids waft through the air during the long days of summer. Magnificent magenta and robust reds fill the scenic landscape during the crisp days of fall. In winter as a thick layer of snow forms a protective cover over plants, the sun sparkles off frozen ice crystals contrasting brightly against the intense blue of the winter sky. In all seasons muskeg has a beauty and wonder all of its own.

Animals, birds and insects utilize muskeg habitat throughout the seasons at different times of the day and for different reasons. Caribou and moose, wolves and coyotes, lynx and snowshoe hare, marten and fisher, weasels and mink, voles and mice, ducks and geese, cranes and herons, owls and eagles, dragonflies and damselflies and other insects too numerous too mention all use and rely on the muskeg habitat. In addition the muskeg ecosystems provide food, water and shelter nesting areas for migrating waterfowl. Many species benefit and rely on it.

As humans encroach on the northern boreal muskeg, as the oil and gas industry expands, as seismic lines lengthen, as the number of well sites increase, as roads move in and as pipelines cross, muskeg is disturbed and altered. Through fragmentation, alteration, contamination, or urbanization, muskeg ecosystems are impacted. Through awareness and understanding this northern boreal ecosystem can be appreciated and managed to minimize the impacts that are imminent in the near future. The hope is that by seeing the beauty and wonder of northern boreal muskeg through the eyes of a naturalist, this little understood and under-appreciated ecosystem will be admired for what it truly is; an essential habitat for plants and animals and a benefit to humans by purifying drinking water and stabilizing hydrological events, not to mention a characteristic landscape feature of northeastern British Columbia.

A Photographic Journey of Northern Boreal Muskeg
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