The Cook Inlet taiga ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

, in the Taiga and Boreal forests

Taiga

Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...

 Biome

Biome

Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...

, is located in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

.

Setting

This ecoregion is located around the upper Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet

Cook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....

 on the south-central coast of Alaska, sheltered by mountains on all sides. This coast has a gentle landscape and a relatively mild climate for Alaska with 380–680 :mm of rainfall per year.

Flora

The plant life here is varied for Alaska, a mixture of conifers and other trees, shrubs and herbs, with the dominant trees being black spruce (Picea mariana), white spruce (Picea glauca), the large Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides

Populus tremuloides

Populus tremuloides is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, and Quakies,. The trees have tall trunks, up to 25 metres, with smooth pale bark, scarred with black. The glossy green leaves, dull beneath, become golden...

), balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera

Populus balsamifera

Populus balsamifera, commonly called balsam poplar, bamtree, eastern balsam poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca,...

), black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa

Populus trichocarpa

Populus trichocarpa is a deciduous broadleaf tree species native to western North America. It is used for timber, and is notable as a model organism in plant biology. Its full genome sequence was published in 2006...

) and paper birch (Betula papyrifera). The spruce forest is regularly renewed following severe damage by spruce bark beetle infestations.

Fauna

This area is rich in wildlife including Grey Wolf, bears and Canada Lynx

Canada Lynx

The Canada lynx or Canadian lynx is a North American mammal of the cat family, Felidae. It is a close relative of the Eurasian Lynx . Some authorities regard both as conspecific. However, in some characteristics the Canada lynx is more like the bobcat than the Eurasian Lynx...

. The Kenai River

Kenai River

The Kenai River called Kakny in the Dena'ina language, is a river in the Kenai Peninsula of south central Alaska. It runs westward from Kenai Lake in the Kenai Mountains, through the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Skilak Lake to its outlet into the Cook Inlet of the Pacific Ocean near Kenai...

 is home to five species of Pacific salmon including the largest Chinook salmon

Chinook salmon

The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...

 in the world. Birds include large numbers of Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...

 and wintering Snow Goose

Snow Goose

The Snow Goose , also known as the Blue Goose, is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The genus of this bird is disputed...

 from Wrangell Island

Wrangell Island

Wrangell Island is in the Alexander Archipelago in the Alaska Panhandle of southeastern Alaska. It is long and 8–23 km wide. It has a land area of , making it the 29th largest island in the United States...

 who gather in the mouth of the Kenai River before their srping migration.

Threats and preservation

The Kenai River, Anchorage

Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...

, Palmer

Palmer, Alaska

Palmer is the borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the state of Alaska, USA. It is part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 5,937....

 and Wasilla

Wasilla, Alaska

Wasilla is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the sixth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the state. The city's population was 7,831 at the 2010 census...

 areas are the most populated part of Alaska and a base for logging and the oil and gas industries on the Kenai Peninsula

Kenai Peninsula

The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is probably derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west.-Geography:...

. There is also some clearance for farming in Palmer and Point MacKenzie

Point MacKenzie, Alaska

Point MacKenzie is a census-designated place in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2000 census the population was 111...

. Nonetheless natural habitats remain very well preserved although wildlife of the Kenai Peninsula has become isolated from that of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley

Matanuska-Susitna Valley

Matanuska-Susitna Valley is an area in Southcentral Alaska south of the Alaska Range about 35 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska....

 and the west side of Cook Inlet, and therefore from the rest of Alaska. Protected areas include Kenai National Wildlife Refuge

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge

The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is a 1.92 million acre wildlife preserve located on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. The refuge was created in 1941 as the Kenai Moose Range, but in 1980 it was changed to its present status by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act...

, Chugach State Park

Chugach State Park

Chugach State Park is a 495,204-acre state park in the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located in the Chugach Mountains just east of the Anchorage Bowl, it is a very popular recreation destination...

, Nancy Lake State Recreation Area

Nancy Lake State Recreation Area

Nancy Lake State Recreation Area is a lake-studded landscapes in Alaska preserved for recreation purposes. With clear waters are ringed with unspoiled forests,provide tranquil settings for revreational acticities such as canoeing, fishing, hiking and camping during the summer...

 and the Susitna Flats

Susitna Flats State Game Refuge

The Susitna Flats State Game Refuge is a game preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. Each year approximately 10 percent of the waterfowl harvest in the state of Alaska occurs on Susitna Flats, with about 15,000 ducks and over 500 geese taken. Many hunters land float planes on one of the numerous...

.