Biological: A 30,500 ha fire (R90093) burned the eastern 65% of the reserve in August 2010.

Despite having little elevational relief, the reserve displays a variety of habitats. This is attributable to various slope exposures on landforms such as eskers, an array of moisture conditions from lakeshores to gravely drumlins, and the historical occurrence of wildfire.

Treeless wetlands include sedge-dominated marshes and fens, as well as seepage areas dominated by northern golden-saxifrage, far-northern buttercup, and aquatic mosses. Two tamarack-scrub birch-willow types are present, one in fen situations associated with water sedge, the other in less saturated environments having ground cover of red bearberry and moss. Black spruce bog forest, characterized by Labrador tea, cloudberry, red bearberry, and moss is also present.

Upland forest communities occur in a complex mosaic. Typical white spruce stands have ground cover dominated by

Spruce grouse photo by Niran Lella

and moss while wetter sites have those species plus some black spruce, scrub birch, and Labrador tea. Lodgepole pine woods occur on well-drained eskers and drumlins. In the driest sites the typical

To establish a research area containing a variety of communities in the Boreal White and Black Spruce Zone.

sites the pine is mixed with white spruce and understory representatives are arctic lupine and mosses.

Mammals or their sign noted here include Moose, Wolf, Black Bear, AmericanMarten, Snowshoe Hare, and Red Squirrel. Willows have been heavily browsed by Moose. Among birds, Spruce Grouse, Gray Jay, Three-toed Woodpecker, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, and Pine Siskin have been recorded.