foundland to the Yukon, the boreal forest reaches into Alaska, through the vastness of Russia and into the Nordic countries of Scandinavia. Forests of coniferous black spruce, white spruce, balsam fir, jack pine, and tamarack, interspersed with deciduous white birch, aspens, willows and alders dominate the boreal scene.Canada's boreal forests are of national, and indeed, global significance. Approximately 40% of the globe's boreal forests lie within Canada's boundaries. Fiftyeight percent of Canada's landmass is boreal forest that includes over 90% of the country's remaining large, intact forest landscapes or 25% of the globe's intact forests. Ecological values include prime habitat for many species of wildlife (including 75 percent of the continent's waterfowl), vast areas of lakes, rivers and wetlands and globally significant storage of carbon.Canadian forests, especially the boreal forest, have long played a key role in the national economy. In 2003 alone, forest products contributed almost $30 billion to Canada's $46 billion trade balance. Canada is the world's second largest producer of wood pulp and the world's largest producer of newsprint. Direct forest industry employment totaled 376 300 workers for 2003. Much of this economic activity is directly related to the boreal forest that acts as the economic foundation for many communities across the country.Given the economic and ecological significance of Canada's boreal forest, it is small wonder that people are becoming increasingly concerned about the longterm sustainability of this continental biome. Rendezvous with the Wild is the latest in a series of books, articles and media features on the future of the boreal forest. It tells the story of the Boreal Rendezvous, a series of canoe trips taken in the summer of 2003 on ten Canadian boreal rivers from the Wind River in the Yukon to the Moisie in Quebec.The canoe trips were a vision of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) in collaboration with the David Suzuki Foundation, the Canadian Boreal Initiative, and Mountain Equipment Co-op. They sought ways that would help shift our relationship with the boreal forest from one of accelerating large-scale, industrial fragmentation and transformation, to one that focused more on boreal forest conservation and viable, sustainable development.Edited by the well-known Canadian author and avid canoeist James Raffan, Rendezvous with the Wild is an enticing collage of photography, art, journal entries, essays, poems, musings and prayers from many of the canoe trip participants. The variety of entries is marked by the diversity of contributors. Over 70 peo-
