The Status of Land Cover and Biodiversity in Tolko’s Operating Areas: Northern Operating Area

This report describes the status of land cover and biodiversity in one of Tolko's two main operating areas in Alberta—the Northern Operating Area, located in northwestern Alberta. Also included are spotlights on species of management interest in the region. This information establishes baseline conditions for several indicators of land cover and biodiversity, which can be used to measure long-term forest health.

Assessed indicators include:

• status and trend of human footprint and vegetation types,
• summary of land base change with a spotlight on the 2023 wildfires, interior native habitat, and linear footprint,
• status of several taxonomic groups: birds, mammals, soil mites, vascular plants, mosses, and lichens,
• species of conservation concern and non-native vascular plants, and
• spotlights on three species of management interest—Moose, Woodland Caribou, and Arctic Grayling.