[1] The retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet left a landscape of broadly rolling uplands and lowlands with precambrian granitic bedrock outcrops.

[1] Being largely wild and remote, this ecozone is rich in wildlife, including woodland caribou, moose, wolf, black bear, raccoon, marten, fisher, striped skunk, lynx, bobcat and eastern chipmunk.

[12] Fire suppression, insect control, clear-cutting and single-species tree farming are widespread in accessible areas.

These practices may, over the long term, reduce the diversity of both plant and animal species and increase the forest's vulnerability to disease.

Acid rain from local sources and from the long-range transport of airborne pollutants has already taken an ominous toll.

Another 5% of the ecozone's land space is also considered protected, though not as strictly; activities such as mining or forestry may be tolerable in such areas.

[13] In order to strengthen public dialogue and engagement on matters concerned with protected areas within the ecozone, land allocation programs have been adopted in Ontario and Saskatchewan.

The programs consist of local and regional-level advisory groups that serve to help select and manage conservation areas in these provinces.