Forests of white spruce, paper birch, and quaking aspen cover most lower slopes in the south and southfacing slopes in the north. Black spruce forest vegetation grows at higher elevations, on all northfacing slopes in the south, on all but steep southfacing slopes in the north, and on lower slopes with impeded soil drainage throughout the area. Above the black spruce forest, the vegetation is alpine meadow characterized by sedges on poorly drained sites and by low-growing shrubs on drier sites. The entire area is underlain by discontinuous permafrost. Upland furbearers, such as marten, mink, and shorttail and least weasels, are common.
Hoary marmots populate mountainous areas, and woodchucks are found in the lower open woodlands.
There is prime habitat for arctic ground squirrels and northern flying squirrels. The range of the longtail and yellow-cheeked voles in interior Alaska corresponds closely to this region. The open mixed deciduous-conifer forests of the area support a large variety of birds. Common breeding birds include gray jays, boreal chickadees, northern flickers, red-tailed hawks, and boreal owls.