Summary of the BC Mountain Caribou-Wolf Situation

 

Click HERE to read the operational kill-plan for BC's wolves in the South Peace region, titled: Experimental Wolf Reduction to Enhance the Recovery of Threatened Caribou Herds in the South Peace.  Note the use of the word EXPERIMENTAL.

 

Mountain caribou require old growth ground lichen and tree lichen to survive, and large intact old growth forests to spread out and avoid predators.  Their natural defense is to avoid predation by wintering at high elevations with deep snow where predators cannot access them.  They also spread out to avoid predators.  To date, BC has protected less than 1% of its allowable timber harvest in areas that are critical to caribou recovery and long-term survival.

In 2007 the BC government “protected” 2.2 million hectares of forest for declining Mountain caribou herds (98% of  the world’s mountain caribou population are found in BC).

HOWEVER:

• Only about 180,000 hectares are NEWLY protected…the rest was set aside as provincial parks or other uses decades ago

 

• ONLY about 76,000 hectares of this land is from the Timber Harvest Land Base, which is less than 1% of the total Timber Harvest Land Base (THLB).​

 

This land is mostly located at high elevations only (eg. over 80% winter habitat protected, but less than 7% spring/fall habitat protected BECAUSE IT IS MID AND LOW ELEVATION AND THEREFORE OF VALUE TO THE TIMBER INDUSTRY, also full of biodiversity and old growth lichens).

 

Of this 76,000 hectares that is low or mid elevation, much of it has already been logged or burned (and thus no value for timber harvest) and is full of logging roads.

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Of the 2.2 million hectares protected from logging, mineral exploration is STILL ALLOWED,along with  commercial recreation (snowmobiling, glading, heli skiing) which also creates roads and snowpack leading wolves into habitat they would not have previously accessed.

NOW we have “islands of protection”  (some herds so small can be killed by automobile collisions or weather)

• Due to continued logging practices old growth has changed to early seral growth.  This attracts moose and deer, and the predators like wolves and cougars have followed them.  Roads and trails threaten caribou more now that these primary prey and predators have moved in….the BC government has documents stating they KNEW this would happen, and that if continued logging occurred predator control would be necessary, as well as more intensive management of other resources (i.e.  moose removal, herd augmentation, etc.)

Moose and caribou have some overlap in elevation therefor it's not clear if wolves are predating on caribou.

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Caribou reproduction is late (2.5 years old) and slow (1 calf/year), so when the numbers are low it’s hard to recover.  Scientists have said that government guidelines for caribou recovery are unrealistic in gains in that expectations are too high for the amount of land set aside so more pressure is placed on predator control!

 

• If predators are killed there is a short term boost in caribou numbers but if logging continues in the mid/low elevations and resource extraction/commercial recreation in 2.2 hectares is set aside……then caribou will die anyway.

The MOUNTAIN CARIBOU PROJECT is a team of 10 conservation groups working together for caribou recovery.  Great progress has been made but they are still a minor voice on  a board filled with commercial recreation and resource extraction members.  Predator control was part of the plan released in 2007, but it is the only part that the government has on schedule.  The MCP is NOT currently supporting a cull.
 

However, the reality is it has already begun!

Revelstoke, Parsnip, Quesnell Highlands, Wells Grey wolves are being trapped, killed, and sterilized by government employees since 2002.

ALSO:  No Bag Limits, extended seasons, increased harvests of wolves, cougars, moose, deer, and elk across Caribou range and most of BC.

Plan now:  wipe out all 11 packs and sterilize the first pair to enter territory.

NOTE:  current and past hunting policies have likely caused the few stable packs to splinter, spread out, have more pups, and have more wolves in more places ->NOT GOOD for caribou…but the government may have caused this!

April 24 letter submitted to BC gov’t by Valhalla Wilderness with at least 10 other organizations signing on to OPPOSE THE KILLING OF PREDATORS for caribou recovery.

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In the past, more than 50 biologists have signed a petition stating a similar stand.

By October 28th, 2010,  23 environmental organizations had signed on to oppose predator control in the name of mountain caribou recovery.
 

More than 3,000 letters signed from people all over the world, including BC residents, have been dropped off at the Ministry of Environment office by Columbia-Shushwap MLA Norm Macdonald, and hundreds more have been mailed in individually as well as e-mailed.
 

Former BC Premier Gordon Campbell received 138 faxes in one day by individuals opposing predator control in the name of Mountain Caribou recovery.

On December 13th, 2010 campaign spokesperson Sadie Parr met with BCs former environment minister Murry Coell to request that through the BC Ministry of Environment, he:

 

1. Stop the wolf sterilization and removal project in the Quesnel Highland;

2. Decide that predator control is not an option in the mountain caribou recovery plan, create and implement new hunting regulations as recommended that are based on sound science as well as ethics;

3. Create a BC management plan for wolves where conservation considers social stability of packs as well as population size in order that wolves can better contribute  to their ecological role as a keystone species;

4. Create a wolf advisory group made of various interests to contribute to the future management and conservation  of wolves (including representatives from First Nations, ENGO’s, agriculture, hunting/trapping, and an  independent wolf biologist);

5. Commit to creating and implementing a plan for prevention of wolf-livestock conflicts that includes educational workshops and material about husbandry practices, incentives for prevention, and continues with its compensation program.

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Wolves:

• Keystone species which maintain health, balance and biodiversity of entire ecosystems.

• Umbrella species: by protecting their large habitat requirements, many other species are also protected

• Intelligent, social animals with loyal families and bonds.  Intrinsic value in and of themselves.

• Social stability of packs is extremely important to pack fitness and hence ecological role.  More than populations need to be considered when managing wolf conservation.

• Wolves DID NOT CAUSE the caribou decline, rather humans did.