Managing Woodland Caribou in West-Central British Columbia

Initial long term planning for logging on the Tweedsmuir-Entiako caribou winter range began in the early 1980s. Because little information was available on which to base winter range management, the British Columbia Fish and Wildlife Branch began studies on radio-collared caribou in 1983, and an intensive study on caribou winter habitat requirements was conducted from 1985 to 1988. Terrestrial lichens were identified as the primary winter food source for the caribou, and in 1987, caribou winter range ecosystem maps, which emphasized abundance of terrestrial lichens, were produced. The ecosystem maps and information from the caribou study, including potential direct and indirect effects of timber harvesting on the caribou population, were used to develop a management strategy for the winter range. The management strategy comprised two levels of management: a landscape level (Caribou Management Zones); and a site-specific level (caribou habitat/timber values). Timber information associated with BC Ministry of Forests forest cover maps was integrated using a Geographic Information System. Six winter range management options were proposed ranging from harvesting low value caribou habitats only throughout the winter range to total protection of the entire winter range. Impacts of those options on both the caribou population and on the timber supply were evaluated. The options were reviewed through a public planning process, the Entiako Local Resource Use Plan, and recommendations from that process were forwarded to the British Columbia Protected Areas Strategy

Conservation status of caribou in the western mountains of Canada: Protections under the species at risk act, 2002-2014

In April 2014, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) reviewed the status of caribou in the western mountains of Canada, in keeping with the ten-year reassessment mandate under the Species at Risk Act. Assessed as two ‘nationally significant’ populations in 2002, COSEWIC revised the conservation units for all caribou in Canada, recognising eleven extant Designatable Units (DUs), three of which -- Northern Mountain, Central Mountain, and Southern Mountain -- are found only in western Canada. The 2014 assessment concluded that the condition of many subpopulations in all three DUs had deteriorated. As a result of small and declining population sizes, the Central Mountain and Southern Mountain DUs are now recognised as endangered. Recent declines in a number of Northern Mountain DU subpopulations did not meet thresholds for endangered or threatened, and were assessed as of special concern. Since the passage of the federal Species at Risk Act in 2002, considerable areas of habitat were managed or conserved for caribou, although disturbance from cumulative human development activities has increased during the same period. Government agencies and local First Nations are attempting to arrest the steep decline of some subpopulations by using predator control, maternal penning, population augmentation, and captive breeding. Based on declines, future developments and current recovery effects, we offer the following recommendations: 1) where recovery actions are necessary, commit to simultaneously reducing human intrusion into caribou ranges, restoring habitat over the long term, and conducting short-term predator control, 2) carefully consider COSEWIC’s new DU structure for management and recovery actions, especially regarding translocations, 3) carry out regular surveys to monitor the condition of Northern Mountain caribou subpopulations and immediately implement preventative measures where necessary, and 4) undertake a proactive, planned approach coordinated across jurisdictions to conserve landscape processes important to caribou conservation

Seasonal movements, habitat use, and winter feeding ecology of woodland caribou in West-Central British Columbia

Three levels of resource selection (seasonal movements and habitat use, winter feeding site selection, and forage selection), by two populations of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in west-central British Columbia were examined to evaluate potential effects of logging on those populations. Seasonal movements and habitat use were determined by monitoring radiocollared adult female caribou; winter feeding site and forage selection were determined by following caribou tracks on winter ranges. Caribou moved from winter to summer ranges along relatively snow-free, low elevation migration routes. Itcha-IIgachuz-Rainbow caribou calved and spent the summer almost exclusively in alpine habitat in the Itcha, Ilgachuz and Rainbow Mountains; Tweedsmuir-Entiako caribou used a variety of alpine and forested habitats in and adjacent to northern Tweedsmuir Park during summer. During winter, caribou in both areas used predominantly low elevation forested habitats. In the Tweedsmuir-Entiako area, some use of alpine habitat occurred during mid-winter in the Fawnie Mountains. In the Itcha-Ilgachuz area, 5-15% of the radiocollared caribou spent the winter in alpine and subalpine habitat on the north side of the Ilgachuz Mountains. Rainbow Mountain caribou used alpine habitat in the northern Rainbow and Ilgachuz Mountains during the winter. On low elevation winter ranges in both areas, caribou selected Dry Lichen / Lichen Moss and Lichen Moss caribou habitat types. Mature pine forest cover types on low and poor quality growing sites were also selected by caribou during winter. Itcha-Ilgachuz caribou selected large Fescue-Lichen meadows in early winter and Dry Lichen / Kinnikinnick sites in the very dry, cold Sub-Boreal Pine/Spruce (SBPSxc) biogeoclimatic subzone in late winter. In late winter, the Tweedsmuir-Entiako caribou selected mature Moss/Seepage Forest - Aspen Forest caribou habitat types. Forest cover types selected were mature pine and pine/spruce forest cover types on medium quality sites. Throughout the winter, pine forests in both areas were used predominantly for cratering for terrestrial lichens. Caribou selected areas with high terrestrial lichen abundance for cratering. Snow characteristics (snow depth, snow penetrability) did not appear to influence crater site selection. Snow was often deeper at cratering sites than at non-cratering sites because sites that were selected for abundant terrestrial lichen also had more open canopies which intercepted less snow. Arboreal lichens were used in all forest types; however, arboreal lichen use was greater in pine/spruce and spruce stands than in pine stands. Implications of logging to woodland caribou populations and winter range use are discussed and recommendations for logging guidelines compatible with woodland caribou are suggested.Forestry, Faculty ofGraduat