Woodland Caribou Populations in the South Peace Region Dale Seip B.C. Ministry of Environment
Population Status Herd
Population Size
Trend
Comments
Scott
35
unknown
Kennedy Siding
45
declining
120 in 2007
Moberly
35
declining
191 in 1995
Burnt-Pine
5
declining
13 in 2008
Quintette
175
increasing
calf recruitment > adult mortality
Bearhole-Redwillow
50
declining
calf recruitment < adult mortality
Narraway
100
declining
calf recruitment < adult mortality
Moberly, Burnt-Pine and Quintette caribou â&#x20AC;˘ Winter primarily in windswept alpine and adjacent sub-alpine forest. â&#x20AC;˘ Protection of core habitat from development and disturbance is best management practice 8
Narraway/Bearhole â&#x20AC;˘ Migrate to low elevation boreal forests for winter. â&#x20AC;˘ Feed on terrestrial lichens and arboreal lichens. â&#x20AC;˘ Manage disturbance pattern to ensure large patches of habitat are always available. 10
Summer Range â&#x20AC;˘ Most herds summer in alpine/sub-alpine. â&#x20AC;˘ A few caribou remain in the low elevation forest around Bearhole Lake.
11
Habitat Modelling
Ungulate Winter Ranges and Wildlife Habitat Areas
Pine-Lichen Winter Range
Planning for forest harvesting over the range should ensure that at least half the area is always available in large stands of suitable aged forest to provide caribou winter range.
MPB on Caribou Pine-Lichen Winter Range
Management of MPB Attacked Stands • Caribou continue to use MPB attacked forest • Terrestrial lichens are declining but still available • Caribou continue to feed on arboreal and terrestrial lichens in MPB killed stands.
• Salvage log up to half in large patches to initiate recruitment of future habitat. • Retain remaining half in large patches of standing dead forest to provide habitat for immediate future.
Windpower
Avoid building windfarms on windswept alpine ridges used by caribou.
Oil and Gas Development â&#x20AC;˘ Low elevation boreal winter range of the Bearhole-Redwillow caribou already has a level of industrial disturbance that exceeds the Sorenson et al. (2008) threshold for sustainable caribou populations. â&#x20AC;˘ May be somewhat more tolerant since they spend the summer in the mountains.
Coal Mines
Summary • Seasonal movements and habitat use has been determined for all herds. • Core habitats have been mapped. • Wolf movements and habitat use have been determined on the caribou ranges. • Most herds are declining. • Most core habitat is threatened by a variety of industrial activities, and adequate habitat protection mechanisms are not in place for most of those activities.