Province's caribou numbers stable

The Environment Canada report, the Scientific Review for the Identification of Critical Habitat for Woodland Caribou, looked at boreal forest herds that range from Labrador to British Columbia north to the Northwest Territories.

Researchers in Manitoba found that the caribou population is relatively stable, but said that two herds may not be sustainable given the low number of animals and the threat of further human encroachment.

Ron Thiessen, Manitoba executive director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, said the report highlights the need for the Doer government to better protect larger areas of caribou habitat from human-caused threats, such as logging, mining and other activities.

Woodland caribou range across the boreal forest region of central Manitoba from approximately the Black Lake area in the southeast to the Lynn Lake area in the northwest.

Thiessen said caribou that have vanished from southern Manitoba are now at risk on the east side of the province, where they range well north of Whiteshell Provincial Forest.

He said the report confirms that to protect woodland caribou, their entire range must be managed, not just small pockets. That would mean an immediate halt to logging, road building and other development until Manitoba finalizes its plan for woodland caribou.

"Overall we have a poor understanding of their population and migration routes," he said.

Thiessen said an area equivalent to the size of the United Kingdom -- 250,000 square-kilometres -- must be protected in Manitoba to make sure caribou thrive. (Manitoba is roughly twice the size of the U.K.)

Manitoba Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said he was pleased Manitoba's caribou population is stable.

"But that just means we have to step up the kind of work we're doing," he said. "There's always more we can do."

Struthers said the province is working with commercial loggers on the east side of the province to protect one vulnerable herd, and recently hired two more wildlife biologists. Manitoba's boreal woodland caribou were listed as threatened under The Endangered Species Act in June 2006.

Struthers also said that in March the province set aside three wilderness areas in the province to protect wildlife from ATVs, snowmobiles and other human encroachment. The undeveloped wilderness areas total more than 14,000 hectares and are located in southeastern Manitoba.

bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca

Where the caribou roam in Manitoba

Below are the main woodland caribou herds in Manitoba and the approximate areas they range. Here's what last Thursday's report found on their stability:

Kississing (north of Flin Flon) -- stable, 50 to 75 animals. Evidence suggests current range is not self-sustaining, given small population with high human encroachment.

Naosap (Snow Lake) -- stable, 100 to 200 animals. Current range is marginal given small, stable population and moderate encroachment.

Reed (northeast of The Pas) -- stable, 100 to 150 animals. Current range is marginal given small, stable population, moderate encroachment.

William Lake (north of Lake Winnipeg) -- stable, 25 to 40 animals. Current range is not self-sustaining, given very small population and moderate encroachment.

Wapisu (Thompson) -- stable, 100 to 125 animals. Current range is self-sustaining and potentially resilient given stable trend and low encroachment.

The Bog (south of The Pas) -- stable, 50 to 75 animals. Current range is marginal given small, stable population and moderate encroachment.

Wabowden (Cross Lake) -- stable, 200 to 225 animals. Current range is marginal given small, stable population and moderate encroachment.

North Interlake (Grand Rapids) -- stable, 50 to 75 animals. Current range is self-sustaining given stable trend and low encroachment.

Atikaki-Berens (east side) -- stable, 300 to 500 animals. Current range is self-sustaining with potential resilience given large, stable population and moderate encroachment.

Owl Flintstone (east side) -- stable, 71 to 85 animals. Current range is marginal given small, stable population and moderate encroachment.

Remainder of boreal caribou in Manitoba -- stable, 775 to 1,585 animals. Delineation of local populations has not yet occurred. Evidence suggests the extent of occurrence is self-sustaining given large, stable population and moderate encroachment.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 13, 2009 A6