Protect Endangered Woodland Caribou In North America

Canadian Departments of Natural Resources, Canadian Heritage, and the Environment:

Woodland caribou populations are rapidly diminishing in North America, and this decline has been well documented for decades. Many populations are threatened, endangered or critically endangered in Canada. In the United States, nearly a dozen caribou is all that is left of the once thriving population.

The greatest threats to caribou are predators — including wolves, cougars and bears — as well as ever-increasing encroachment by humans. Loss of habitat from logging and deforestation, displacement due to roads and pipelines, hunting and other human actions threaten more and more struggling caribou populations every year.

One of the last great habitats for woodland caribou in North America is the Boreal Forest region of Canada. And while the Species at Risk Act (SARA) has provided some conservation efforts to help protect caribou from extinction, their habitat is being destroyed more each year. If the Boreal Forest is not protected, the decline in caribou populations will increase until they are beyond saving.

"Over the past century, local subpopulations have been lost; range contraction has proceeded from the south by up to 50% of historical range in some areas," according to the 2015 Response Statement - Caribou, Boreal population. "The proliferation of linear landscape features such as roads and seismic lines facilitates predation by wolves, and the conversion of mature — old conifer stands to younger seral stages promotes increases in alternate prey such as Moose and White-tailed Deer. …Threats are closely interrelated and act cumulatively to impact this population."

Not only have predators like wolves been decimating the caribou population for years now, but the construction of roads and pipelines continues to lead more predators to the caribou's territory. Deforestation is leading to the loss of the caribou's habitat and makes it easier for them to become prey.

"The fundamental cause of the caribou decline is the unanticipated ecological consequences of development," according to the New York Times. "For decades, the forest has been fragmented by clear-cutting, road building, oil development and mining."

If the forest region is not protected from further logging and human development, the decline in woodland caribou populations will only increase.

It must not be thought that the Canadian caribou populations will not suffer the same fate as the populations in the United States. Once these majestic and iconic woodland animals are gone, they will be gone forever. The Boreal Forest must become a protected sanctuary for the woodland caribou immediately.

The simple fact is that if the caribou populations are allowed to decline at their current rate, without substantial changes to conservation efforts and habitat protection, they could very well share the same fate as the caribou populations in the United States — extinction.

The 2017 Action Plan for the Woodland Caribou states that "Boreal caribou is an iconic but threatened species in Canada and holds special significance for Indigenous people and other Canadians; its continued decline concerns us all. Boreal caribou is also considered by many to be an indicator of the overall state of Canada's boreal forest ecosystem. The recovery of this species requires unprecedented commitment, collaboration and cooperation among the various groups involved in the conservation of boreal caribou."

I implore you to take that unprecedented commitment to saving the woodland caribou by acting swiftly to protect the Boreal Forest from further deforestation and development. The endangered caribou must be given every chance to repopulate and survive for their own sake and for future generations to come. Please protect the woodland caribou by protecting their habitat. This is a need that cannot wait.

Sincerely,