Caribou and habitat.

[horshur]

I post this to illustrate a reality...the main pic in article. Look at the standing forest the”Caribou Habitat “ see the reds...look at the greys. Extrapolate. The adjacent forest is 30% dead . Balsam beetle typically involves 10% of stand per year 1% of the spruce..so in this case six years it is a dead stand unless this winters cold killed the beetle...regardless the stand is already nearly half dead and not optimal Caribou habitat currently and even less so in a short time...don’t be blind to the reality of the picture and current situation...it is an emotion picture but actually really look at it...this is actually happening....blame climate change or fire suppression or just natural succession.

https://thenarwhal.ca/b-c-approves-3...t-five-months/

[Treed]

Having flown forest health flights for the last fifteen years... Balsam bark beetle is typically less than .05% of a stand. What we are seeing is not typical but is our new reality. Don’t worry about the fires, the true harbingers of doom are the bugs, pathogens, and stress on trees - but the fires will follow. Unbelievable the state of so many of our forests. Yellow cedar decline on the central coast due to low snow packs, warming periods and frosts has killed hundreds of thousands of hectares and nobody even knows about it except for a few forest health experts. Look at the dead top cedar all up the island hwy due to summer droughts. I was on Haida Gwaii this summer and couldn’t believe how extensive the die back was of 300 year old cedar - drought related I think. I was also in Tweedsmiur this summer, the epi-centre of the pine beetle. What a waste land of dead trees. Pine beetle, white bark pine and blister rust, spruce bark beetle, balsam bark beetle, and fire. Moose sign was so absent it was shocking. Don’t get me started on the poor health of all the pine plantations in the interior due to planting densities and rusts. Our forests are in worse shape than ever and after over a decade of minimal investment in inventory, we dont have a clue how empty the cupboard is. Combine this with salvage harvesting, and fires, no wonder ungulate populations are in flux.

[gcreek]

Ms. Dawe is very adept at skewing facts to further her cause. She was one of the main mouthpieces condemning predator contests last week. She fails to add or recognize the true fact that predators are the main enemy of caribou and all other ungulates dwindling populations in the last 20 years.

[Treed]

Gcreek, I went on my rant and still haven’t read the article. Predators are hammering them because they can travel farther and faster on our roads, hunt more effectively because they can see across a cutblock or down a cut line, and habitat is a mess. It’s habitat change that is driving this cycle of predation and we are the ones doing the driving. I’m bad at following threads, so if I don’t reply I’m not ignoring you!...on purpose

[gcreek]

Gcreek, I went on my rant and still haven’t read the article. Predators are hammering them because they can travel farther and faster on our roads, hunt more effectively because they can see across a cutblock or down a cut line, and habitat is a mess. It’s habitat change that is driving this cycle of predation and we are the ones doing the driving. I’m bad at following threads, so if I don’t reply I’m not ignoring you!...on purpose

So, where were all these logging and mining and oil roads and habitat destruction and clearcuts back in the 40's and early 50's when wolves last nearly wiped out the ungulate herds?

The Federal govt. stepped in and poisoned the crap out of the wolves in the name of saving sustenance animals for the native population. Do a little more homework on this.

If our governments weren't so pussy whipped by the bleeding heart public in order to garner votes, this job would have been done 15 years ago.

[.264winmag]

So, where were all these logging and mining and oil roads and habitat destruction and clearcuts back in the 40's and early 50's when wolves last nearly wiped out the ungulate herds?

The Federal govt. stepped in and poisoned the crap out of the wolves in the name of saving sustenance animals for the native population. Do a little more homework on this.

If our governments weren't so pussy whipped by the bleeding heart public in order to garner votes, this job would have been done 15 years ago.

Winner winner chicken dinner. Bring back the tainted meat folks, it's the only sensible and real solution. Hunt and trap em all you want, you need something effective 24/7/365.

[Lionhill]

Then why do this?

https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/news/bc-approves-314-cutblocks-caribou-critical-habitat-while-negotiating-conservation-plans?fbclid=IwAR3UZg5zk3Jy3NUPMXYIz3Q8icx1ON1nBNT nyBJ3Y1nVEdzbMTivXrenuy8
B.C. approves 314 cutblocks in caribou critical habitat while negotiating conservation plans

[gcreek]

Then why do this?

https://www.wildernesscommittee.org/news/bc-approves-314-cutblocks-caribou-critical-habitat-while-negotiating-conservation-plans?fbclid=IwAR3UZg5zk3Jy3NUPMXYIz3Q8icx1ON1nBNT nyBJ3Y1nVEdzbMTivXrenuy8
B.C. approves 314 cutblocks in caribou critical habitat while negotiating conservation plans

Why not? A big share of this province's timber is dead, dying and falling over. Better to get new growth coming and not burn the rest of the province.

[tigrr]

The caribou down by Crooked lake don't have a chance either. Tracks of 8 wolves going up the mountains around them. Never saw a live one, just tracks. We could hear them howling at night though.

[horshur]

I’m not sure how they designated this critical habitat because you can’t log in designated caribou areas..there are also modified harvest areas for Caribou where they have retention strategies... there must be other rational or perhaps other organizations opinion of critical habitat.?

for Bc hunters getting behind current caribou management strategies is a double edge sword because maintaining high moose harvest to keep low moose inventories is a main component of the plans..all the while hunters are crying fowl of the loss of moose opportunity. Cause you see moose and deer bring and support the wolves...it really is a familiar song.