Caribou Recovery Enguagement

[KodiakHntr]

I have heard more than a couple people in town state that there would be no problem if all caribou were just helped along their already declining path towards extirpation......makes me not so proud to be a member of the community.

Surely you can understand their position though? If you and all your neighbors were faced with losing everything you’ve worked for your entire life and potentially becoming homeless and unable to provide for your children, wouldn’t you see more value in your family’s well being than the lives of 66 animals?


Don’t get me wrong, I think that caribou are an iconic species indicative of wilderness, and I believe something has to be done to save them, but I also strongly believe that there has to be an economic impact assessment completed before there is a recovery plan implemented that will impact so many families.

[horshur]

The solution is not the cause and there is plenty of examples that suggest that habitat right now is not the limiting factor...just look at historical records. The remaining habitat is the current situation and yet numbers continue to decline..

[horshur]

Qualify..habitat that will negate predation is several decades away...the habitat that gives separation and minimizes apparent competition does not exist currently...

[338win mag]

The solution is not the cause and there is plenty of examples that suggest that habitat right now is not the limiting factor...just look at historical records. The remaining habitat is the current situation and yet numbers continue to decline..

The Caribou are declining in the arctic as well ....I have a friend who was 40 years in the arctic working as a scientist (anthropologist) he scratches his head on the decline there, habitat may be part of it, but not all.

[horshur]

There is lots of historical evidence ..read some of Charles Kay. What existed that we tended to take for granted..was not natural.

[huntingfamily]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...85367448177343
https://www.facebook.com/stoptheclosure/

[Iron Sighted]

Surely you can understand their position though? If you and all your neighbors were faced with losing everything you’ve worked for your entire life and potentially becoming homeless and unable to provide for your children, wouldn’t you see more value in your family’s well being than the lives of 66 animals?


Don’t get me wrong, I think that caribou are an iconic species indicative of wilderness, and I believe something has to be done to save them, but I also strongly believe that there has to be an economic impact assessment completed before there is a recovery plan implemented that will impact so many families.

I understand the sentiment, but people need to act like adults if they expect to be treated accordingly. I am P.O.ed like everyone else in the area about having no voice in the discussion, and I also suspect that the concerns raised in these meetings will be summarily dismissed because I believe the planning is done already and the decisions are made, just not yet formalized.

I'm not seeing a solution to this issue that is going to be amicable to all the different stakeholders that is for sure.

[KodiakHntr]

I understand the sentiment, but people need to act like adults if they expect to be treated accordingly. I am P.O.ed like everyone else in the area about having no voice in the discussion, and I also suspect that the concerns raised in these meetings will be summarily dismissed because I believe the planning is done already and the decisions are made, just not yet formalized.

I'm not seeing a solution to this issue that is going to be amicable to all the different stakeholders that is for sure.

Its an easy thing to say, to tell people to act like adults, but when people feel their backs are against the wall...
And as much as people hate to acknowledge it, species of animals have been dying off for as long as there has been animals. Don’t see many short faced bears, north american cheetahs, or mastadons roaming around these days... Some species have been able to adapt and thrive with changing conditions (ie, whitetails) and others are dying out through a number of factors (caribou).

However, as sad as it is, I have zero doubt that that caribou will suffer the same fate as wolves, where people concerned for their livelihoods and ways of life will take matters into their own hands.

It was fairly evident at the Chetwynd meeting that as soon as the one speaker mentioned that the culling of wolves was difficult to sell to people in Vancouver that people felt they weren’t being heard.
When people in FSJ heard that grizzlies were a significant predator of caribou calves and the biologist uttered the words “the innocent grizzly bears” and then questioned why the crowd was laughing at him that they KNEW they weren’t being heard and that the southern caribou herd held greater value to the people in Vancouver than the people and economy who finance those same folks in Vancouver...

The writing is on the wall for those herds if Gov’t doesn’t immediately show that they are listening to local residents concerns. The only way a recovery plan succeeds, is if people work towards its success.

[325]

I think part of the problem is a tangible lack of trust between many BC residents and the government. The current government has already demonstrated that they will depart from evidence based wildlife management when it suits their political needs (i.e. grizzly hunt ban). It's really easy to understand why residents are skeptical of any management plans implemented by the government, as the motivations may be more political than rational.

[limit time]

Maybe, like the buffalo, it was put on earth by a higher power to provide food until we could fend/farm for ourselves?
IMO, what was won’t always be. We just can’t control the natural world or what’s on it forever . IMO