B.C. to relocate 40 caribou to save dwindling herd

[Fisher-Dude]

CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/news/credit.html)

Posted: Jul 22, 2011 3:31 PM PT

Last Updated: Jul 22, 2011 3:31 PM PT


http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2011/07/22/li-caribou-cp-9855041.jpg
The B.C. government wants to save a dwindling caribou herd in the Purcell region. (Associated Press)

The B.C. government wants to relocate caribou from northern B.C. to bolster a dwindling herd in the Kootenays that's in danger of being wiped out.


The Ministry of Forests has a plan to move 40 caribou from a healthy herd in the Dease Lake area to the southern Purcell herd near Cranbrook over the next two years.
The Purcell herd has dwindled to 15 animals, and government biologist Steve Gordon said something has to be done.
"So [the herd] is in desperate need of augmentation or it's at risk of being extirpated," he said.
"The other thing is we want to take action while there are resident caribou in the Purcell south so they can learn from the behaviour of the resident herd."
Gordon said the hope is the northern caribou will join the Purcell herd.
First Nations in the north and the Kootenays are still considering whether to support the caribou relocation.
Bill Green, a biologist who works for the Ktunaxa Nation in the Kootenays, said they want the caribou, but fear wolves will be killed to keep caribou alive.
"Ktunaxa are tremendously supportive of efforts to recover caribou population but want to be sure that the plan is good for the target population and minimal harm to other parts of the ecosystem," he said.
The project would begin next spring and cost up to $10,000 per animal.

[Bear Chaser]

Bill Green, a biologist who works for the Ktunaxa Nation in the Kootenays, said they want the caribou, but fear wolves will be killed to keep caribou alive.


That is bottom of the whole problem. Until something is done about the number of wolves preying on caribou they'll be spinning their wheels. While I agree that more caribou should be brought into the area I'd also like to see an equal amount of money spent on wolf control in areas where ungulate populations are at risk.

[Moose Guide]

see a wolf shoot a wolf

[sarg]

see a wolf shoot a wolf
only if it was that easy.:)

[6616]

[QUOTE Bill Green, a biologist who works for the Ktunaxa Nation in the Kootenays, said they want the caribou, but fear wolves will be killed to keep caribou alive[/QUOTE]

So... what's wrong with that Bill ....????

[hunter1947]

This is a good idea but the management have to make sure the transplant will not be lost to wolves and other things before they do this.

Man steeps in like they always do man does what they think they should do in order to make ends meet before doing anything they had better have a handle on the whole circle before they do anything to make sure it will work...

[saskbooknut]

Isn't the major threat to Caribou in Southern BC from habitat fragmentation, lack of winter range and road building - all due to logging ? Seems to be a hate on for wolves here. Controlling wolves is fraught with difficulties and a temporary expedient.

[kennyj]

I'm no biologist, but it seems to me that the habitat, winter range etc... around Dease Lake is completly different than that in the Purcell Mtns. I'd be very surprised if the caribou stayed in the new area, and didn't wander off to try and find their old home.
My 2 bits.
kenny

[Fisher-Dude]

[QUOTE Bill Green, a biologist who works for the Ktunaxa Nation in the Kootenays, said they want the caribou, but fear wolves will be killed to keep caribou alive

So... what's wrong with that Bill ....????


Bill's just trying to get the band's "share" of that $10,000 per animal. They'll dig their heels in until the cheque arrives at the band office, no doubt. :???:

I guess those who want to do conservation/enhancement projects should always be sure to budget for the ransom they'll have to pay these days. :neutral:

[bcbrez]

Do something about the wolves and stop logging off the Caribou habbitat.

[6616]

Yes, logging and the shortage of old growth is the root cause of the decline in caribou populations in southern BC, but that is done and it will take half a century to reverse that, we should have thought about that 75 years ago, not today when nearly all old growth is gone.. Nearly all logging in caribou recovery zones has been halted. In the meantime to get caribou through the next 50 years until there's more habitat other measures must be taken and right now, today,,, wolves are a major threat. Killing off the moose in order to starve the wolves like F&W is doing at Revelstoke may also be to little too late, the situation is critical and direct predator control might be a very helpful and useful measure.

[emerson]

It would be simple to cull a specific # of wolves in a specific area if the local govt. bios were on board. Hunters will do the heavy lifting if given the right directions and a dependable payment system that reacts quickly to only cull a set # in a certain area. I know, animals don't cooperate and stay in their own neighbor hood etc., but I believe the largest obstacles are warring political agendas and the appearance of politically unacceptable programs. I seem to remember making a similar but less detailed post earlier......

[6616]

It would be simple to cull a specific # of wolves in a specific area if the local govt. bios were on board. Hunters will do the heavy lifting if given the right directions and a dependable payment system that reacts quickly to only cull a set # in a certain area. I know, animals don't cooperate and stay in their own neighbor hood etc., but I believe the largest obstacles are warring political agendas and the appearance of politically unacceptable programs. I seem to remember making a similar but less detailed post earlier......

Most local and regional biologists are on board and would be more than willing to go ahead with a wolf control program. It's those others you mention that have impacted public opinions and are are holding this up. In order to be "politically correct" we have taken one of the most useful tools out of the caribou recovery team's tool chest.....!

As always, and the same as with all wildlife species, habitat is the long term answer, but the question right now is; will there be any caribou left in 50 years by the time we've allowed the habitat to recover?

[emerson]

"As always, and the same as with all wildlife species, habitat is the long term answer"



Yep, and because many voters would rather see golf courses and condo developments that is a thorny issue.

[Darksith]

why spend 10k per meal for the wolves? Its like trying to fix a car with a timing problem by changing the size of the tires on the car. You gotta solve the problem before you can fix it. Moving caribou around doesn't solve the problem, just delays the inevitable. Another photo op for some politicians, rather than an actual solution for the problem of decreasing population. Is habitat loss a problem for this heard as well? I didn't think the southern caribou and the northern caribou were the same sub species...am I wrong?
\

[GoatGuy]

What a huge dissapointment.

[dana]

They would be better off moving the 15 from the Purcels and relocate them to the Shuswap Highlands.

[mark]

Im sure the resident wolves will be very pleased about this!

[grizzlydueck]

Hey guys ! I play a lot in the area = my gold claim -guiding-etc ...the wolves and cougars move through there from all over the place =killing off some wolves and some of the local kitty's does nothing= but a temporary fix ? The bo could ,and probally would leave or explore new areas and get "et" aswell my trapper buddy trapped a collared wolf in the target area that came from the utah montana border ! predators and the caribou =there is no correct answer= how much money would we spend over the next 10 years trying to fix this ....we should maybe think before we do ! thats just my opinion ...and opinions are like assholes =everyone has there own ! I love when I get to say that ! lol

[The Dude]

"Ktunaxa are tremendously supportive of efforts to recover caribou population but want to be sure that the plan is good for the target population and minimal harm to other parts of the ecosystem," he said.

Ummm....riggghhhht..........Translation?

[GoatGuy]

Hey guys ! I play a lot in the area = my gold claim -guiding-etc ...the wolves and cougars move through there from all over the place =killing off some wolves and some of the local kitty's does nothing= but a temporary fix ? The bo could ,and probally would leave or explore new areas and get "et" aswell my trapper buddy trapped a collared wolf in the target area that came from the utah montana border ! predators and the caribou =there is no correct answer= how much money would we spend over the next 10 years trying to fix this ....we should maybe think before we do ! thats just my opinion ...and opinions are like assholes =everyone has there own ! I love when I get to say that ! lol

That's why it's best to stick to science.

The science is pretty clear on what needs to happen to save these caribou and it involves predator management. It's really that simple and in terms of cost it would be a drop in the bucket compared to the tens of millions we've spenr watching these caribou disappear over the last 30 years.

[Fisher-Dude]

"Ktunaxa are tremendously supportive of efforts to recover caribou population but want to be sure that the plan is good for the target population and minimal harm to other parts of the ecosystem," he said.

Ummm....riggghhhht..........Translation?


Maybe a picture will help you?


http://coercedmusings.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/canadian-hand-money.jpg

[elkdom]

40 imported/transplanted Caribou, aren't even enough to feed a pack of wolves for 1 winter, much less make a significant impact to replenish a threatened herd, a waste of time and money, if the predator problem isn't dealt with first!

as for Ktunaxa ?, if they really want to help save the Caribou ?, then get on with a Wolf trapping program !
not much cash in that venture though ? :? just hard work !

[Fishhound]

Spend the money on controling the wolf population first, then if needed transplant the caribou

[bayou]

I heard there was some studying of the wolves in that area and the numbers are not as high as many are saying, I think a couple may have even been collared.

[kootenayslam]

I personally know the wolf population is higher than most people think in that area, not just guessing..... this is through many, many miles of boot leather burned in and around that area, over the last 5 years the population has increased significantly.......Wolves are the problem,
plain & simple, that's great we're bringing caribou in but we have to get the wolves under control too.

Suggestion:

If $400,000 is being spend on bringing caribou in, this money will be wasted within a few years due to wolves wiping them out.

If a $100 bounty is put on a wolf, people will start to hunt them and start to take a dint out of the wolf pack to get it down to a sustainable level where it's not wiping out all the caribou. As it is, people see wolves but most don't shoot them, a bit of $$$ on the table will change that.

The country is too thick for helicopters to be used as a wolf reduction method in that area.

A bit of a bounty would be great, at least pay for a guys' gas to get out and find some wolves.

[steel_ram]

Wolves are the problem,
plain & simple, that's great we're bringing caribou in but we have to get the wolves under control too.

Wolve's may be the immediate problem, but a cull would be just another bandade solution. Why has the wolf population increased? Improved wolf habitat, clear cuts, roads etc.?

[kootenayslam]

Wolve's may be the immediate problem, but a cull would be just another bandade solution. Why has the wolf population increased? Improved wolf habitat, clear cuts, roads etc.?

I would like to see this area go back 200 years and have no roads or clearcuts too but thats not the case and we have to deal with the situation we have. Going after the wolves is a feasible solution to the problem

[Mik]

Bill's just trying to get the band's "share" of that $10,000 per animal. They'll dig their heels in until the cheque arrives at the band office, no doubt. :???:

I guess those who want to do conservation/enhancement projects should always be sure to budget for the ransom they'll have to pay these days. :neutral:

Unfortunately! that is the sequence of events! "Grease the palm" and things get done

[madrona sh]

There is no money in wolf trapping unless it is somehow subsidized. Guide Outfitter bounties etc.
Heck there is no money in trapping anything come to think of it. But wolves are expensive and time consuming.

[Gunner]

Dease Lake caribou are Mountain Caribou,Kootenay caribou are Woodland caribou.I wonder what genius thought this one up:confused: Gunner

[6616]

Here is what the experts think about caribou recovery:

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Mountain_caribou_in_British_Columbia,_Canada

[kootenayslam]

Good article by the way...

To highlight this study of the mountain caribou in BC done by biologists tracking over 600 caribou, the below statements made in the article sum up the entire article:

Cause of decline.......

"The majority of adult caribou in all populations died from predation. Wolves, cougars, grizzly bears, black bears, and wolverine were all shown to prey on caribou in our study area."


Conservation strategy recommendation.........

"Over the short-term, addressing the unsustainable effect of predators is a high priority if caribou populations are to be maintained. This will require implementing targeted predator removal"
.
.
.

translation of article = Get rid of more wolves if we want Caribou to survive

[6616]

translation of article = Get rid of more wolves if we want Caribou to survive

Pretty much the bottom line allright...!

Too bad Wildsight, Sierra Club, Wilderness Committee, CPAWS, etc can't see that......!

[Fisher-Dude]

Pretty much the bottom line allright...!

Too bad Wildsight, Sierra Club, Wilderness Committee, CPAWS, etc can't see that......!

They see the same thing that the Indians do with this: an opportunity to scam money from it.

[GoatGuy]

Not just wolves, we've also got cougars which probably didn't occur in parts of the Purcells eating caribou. That can be tied back to white-tails where they never occurred, and high density moose populations where they occurred at extremely low levels.

[Husky7mm]

It would be cheaper to transplant them if they get wiped out than it would be to protect and acquire land and habitat for them like they are doing right now. Whats next kill of all the deer and elk and moose up there to drop the preditor population? All this to save 15 caribou. Wasn't all of western north america caribou habitat at one time? Should we end the logging and de-activate all the FSR and ban ATV and snowmobiles. All for 15 caribou. There are thousands of caribou up north and probably thousands of wolves, some areas are just better suited for caribou. NYC was a one time wilderness all so, but times have changed. The transpant is neat, will it work, probably not, they will most likly be ate. I would love to see wolf control for this area as there are lots of wolves and not only do they like caribou but they eat most of the moose calves, and hammer on all the mulies that winter in the mountians. ( the unapproved winter range)

[GoatGuy]

Guess it depends on what kind of value a person places on BC's natural resources.

If maintaining naturally occurring wildlife populations and intact ecosystems isnt important to you or you place more value on species which didn't and shouldn't occur in caribou habitat then you won't get it.

Some people think having cheap, clean drinking water for people is far more important than having water thats good for people and fish - everybody is certainly entitled to their opinion.


It would be cheaper to transplant them if they get wiped out than it would be to protect and acquire land and habitat for them like they are doing right now. Whats next kill of all the deer and elk and moose up there to drop the preditor population? All this to save 15 caribou. Wasn't all of western north america caribou habitat at one time? Should we end the logging and de-activate all the FSR and ban ATV and snowmobiles. All for 15 caribou. There are thousands of caribou up north and probably thousands of wolves, some areas are just better suited for caribou. NYC was a one time wilderness all so, but times have changed. The transpant is neat, will it work, probably not, they will most likly be ate. I would love to see wolf control for this area as there are lots of wolves and not only do they like caribou but they eat most of the moose calves, and hammer on all the mulies that winter in the mountians. ( the unapproved winter range)

[6616]

I can't help but wonder, like Gunner pointed out, how the northern eco-type being used to high elevation windswept low snowfall habitat would cope with the high snowfall habitat areas of the Purcells....? Will they integrate with the local herd, if not their first winter in the Purcells may well doom them to starvation...???? In the past translocations between differing habitat types of different eco-type caribou has been deemed a very low viability idea.

[Husky7mm]

Well all true, but remember elk were not here at the turn of the century, they moved in from the praires. I don't think anyone wants to see them removed to save the caribou from the wolves. No thin out the wolves. The was alot less wolves around 20-30 yrs ago. Managing preditors for hunting opportunity is not supported by the BC public, but to save the threatend caribou it just might be.

[dana]

They have pantered with the idea of relocation for going on 15 years now. Like I said earlier, they would be far better off transplanting those 15 to another struggling herd, like the Shuswap Highlands. Wells Gray is still an intact ecosystem. Not fragmented like the rest of the south.

The decline of the southern Mountain Caribou started over 100 years ago. The vast herds from the native stories were already a thing of the past by the time the Europeans started settling here. The Forest Fires in the 20's and 30's were the last kick to the nuts and changed the ecosystems that the caribou depended on. Moose came and brought with them the wolves. And now there are so many issues around the remnant decline in the last 20 years, you can't peg one smoking gun. Logging, Heliskiing, sledding, predators ect all have played a role. To think we can fix things with a bandaid solution like transplanting caribou from Dease is just plain silly.

[Caribou_lou]

Sounds like these Caribou are migrating 4 feet... One end of the wolf to the next!



Wolve's may be the immediate problem, but a cull would be just another bandade solution. Why has the wolf population increased? Improved wolf habitat, clear cuts, roads etc.?


Wouldn't transplanting some just be a bandade solution also? Or should I say wolf smorgasbord?

[LongBomber]

A wolf cull may be required, but since most of this habitat is high elevation and inside road closures, the number of hunters is cut by 90%. Look at how few will travel more than a mile from a road. For example very few are going to go into the top of Buhl/Bradford/Greenland creeks (can you say headwaters of the Findlay??) as each one is several km's from the start of a road closure, just to have a chance at a wolf, when its much easier to find a wolf in the Linklater or Caven area.

The funny thing with most logging is that the timber types that are needed for caribou are not what the forest company targets here. If you actually had gone to the area's to see what has been targeted for harvesting and researched what the caribou need, you would understand that the logging of the last 15 years has not removed the "old growth". Ut us too bad we cannot correct some of the actions from the 50's and 60's, it will take another 150 years for that to fix itself. If you are that interested in what the timber companies are doing there are advertisements in the koot advertiser here for reviewing logging plans, I have reviewed some, and from the sounds of it very few others actually take a look. They are open to the public, require one quick phone call to set up, but it seems only Wildsite shows up to look at things.

Another issue with moving in caribou from other herds is that they are not shown from a calf age, and have it naturally engrained, where the critical habitat for the various seasons are located and the migration paths through the mountain passes to reach these areas. With the difficulty that they encounter moving around in the winter season the caribou have a much better chance of survival if they have it engrained where each habitat type is and how to get there. I suspect that is why the 15 that are left are split into two herds, one of three and one of twelve. There is to much breeding depression in this herd to really save it, the time to save it was about 20 years ago, the best solution for the animals is likely moving this heard into the parks and joining the herds there. Although since they do not have the locations of forage the 15 will likely not make it there either.

There is no real solution to the problem, but I am sure we will drop a few more million on them before we are done.

[CanuckShooter]

They see the same thing that the Indians do with this: an opportunity to scam money from it.

......:-(........where is your proof to support this outlandish accusation?? Bullshyt racist vituperation.

[Husky7mm]

It is unsubstantiated to claim we are at carrying capacity. Especially if we are talking about mountian caribou.

[TommyGuitar]

It's actually more like a million dollars per caribou once you factor in the old growth forest sections they put aside for the caribou.

I heard it from the horses mouth.