Not true at all. Habitat has been a huge detriment to caribou, along with human encroachment and recreational activities. As an example, 35,000 acres of old growth forest critical to Caribou survival, maybe it was hectares, was set aside for Caribou habitat in the Revelstoke area several years ago. 30,000 of it ended up being logged.
Looking for the literature.... Can't seem to find the original article that I read the details in. Here is one report that somewhat supports what I have stated. A lack of protection of habitat.
http://www.vws.org/documents/Wildlif...tionUpdate.pdf
The measure of a man is not how much power he has, it's how he wields it.
Habitat Loss/Degradation, as well as Preds and Pine Beetle I think are all pieces of the puzzle, and when you have all those factors in hand, at one time, ends up being the cause for what we are seeing these days.
Pine beetle, or Preds "on their own", wouldn't result in the issues right now, or not to the degree we are seeing.
Habitat Loss will always be the #1 contributor...lets face it...no house, no home, no food is always going to
create dramatic losses, more quickly and for longer durations.
But these factors are all at play right now for sure.
The measure of a man is not how much power he has, it's how he wields it.