Researchers estimate that caribbean herds have shrunk by about 40 percent in recent decades, and in the northeast of BC, they have deteriorated by 11 percent annually.
“There was a sea of caribou,” said researcher Tim Burkhart, presenter of The Early Edition Stephen Quinn.
The Klinse-Za mountain caribbean herd was reduced to 38 animals in 2013, but has now returned to 114, thanks to a collaboration between Saulteau First Nation and West Moberly First Nation, in collaboration with the University of British Columbia and Yellowstone. Yukon Conservation Initiative.
Naomi Owens-Beek, director of Treaty Rights and Environmental Protection for Saulteau First Nations, said the program was created after watching the caribou, which is culturally important for many early nations, disappear without action from the province. .
“BC was mismanaging the caribou and a herd was unfortunately wiped out,” he said.
“We just thought it was something we had to deal with because nothing was happening.”
Jeff Gollner and Line Giguère with a Klinse-Za caribou calf in a maternity pen located in northern British Columbia. (Kayla McNay)
The conservation team came up with three main areas to focus on: the mother breed, habitat restoration and predator management.
Maternal marking involves capturing female caribou that are already pregnant and keeping them in pens to protect females and calves from prey.
Owens-Beek said members of the Saulteau First Nation volunteered to help with everything from picking lichens to eating caribou to keeping pens 24 hours a day.
Caribou from the Klinse-Za herd in a maternity pen located in northern British Columbia. (Wildlife Informatics)
Members also helped reduce predators, especially wolves, that invaded the area years ago when other prey moved to the area as a result of habitat destruction in other areas.
“There are a lot of moving parts, a lot of things happening. If it weren’t for one person there, it wouldn’t work.”
As habitat continues to decline due to human activity and climate change, researchers are urging the province and other jurisdictions to consider how they can adapt these practices to save other herds of caribou.
“Indigenous conservation is real, it happens and we hope this document can spark interest and drive for more Indigenous leadership conservation projects across the nation,” Owens-Beek said.
Clayton Lamb, a postdoctoral researcher at the Universities of British Columbia and Montana, said this is an excellent example of why it is important to include the first nations in land management.
“The process works as expected and is largely due to the fact that the First Nations were able to exercise their rights and because they love this land and these animals and wanted to ensure that these caribou are not lost,” he said.
“Without action, we would not have these caribou today.”
On The Coast6: 49 Indigenous Communities Bring a Caribbean Flock Behind the “Edge of Extinction”
A herd of Caribou in northern BC. have returned from near extinction. This is largely due to the work of West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations. We talk to the lead researcher studying the herd. 6:49
