Environmental groups publish report on how logging proposal could wipe out 2 caribou herds in Alberta

A caribou moves through the Algar region of northeastern Alberta in September 2017 in a handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-University of British Columbia-Cole Burton

JASPER — Two caribou herds in west-central Alberta could be decimated if proposed logging goes forward, according to a new report from environmental groups.

The report was released by Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Northern Alberta, the Alberta Wilderness Association and the Alberta Chapter of the Wildlife Society.

• Download the CTV News App for breaking news alerts on all the top Edmonton stories

“I think that this plan, with the timber harvest proposal, will almost certainly wipe out these two caribou populations within the next few decades,” said Tara Russell, program director for CPAWS Northern Alberta.

“We’ve seen it happen already with the Banff herd and the Jasper herds,” she added. “Those caribou lost their access to their low-elevation winter habitat that is outside the park boundaries decades ago, and they continue to dwindle because southern mountain caribou do not thrive without access to their winter habitat.”

Last month, the provincial government released a draft sub-regional plan for the Upper Smoky, which covers 13,000 square kilometres south of Grande Prairie and is adjacent to Jasper National Park.

Environmental groups warn that this plan allows U.S. timber company Weyerhaeuser to log nearly all the remaining old growth forests that the Redrock-Prairie Creek and Narraway caribou require to survive the winter.

Weyerhaeuser did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russell explained that the original intent of the sub-regional plan was to outline land-use provisions that would enable caribou recovery, which is why the logging proposal was “shocking.”

“This is definitely going to eliminate the possibility for the caribou to recover at all because it wipes out almost all of their winter habitat,” she said, adding the draft plan barely mentions caribou and doesn’t include any analysis of its impacts on caribou habitat.

During the winter, the Redrock-Prairie Creek and Narraway caribou migrate to low-elevation habitat, which provides a haven from predators, provides food for them and keeps them out of harsh winter conditions.

“There’s a lot of evidence showing that they will not use disturbed winter habitat, and they slowly stop migrating, which results in them spending much more time in the high mountain areas and limits their ability to survive,” Russell said.

When caribou are forced to winter in mountainous areas due to human development, they are at risk of being killed by avalanches.

The report also outlined concerns about oil and gas development, which could disturb habitat. Russell noted the draft plan was vague about what limitations would be imposed on such developments and how it implied more development would be approved once restoration was underway, even though it would take decades for critical habitat to be considered undisturbed again.

“There are very clear habitat requirements for caregiver recovery,” she said. “They need biophysical habitat, and they need 65 per cent of their habitat in the winter range undisturbed.”

Threatened caribou are ‘treading water’

Kirby Smith, a conservation affairs committee member for the Alberta Chapter of the Wildlife Society and a retired wildlife biologist for the provincial government, explained that caribou populations have already been declining for the past 20 to 30 years.

Often on provincial lands, when forests are cut and reverted to their earlier seral stage, vegetation comes back in the form of grass and shrubs that leads to an increased density of moose, elk and deer.

“As their density increases, so does the density of wolves that prey upon everything, and it’s caribou that lose,” Smith said. “They’re easier to prey upon than, say, a cow moose.”

The wolf cull, which includes helicopter gunning and strychnine poisoning before being banned last year, has been used as a “tourniquet” to maintain caribou populations on the landscape, Smith explained, until forests could grow back and land-use plans could be improved upon.

For caribou to properly recover, however, these herds will require 65 per cent of undisturbed habitat.

“If you force them back into the summer range to winter, then no amount of wolf control is going to protect them from these freak avalanches,” Smith said.

Russell agreed that wolf culling was not a long-term solution, noting the Alberta government has killed around 20 wolves per year in these areas and hundreds in the past decade.

“The part that I’m so upset about is that they’re going to kill wolves indefinitely and do absolutely nothing to address the actual cause of caribou decline, which is habitat disturbance,” she said.

Kirby also questioned why an American company like Weyerhaeuser was allowed to harvest timber in this critical habitat while also lobbying the U.S. government to impose tariffs on softwood lumber imported from Canada.

“Society sets limits on what we do in terms of economic development,” Smith said. “And I think this has breached that line in the sand to the point it’s pushed caribou off the sand right out into the water, and they’re treading water.”

Alberta government spokesperson calls critics ‘misinformed’

Ryan Fournier, press secretary to Alberta Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz, said in a statement that the plan was not finalized and disputed the idea that the draft plan increases access to any company.

“This draft plan is focused on potential land use approaches and activities, not awarding anything to specific vendors,” Fournier said. “Those suggesting otherwise, mainly activists and anti-development advocates, are completely misinformed.”

He added that caribou populations remained stable or rising across Alberta, and the government was committed to protecting caribou populations for years to come.

“This plan will help us better manage wildlife risks while sustainably conserving our beautiful landscapes for generations,” he said.

The Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA) stated in an email that while it had not reviewed the report in detail, it noted the report failed to consider the recent stability in caribou populations and “recognize the need to balance and manage a multitude of values on the land base.”

“We understand the interest and concern about how potential land-use activities in the area could impact caribou habitat,” said AFPA spokesperson Aspen Dudzic. “Alberta’s forest sector continues to support research and invest in conservation efforts to protect caribou populations in Alberta and has done so for decades.”

Dudzic added the report also failed to consider the threat of wildfires to caribou populations.

“Recent wildfires in the province have decimated areas much larger than the Upper Smoky sub-region,” she said. “The costs of not managing this hazard are homes, communities, and whole ecosystems.”

Russell emphasized the importance of protecting the dwindling caribou populations in Alberta and how this species was a bellwether for overall ecosystem and forest health.

“We’re in the middle of a biodiversity crisis, and keeping populations of species at risk on the landscape is vitally important to counter that biodiversity crisis,” she said. “This is a Canadian icon, and we’re actively wiping them out, and I think that should just be a big disappointment to all Canadians and to Albertans. It’s embarrassing.”

The public can provide input on the draft Upper Smoky Sub-Regional Plan until June 25 via an online survey. There is also a public webinar on May 6 and an in-person session in Grande Cache on April 30. More details are available on the Alberta government’s website.

By Peter Shokeir, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Jasper Fitzhugh