Manitoba’s Woodland Caribou
Threatened by Logging — Immediate Action Required
Woodland caribou are gone from Whiteshell Provincial Park and much of their historic southern range due to encroaching northern developments that fail to consider caribou. Protecting large, intact sections of boreal forest is critical to the future survival of the shy and elusive "Grey Ghost of the North." Photo by Wayne Sawchuk.
Lichen, an important caribou food source. Photo by Ian Ward.
According to a Manitoba government report, "It is estimated that the (Manitoba) woodland caribou population has decreased by 50% since 1950." (1) A subsequent report indicates that half of Manitoba’s remaining woodland caribou reside on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.(2) As a world-renowned woodland caribou expanse, this is the best place in Manitoba to safeguard this threatened species by protecting what it needs most — its habitat.
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As woodland caribou are extremely sensitive to changes in their environment, they have been deemed an indicator species of boreal forest health. In other words, if woodland caribou have disappeared from a region, the boreal ecosystem has been compromised for all life that depends on it, including songbirds, eagles, fox, lynx...and humans. It’s no wonder the alarm bells are ringing to save the boreal forest. We have already lost woodland caribou in special places such as Whiteshell Provincial Park due to developments that failed to consider caribou.
Unfortunately, human impacts such as logging and mining are taking their toll in the southern part of the East Side Planning Area. Two caribou ranges in the area have been identified as "high-risk" in the provincial government’s recently released Manitoba Conservation & Recovery Strategy for Boreal Woodland Caribou. The Caribou Strategy focus is on managing the species using unproven methods such as limiting predators and creating caribou habitat through prescribed logging.
What has been proven is that caribou populations decline when their habitats are lost and fragmented by industrial activity. The Caribou Strategy must be revised to make protection of large intact caribou habitats its primary objective.
Most importantly, the Caribou Strategy must be accompanied by legal protection for woodland caribou and their habitats in Manitoba. This will be achieved when the Manitoba government follows the repeated recommendations of its own Endangered Species Advisory Committee to list and protect woodland caribou under the Manitoba Endangered Species Act.
