Caribou Denial

In Ontario and nationally, boreal caribou are classified as threatened. The boreal caribou is also considered an umbrella species. This means protecting their habitat benefits a wide range of other plants and animals that rely on boreal forest ecosystems.

Science shows caribou need vast tracts of old conifer forest to avoid predators. But forest fragmentation — primarily caused by resource extraction and associated access roads and corridors, as well as natural disturbances such as fire — remains a key threat to the boreal caribou’s survival in managed forests.

Despite this, forestry lobbyists have sowed seeds of doubt, resulting in stalled recovery ...

In Ontario and nationally, boreal caribou are classified as threatened. The boreal caribou is also considered an umbrella species. This means protecting their habitat benefits a wide range of other plants and animals that rely on boreal forest ecosystems.

Science shows caribou need vast tracts of old conifer forest to avoid predators. But forest fragmentation — primarily caused by resource extraction and associated access roads and corridors, as well as natural disturbances such as fire — remains a key threat to the boreal caribou’s survival in managed forests.

Despite this, forestry lobbyists have sowed seeds of doubt, resulting in stalled recovery measures. Their playbook is clear. They:

deny the problem exists by suggesting that boreal caribou shouldn’t be listed as a species at risk, disregarding assessments by scientific experts.
deny their responsibility by questioning whether logging is linked to caribou decline.
and argue that the problem is too costly to resolve, and vilify conservation proponents, labelling them ‘ecoterrorists’ and ‘environmental extremists.’

Read the peer-reviewed journal article "From climate to caribou: How manufactured uncertainty is affecting wildlife management".

Please take a moment to tell the Government of Canada that these myths must be dispelled, and action must be taken with provinces to plan for caribou recovery and sustainable prosperity. Your voice matters.

Photo: Boreal caribou © martYmage

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Email the Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Please use your voice to support caribou – the grey ghosts of the boreal forest.

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Subject:

Dear Minister McKenna,

Your department has collected a strong body of both Indigenous knowledge and Western science to advance caribou recovery.

As you are aware, the accumulated evidence from several decades of caribou research confirms that increased habitat disturbance leads to an increased likelihood of population decline and local extinction. Further, your 2017 federal progress report shows that caribou habitat degradation continues.

However, this science is being undermined by misinformation campaigns by some forestry industry associations, which have sowed seeds of doubt, resulting in stalled recovery measures. They:

• deny the problem exists by suggesting that boreal caribou shouldn’t be listed as a species at risk, disregarding assessments by scientific experts.
• deny their responsibility by questioning whether logging is linked to caribou decline.
• and deny that we must manage forests for caribou survival to have a sustainable economy, vilifying concerned citizens calling for change as “ecoterrorists” and “environmental extremists”.

This denial campaign has undermined conservation efforts in many communities across Canada.

(See the peer-reviewed journal article, "From climate to caribou: How manufactured uncertainty is affecting wildlife management", which can be found here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wsb.891)

We call upon your government to engage with community members, uphold the science, and advance caribou range planning.

The longer we wait to protect boreal caribou’s critical habitat, the less chance they will have and the more recovery will cost.

Sincerely,

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