Ottawa – In the first annual assessment of how well provinces and territories are enacting the requirements for conservation plans under the federal government’s National Recovery Strategy for Boreal Woodland Caribou, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and David Suzuki Foundation (DSF) find the majority are lagging behind badly.
“We gave low grades to six of the nine provinces and territories that still shelter boreal woodland caribou on their overall performance in conserving caribou over the past year. The only bright news is that three jurisdictions – Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories — received “medium” grades because they have made some welcome progress in conserving Santa’s reindeer’s Canadian cousins,” says Eric Hebert-Daly, CPAWS National Executive Director.
Boreal Woodland Caribou by Tin Can Forest
Canada’s boreal woodland caribou are of the same family as domesticated “reindeer” found in Nordic countries. However, more than half of Canada’s boreal woodland caribou populations are estimated to be at risk of extinction.