Logging and climate change present more of a threat to woodland caribou than mineral and petroleum development say both federal government scientists and industry, but seismic lines, or SA国际影视传媒渉ighways for wolvesSA国际影视传媒�, remain a pervasive threat.
According to research presented at the North American Caribou Workshop held in Ottawa earlier this month; seismic lines are deemed SA国际影视传媒渉ighways for wolvesSA国际影视传媒� that increase pressure on an already stressed species. Logging and increased forest fires due to climate change, however, remain the overriding determinants.
SA国际影视传媒淩egardless of the climate change scenario weSA国际影视传媒檙e looking at, (logging) will be the most important change in caribou habitat quality,SA国际影视传媒� Yan Boulanger, a forest ecologist with NRCan, told journalists, politicos and lobbyists at the workshop. SA国际影视传媒�(Woodland caribou) need the forest to live and hide from predators.SA国际影视传媒�
Research program coordinator Katalijn MacAfee noted seismic lines SA国际影视传媒渞eally create highways for wolves, as I like to say,SA国际影视传媒� but that the industry attempting to mitigate that with SA国际影视传媒渋nnovative techniques to reduce the impactSA国际影视传媒�; narrower, low-impact lines for example.
Though resource development and wildlife protection are often at odds, the chamber of mines, Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers appear to be on the same page, when it comes to understanding the impacts.
Studying the resource developmentSA国际影视传媒檚 on the plight of the caribou is SA国际影视传媒渘othing newSA国际影视传媒� says Tom Hoefer, executive director of the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of mines.
SA国际影视传媒淏ut, ISA国际影视传媒檓 not used to seeing NRCan work on wildlife matters as Environment Canada is the usual researcher. Perhaps itSA国际影视传媒檚 linked to their responsibilities for forestry,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淭he idea that seismic lines are highways for caribou and predators is nothing new.SA国际影视传媒�
Hoefer said Boreal caribou in the NWT are SA国际影视传媒渟omewhat healthy in numbers in the Mackenzie Valley.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淏ut we know Boreal caribou are declining and we know in the North that climate change poses a more immediate threat than development,SA国际影视传媒� he added.
Krista Philipps, CAPP manager of oil sands, called the science on the recovery of caribou SA国际影视传媒渋ncredibly complexSA国际影视传媒� and that industry was working closely with government and local stakeholders to find solutions.
