The Alberta government’s current policies, which prioritize short-term industrial profits over nature conservation, are pushing caribou to extinction in parts of the province according to a report from the Alberta Wilderness Society (AWA).
The report outlines how, despite preservation of caribou populations being front and centre for the draft Upper Smoky sub-regional plan, this plan’s adoption would actually further threaten these populations by clearcutting and restricting their access to forested winter habitats.
The Upper Smoky sub-region is located in northern Alberta between Grande Prairie and Grande Cache. The plan details how the government will manage the area’s forests, gas, minerals, and land. Caribou populations are paying the price of these new plans.
Execution of the plan “would eliminate the possibility of recovering the two caribou populations and risk their extirpation,” the AWA said in its report.
Caribou populations across the province are shrinking because their habitats are getting smaller and industry is making it easier for predators to attack caribou. Forestry and oil and gas roads fragment forests and peatland and makes it easier for wolves and bears to get to greater numbers of caribou.
The UCP’s latest round of projects and proposed doubling of oil and gas expansion is yet another example of caribou protection being deprioritised in favour of tearing up the province and its natural resources for economic development.
Why Caribou?
Caribou are often perceived as ‘dumb’ because, like all deer, they are very curious, making them easy to hunt. However, they play a vital part in Alberta’s ecosystems. By predominantly choosing to graze in mature and old growth forests, they cycle vital nutrients through the soil and help maintain the forest’s structure, which in turn preserves these valuable boreal forests and peatlands.
Protecting caribou also means protecting their habitats. This prevents these forests from being further destroyed for industry purposes.
These boreal forests and peatlands are valuable to us as they are key for storing carbon dioxide and regulating water systems, as well as providing valuable pest control. All of nature’s ecosystems are a fragile balance; loss of any cog in this well-oiled machine will have both economic and cultural costs, now and in the future.
Long-term economic value
In our current economic system, an asset needs to have short-term economic value in order to be counted. However natural assets such as caribou have not only ecological and cultural value, but also long-term economic value.
We are capable of translating much of nature into standard economic value. Timber has a market price, as does oil and water. However, we often overlook the economic value of ecosystems as a whole. This results in the true cost of their loss being overlooked.
Protecting caribou means protecting our access to clean water, preserving our children’s access to a varied and healthy ecosystem, mitigating climate impacts, and preserving our cultural heritage. The issue is not just about caribou – they are an important pawn in an unfortunate game and their decline reflects our collective failure to value the natural systems that sustain us.
