Alberta prof comes to Guelph to talk about protecting a threatened animal

Cody Kupferschmidt

There may be a way to help protect declining caribou herds in Alberta according to University of Alberta professor, Dr. Stan Boutin.  As part of a series of lectures run by the Department of Integrative Biology, Boutin led a seminar on Nov. 16 entitled ‘Conservation and Alberta Oil Sands: Is there any hope?’ Boutin explained that with the strategic placement of protected caribou habitat zones, there is an opportunity to protect a large number of caribou for a relatively low cost.

The woodland caribou is a threatened species throughout Alberta and Canada and is in serious trouble in many areas due to decreasing populations.  Alberta’s population consists of about 3000 animals divided into 12 herds. Their ability to survive is being constantly challenged.

“We have pretty reasonable confidence that these populations are dropping, and it looks like at a fairly catastrophic rate,” said Boutin.

The main cause of Alberta’s declining caribou population seems to be wolf predation.

“There is a major change in the spatial overlap of [wolves] and caribou, relative to what we saw back in the early to mid 90s,” said Boutin.   But this problem is not necessarily a natural one. Oil and gas development may be directly linked to increases in wolf predation.

Oil and gas companies often cut exploratory paths known as seismic lines through forested areas, and wolves can travel on these lines about three times faster than walking through the forest.  Boutin calls these lines “travel highways” for predators.  He compared the use of these routes to human travel. “If you want to walk quickly through an area, you get on a trail and away you go.  So do these guys.”

Examination of wolf behaviour confirmed that wolves are found near these seismic lines far more often than would be expected by chance.  While caribou tended to avoid going within 100 metres of the lines, their mortality levels were higher when closest to them.

With wolf population management and by establishing protected areas, Boutin feels that within 20 years the fastest recovering caribou herds may even be self-sustaining.  This could be possible through his unique approach to establishing protected areas.

Boutin suggests money should be spent where it can protect the greatest number of caribou.  He explained that from an economical standpoint, the number of caribou we can protect depends on the relative cost of the caribou’s habitat.

Using computer models to optimize the location of protected areas based on a number of parameters including cost, Boutin discovered striking results.  Based on one of his models, for about three per cent of the net present value of the total land area, it is possible to protect about 50 per cent of Alberta’s caribou.

Rather than focusing conservation efforts on protecting prime oil and gas sector land, his computer model establishes protected conservation zones in areas where land is less expensive.  This includes placing protected areas on land dominated by forestry rather than the energy sector.  “Basically, we go nowhere near the oil sands,” emphasized Boutin.

Boutin’s findings add some possibility to resolving a major conservation problem, even amongst the insistent development of the tar sands. “To me, it gives some hope,” said Boutin of his work.

The problem of the decline in the caribou population needs action and attention. As Boutin made clear, it’s not worth giving up.

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