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Protecting at-risk boreal
woodland caribou populations in Manitoba and working to recover their
habitats is the focus of a strategy document released today by Conservation
Minister Stan Struthers.
"The strategy is based on
scientific research, knowledge and experience gained from co-operative
partnerships between individuals and groups over the past three decades,"
said Struthers. "As we begin to implement the strategy to conserve this
vulnerable species, we will respect First Nations’ treaty rights."
The Conservation and Recovery
Strategy for Boreal Woodland Caribou outlines goals, objectives and guiding
principles to help ensure effective management of habitat and action plans
that will sustain boreal woodland caribou. The province will develop and
implement action plans based on this strategy, which will continue to evolve
with the ever-increasing knowledge gained from ongoing research.
The document was developed
through working together with people from the Opaskwayak, Mosakahikan and
Chemawawin Cree Nations, the Brokenhead Objibway, Grand Rapids, Hollow
Water, Black River and Sagkeeng First Nations as well as the Cormorant
Resource Management Board that participated on local caribou committees in
the northern and eastern regions.
"The experiences, viewpoints
and traditional knowledge of First Nations strengthened our overall
understanding of caribou and will help develop a comprehensive and sound
knowledge base that will guide effective management of the species," said
the minister.
The minister also announced two new
provincial biologist positions dedicated to species at risk including boreal
woodland caribou herds. The new biologists will focus on woodland caribou
conservation on the east side of Lake Winnipeg and northern Manitoba.
The
western Canadian population of boreal woodland caribou was declared a vulnerable
species by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in April
1984. In September 1994, the Manitoba Endangered Species Advisory Committee
assessed the status of boreal woodland caribou in Manitoba as endangered. In
May 2002, the status for the species in Canada, excluding all coastal
populations, was reassessed as threatened. In 2003, boreal woodland caribou
were listed as threatened under the federal government’s Species at Risk Act.
These assessments recognized that major threats to boreal woodland caribou
include habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation.
Woodland caribou were once found
throughout the boreal forest of Manitoba. Their disappearance from southern
parts of their historical range is attributed to many factors including:
- human activities that have resulted in loss or changes in habitat
- a possible increase in predators,
- the introduction of parasites and diseases, and
- uncontrolled hunting.
The current population of boreal
woodland caribou in Manitoba is estimated at between 1,800 and 3,200, spread
across 10 identified ranges in the boreal lowlands, boreal shield ecozones and
in other habitats.
"The development of this Manitoba
strategy is essential to conserving and recovering boreal woodland caribou and
their habitats," said Struthers. "Manitoba is co-operating with other
provinces, territories and the federal government in developing a national
boreal woodland caribou recovery strategy."
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