The boreal population of woodland caribou are listed as threatened under the federal Species At Risk Act (SARA) and in several provinces. There are a number of opportunities to get involved in recovery measures under the federal Act; for example, a draft recovery strategy is being revised right now and is due for release in June 2011, when it will be posted on the SARA registry for public comments.
Further, many provinces and territories have their own processes for regional caribou recovery, through recovery strategies and action plans.
Get involved! Every province is expected to develop a caribou action plan that is SARA-compliant. Action planning processes under the federal Species at Risk Act are mandated to take socio-economic concerns into consideration — let the federal government know that caribou habitat is worth more than just its value as lumber; forests have intrinsic, recreational and ecosystem functionality values too.
So what do I do?
- Bookmark Environment Canada's Species at Risk Public Registry website.
- Visit it every so often to see if there is a consultation on the boreal woodland caribou strategy. If there is, let your voice for habitat conservation be heard!
- Request that the federal government include the most recent science, found in the Scientific Review for the Identification of Critical Habitat for Boreal Woodland Caribou, to identify the habitat that caribou need to survive and recover (called 'critical habitat' under the Species At Risk Act.)
- Find out what processes are underway in your province or territory, and what opportunities there are for public participation.