Valhalla Wilderness Society Concerned For Endangered Mountain Caribou

The Valhalla Wilderness Society(VWS) is calling on the government to do more when it comes protecting the endanger mountain caribou.

Last November saw a draft agreement between the BC government and Environment Canada which would identify and reserve all untenured high-elevation caribou range.

According to VWS this does nothing for the core habitat, which is covered with overlapping tenures.

Forty-five per cent of the core range is under tenure to coal development. Twenty-two per cent is under tenure to mineral development; most of the area is under tenure to oil and gas production, 60% to logging, 11.4% to wind and water power, 43% to recreational tenure.

Director of VWS Craig Pettitt says the high elevation habitat isn’t where the government should be focusing on.

“What is being hammered in caribou habitat is principally the lower elevation habitat, the old growth forest. This is the habitat they need an early winter and spring.”

He added animals need large tracks of the area to space out from predators, but they can’t do that if the government keeps mining resources in the area.

It’s clear the government is only protecting areas where resources aren’t needed says Pettitt.

“This habitat that’s untenured obviously is no use to the commercial recreational industry, logging, mining or any other industry otherwise it would be tenured already.”

Pettitt says the VWS has been actively petitioning the government to step in and do more to protect the dwindling caribou.

Negotiations are still taking place with First Nations, Stakeholders, Canada and British Columbia and a final agreement won’t be made available until spring 2018.