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STATUS OF SARCO CARIBOU INITIATIVE

STATUS OF SARCO CARIBOU INITIATIVE. March 14,2007. Mountain Caribou in south central BC are listed as threatened. Nearly the entire Mountain Caribou range occurs in BC Most of these herds have experienced declines of 50% or more in the past decade. Caribou Background. Government Actions.

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STATUS OF SARCO CARIBOU INITIATIVE

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  1. STATUS OF SARCO CARIBOU INITIATIVE March 14,2007

  2. Mountain Caribou in south central BC are listed as threatened. Nearly the entire Mountain Caribou range occurs in BC Most of these herds have experienced declines of 50% or more in the past decade. Caribou Background

  3. Government Actions • 2003 Species at Risk Act enabled. • 2004 Mountain Caribou Science Team. • 2006 Government posting of Science Team materials. • 2006 Release of draft SaRCO Recovery Strategy .

  4. Complexity Issues: • 14 million ha, 7 land use plans, 21 management units • No single cause of decline • Different starting points, different balance on LUP’s • Forest sector viability • Federal Legislation • First Nations Issues • ENGO focus • Mountain Pine Beetle • Predator Control • Cross border issues

  5. Mountain Caribou Science Team Findings • A minimum of 75-100 animals are required in a Planning Unit to maintain a resilient population • Planning Units with fewer animals will require intensive, sustained efforts to recover • Threats to the current viability of Mountain Caribou fall into 4 broad categories: 1. Habitat Change 2. Predation 3. Disturbance 4. Climate Change

  6. Recovery Options Eleven large, contiguous “Planning Units” Five management options: • Status Quo • Maintain Current Population • Maintain Population with Resilience • Assisted Long-term Sustaining • Self-sustaining Population Five complementary related actions necessary to recovery Mountain Caribou: • Incremental habitat protection in core mountain caribou habitat • Minimizing disturbance from backcountry recreation • Predator management • Alternate prey management • Augmenting some populations with translocations and/or maternity penning

  7. Wolf Predation on Moose

  8. Snowmobilers

  9. October 2006, Minister Bell announced the completion of the MCST’s report, government’s commitment to recover caribou in BC, and a 60 day stakeholder consultation period. This stakeholder consultation has been extended to 120 days (end of February) Minster Bell’s October 24th Announcement

  10. The proposal by SaRCO is a starting point for discussions. SaRCO Draft Mountain Caribou Recovery Strategy 2006

  11. Significant local impacts from SaRCO analysis

  12. Key Issues • Coodination of Recovery Actions • Phased Implementation • Implementation Mechanism • Mitigative Measures • Transitional Issues • Tenuring • First Nations • Resourcing the Implementation Plan

  13. Key IssuesImplementation Existing Land Use Plans • LUP’s have strong community ownership. • There is a risk of alienating existing, planning, monitoring and implementation committees by imposing a caribou recovery strategy.

  14. Implemenation tools • For Habitat Protection • For Access Management • For Predator Management • For Primary Prey Management • No decisions have been made on what tools to use. • HQ Committee has been established and will meet once an option is recommended

  15. For Habitat Protection Implementation • Options are: • Use GAR orders to implement • Use a mixture or GAR orders and LUP amendments as applicable. • Each has its own pros and cons. • Timing of implementation will be a key factor.

  16. End of February Integrating Team summarized issues and potential solutions for the Directors Team March -SaRCO to draft options for a Caribou Recovery Action Plan. -Directors team to review and recommend an option. April -Deputies meeting to decide on a Caribou Recovery Action Plan. June 1 -Proposed implementation of Action Plan Next Steps

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