Target: The Honorable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Goal: Protect the Boreal forest and let caribou live.
The population of Boreal woodland caribou has decreased by more than thirty percent over the last few decades. Research shows the increased risk of human activities and natural turbulences within their range has a devastating impact on their existence.
Woodland caribou are unlike caribou that live in the tundra because they do not migrate long distances between seasons. They remain in the forest, either alone or in small groups, and require vast areas of suitable habitat with low levels of disturbances. The main threat to woodland caribou is the destruction or loss of their habitat through forest fires. Human disturbances pose a great danger to their existence as well, including logging, oil and gas exploration and extraction, and road networks. Predators, like wolves, are attracted by the increased presence of moose and deer that seek out the new, humanmade, open areas and extensive young forests. Other factors impacting caribou include climate change, hunting and poaching, disturbances from resource industry development, parasites, and disease.
The recovery strategy is clear: Canada’s caribou populations are unlikely to survive unless all disturbances are minimized. Caribou need their endangered habitat protected more than ever. Sign the petition below to protect woodland caribou in Canada.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Honorable Wilkinson,
Boreal woodland caribou are on the verge of extinction in Canada. Considering the severe threats to boreal caribou, a blue-ribbon team of North American caribou experts confirmed what decades of scientific research was already supporting: Cumulative disturbance must be diminished to give the boreal woodland caribou a chance to survive.
With your powers as Minister of Environment and Climate Change, you need to act upon the science that cumulative disturbance has to be minimized for woodland caribou to survive. Ensure that forests are sustainably harvested now and in the future. Also, reinforce your relationship with Indigenous peoples to share habitat protection for caribou, as well as enforcing that provinces and territories implement the federal recovery strategy to decrease the risk of legal challenges. And finally, include climate threats into caribou range planning.
I urge you to demonstrate leadership by supporting Canada’s woodland caribou.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Sandy Brown Jensen
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