Alberta’s Woodland Caribou – Can laws alone protect species at risk?

1/22/2010

In the wake of two major species at risk victories in the Federal Court of Canada in 2009 it is time to re-examine how well Canada is implementing the Species At Risk Act and how well Alberta is utilizing the Wildlife Act in the context of one of Canada’s most iconic animals: the Woodland Caribou.

The Alberta Woodland Caribou has been listed as threatened since 1987 and is currently designated as threatened in Schedule 6 of the Wildlife Regulation in Alberta.  However the Alberta Wildlife Act provides no specific habitat protections for endangered species.  Instead, it mandates the creation of an Endangered Species Conservation Committee that reviews and advises on any recovery plan prepared by the Minister of Sustainable Resources.  While the Wildlife Actprovides that provincial recovery plans may identify critical habitat for endangered species it is not required to do so.  The Alberta Woodland Caribou Recovery Plan (2004-2014) committed to create range plans and set habitat targets but does not even mention critical habitat.  The plan was adopted except for the parts that require a moratorium on development in Caribou ranges, after which the recovery team was disbanded and replaced with the Alberta Caribou Committee, which has a socioeconomic mandate.

Read “Alberta’s Woodland Caribou – Can laws alone protect species at risk?” on the ELC blog.