Conserving woodland caribou habitat while maintaining timber yield: a graph theory approach

The fragmentation and loss of old-growth forest has led to the decline of many forest-dwelling species that depend on old-growth forest as habitat. Emblematic of this issue in many areas of the managed boreal forest in Canada is the threatened woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)). We develop a methodology to help determine when and how timber can be harvested to best satisfy both industrial timber supply and woodland caribou habitat requirements. To start, we use least-cost paths based on graph theory to determine the configuration of woodland caribou preferred habitat patches. We then developed a heuristic procedure to schedule timber harvesting based on a trade-off between merchantable wood volume and the remaining amount of habitat and its connectivity during a planning cycle. Our heuristic can attain 84% of the potential woodland caribou habitat that would be available in the absence of harvesting at the end of a 100 year planning horizon. Interestingly, this is more than that which is attained by the current plan (50%) and a harvesting plan that targets high volume stands (32%). Our results indicate that our heuristic procedure (i.e., an ecologically tuned optimization approach) may better direct industrial activities to improve old-growth habitat while maintaining specified timber production levels.

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Winter distribution of woodland caribou in relation to clear-cut logging in west-central Alberta

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z00-094 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 78 (8) ◽

pp. 1433-1440 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Kirby G Smith ◽

E Janet Ficht ◽

David Hobson ◽

Troy C Sorensen ◽

David Hervieux

Keyword(s):

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Timber Harvest ◽

Timber Harvesting ◽

Home Range Size ◽

Woodland Caribou ◽

Daily Movement ◽

Movement Rates ◽

Clear Cut ◽

Winter Range ◽

West Central

The responses of a herd of migratory woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) to timber harvesting that fragmented about 11% of their winter range in west-central Alberta were examined in this study. From 1981 to 1996, 45 caribou were radio-collared and monitored during the initiation and completion of first-pass timber harvest (50% removal). Variables examined were home-range size, daily movement rates, and distance to the nearest cut block for radio-collared individuals. Daily movement rates and individual winter range sizes decreased as timber harvesting progressed. Caribou avoided using recently fragmented areas by an average of 1.2 km. If fragmentation of the winter range continues through timber harvesting and other industrial activities, the "spacing out" antipredator strategy used by caribou may be compromised. Based on these findings, timber-harvesting strategies are recommended that (i) ensure an adequate area of usable habitat to support the current population, (ii) minimize the amount of fragmented area, and (iii) in the short term avoid presently defined core use areas.

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Managing second-growth forests as caribou habitat

Rangifer ◽

10.7557/2.10.3.844 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 139 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Susan K. Stevenson

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Habitat Management ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Management Practices ◽

Rangifer Tarandus Caribou ◽

Woodland Caribou ◽

Old Growth ◽

Stand Management ◽

Second Growth ◽

Old Growth Forests

Habitat management for woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in southeastern British Columbia has generally focussed on protecting old-growth forests from logging. As that strategy becomes more difficult to maintain, biologists are beginning to explore opportunities to manage second-growth stands to provide arboreal lichens and other habitat resources important to caribou. Special harvesting and stand management practices are being developed and formulated into strategies for maintaining caribou populations in managed stands.

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The West Central Alberta Woodland Caribou Landscape Plan: Using a Modeling Approach to Develop Alternative Scenarios

Rangifer ◽

10.7557/2.31.2.1995 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 103-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anne Hubbs ◽

Piotr Weclaw ◽

Michael Sullivan ◽

Nicole McCutchen

Keyword(s):

Cervus Elaphus ◽

Habitat Management ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Woodland Caribou ◽

Fire Control ◽

The West ◽

Old Growth ◽

West Central ◽

Alternative Scenarios

Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus) are classified as threatened in Alberta. In support of Canada's Species at Risk Act, a Recovery Plan for Woodland Caribou in Alberta was completed in 2004 which required local implementation plans to be completed within 5 areas of the province. The West Central Alberta Caribou Landscape Plan (WCCLP) is the first of these to be initiated and it addresses the recovery strategies for 4 herds. Two aspatial computer models built on the STELLA© modelling platform (ISee Systems, 2007) were used to assist the planning team in evaluating cumulative effects and alternative scenarios for caribou conservation. The ALCES© (Forem Technologies 2008) modelling tool was used to forecast potential changes in the west central Alberta landscape over time. Yearly landscape condition outputs from ALCES© were then exported into a caribou-specific population model, REMUS© (Weclaw, 2004), that was used to project potential population responses by woodland caribou, other primary prey species [moose (Alces alces), elk (Cervus elaphus) and deer (Odocoileus sp.)] and wolves (Canis lupus) (Weclaw & Hudson, 2004). Simulated habitat management strategies that resulted in the highest likelihood of caribou recovery included the maintenance of a high proportion of old forest, the aggregation of industrial footprints and the reclamation of historic seismic lines (although the latter took decades to provide real dividends). Sharing of industrial roads, protection of fragments of old-growth, and expanding an already aggressive fire control strategy in Alberta had little additional effect on caribou recovery. Simulated population management strategies that were successful all involved decades of intensive wolf control, either directly or indirectly through intensive primary prey control (with the exception of woodland caribou) until old-growth forests recovered to densities that provided caribou habitat and decreased alternate prey of wolves. Although this modelling approach makes broad assumptions, it provides simple fundamental relationships that were useful in a multi-stakeholder team setting when evaluating the efficacy of different management strategies for the conservation of woodland caribou.

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An Analysis of Government Actions for the Protection and Recovery of Forest-dwelling Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Ontario, Canada

Rangifer ◽

10.7557/2.30.1.783 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 67-77 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christopher J.A. Wilkinson

Keyword(s):

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Timber Harvesting ◽

Species Loss ◽

Species At Risk ◽

Rangifer Tarandus Caribou ◽

Woodland Caribou ◽

Recovery Strategy ◽

Government Action ◽

Conservation Plan ◽

The Government

The Government of Ontario has legal responsibilities to protect and recover the province’s population of forest-dwelling woodland caribou, which is classified as a threatened species. Loss and fragmentation of habitat caused by commercial timber harvesting, land clearing, and linear disturbances such as road building have resulted in range recession. Ontario’s Woodland Caribou Conservation Plan (2009) serves as the provincial government’s response to a recovery strategy. This paper contends that the likelihood of success for this conservation plan is low as it focuses on mitigating rather than eliminating threats, relies on the unproven and circumspect hypothesis that woodland caribou will re-occupy logged habitat, and lacks clarity and details on implementation. Sound government action focused on protection and recovery is needed to prevent the imperilment and extirpation of this species at risk.

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An examination of recovery planning for forest-dwelling woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Ontario, Canada

Rangifer ◽

10.7557/2.28.1.147 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 13

Author(s):

Christopher J. A. Wilkinson

Keyword(s):

Natural Resources ◽

Industrial Development ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Timber Harvesting ◽

Species At Risk ◽

Rangifer Tarandus Caribou ◽

Woodland Caribou ◽

Recovery Strategy ◽

Forestry Policy ◽

Recovery Planning

Ontario’s population of forest-dwelling woodland caribou is listed both federally and provincially as a species at risk. It is estimated that 20 000 woodland caribou remain in Ontario, of which approximately one quarter inhabit the boreal forest and are described as the sedentary forest-dwelling population. This paper examines the recovery strategy for this population developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources, as well as discussing the implications of provincial forestry policy on woodland caribou management. Commercial timber harvesting will likely soon be allowed in parts of the northern third of the province, in which woodland caribou habitat currently is relatively unimpaired by industrial development. Abstract in Norwegian / Sammendrag:Planlegging for bevaring av skogsøkotypen av Rangifer tarandus caribou i Ontario, CanadaSkogsvillreinen av skogsøkotypen i Ontario er vurdert som sårbar både føderalt og på provinsnivå. Av provinsens rundt 20 000 skogsvillrein hører omtrent en fjerdepart til den stasjonære skogsboende skogsøkoypen. Artikkelen ser på bevaringsstrategien som er utarbeidet av naturressursdepartementet i Ontario for denne spesielle bestanden og diskuterer konsekvensene for villreinen av provinsens skogpolitikk. Kommersiell hogst vil mest sannsynlig og snart bli tillatt i deler av Ontarios nordlige tredel der skogvillreinens leveområder er relativt upåvirket av industriell virksomhet.

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Conflicting portrayals of remaining old growth: the British Columbia case

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2020-0453 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Karen Price ◽

Rachel F Holt ◽

Dave Daust

Keyword(s):

Forest Policy ◽

Timber Harvesting ◽

Provincial Government ◽

Old Growth ◽

High Productivity ◽

Forest Resilience ◽

Old Growth Forest ◽

Large Trees ◽

Relative Productivity ◽

International Conventions

Old growth is disappearing globally with implications for biodiversity, forest resilience and carbon storage; yet uncertainty remains about how much exists, partly because assessments stratify ecosystems differently, sometimes obscuring relevant patterns. This paper compares portrayals of BC’s old growth forest stratified in two ways: by biogeoclimatic variant, as per policy, and by relative site productivity. Our analyses confirm provincial government claims that about a quarter of BC’s forests are old growth, but find that most of this area has low realized productivity, including subalpine and bog forests, and that less than 1% is highly productive old growth, growing large trees. Within biogeoclimatic variant, nearly half of high productivity forest landscapes have less than 1% of the expected area of old forest. Low productivity ecosystems are over-represented in protected forest. We suggest that the experiment of managing old growth solely by biogeoclimatic variant has failed, and that current forest policy, in combination with timber harvesting priorities, does not maintain representative ecosystems, counter to the intent of both policy and international conventions. Stratifying old growth by relative productivity within biogeoclimatic variant seems an appropriate method to portray ecosystem representation, potentially increasing the probability of maintaining ecosystem resilience.

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Status of woodland caribou in Alberta

Rangifer ◽

10.7557/2.18.5.1547 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 18 (5) ◽

pp. 111 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J. Edmonds

Keyword(s):

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Oil And Gas ◽

Timber Harvesting ◽

Conservation Strategy ◽

Peat Moss ◽

Woodland Caribou ◽

Oil And Gas Development ◽

The North ◽

Wide Range ◽

Multi Stakeholder

A recent review of woodland caribou {Rangifer tarandus caribou) status in Alberta estimated that there are between 3600 and 6700 caribou occupying 113 000 km2 of habitat. There are two ecotypes of caribou in Alberta; the mountain ecotype in the west central region and the boreal ecotype primarily in the north. Mountain caribou populations are stable or declining and boreal populations, where data are available, appear to be stable or declining slowly. A major initiative in caribou management in Alberta has been the development of the Woodland Caribou Conservation Strategy. This document was developed over two and a half years by a committee of multi-stakeholder representatives. The past five years has seen an increase in baseline inventory and applied research jointly funded by government, industry and universities, addressing a wide range of management issues from caribou response to logging to interactions of moose, wolves and caribou in the boreal ecosystem. Land use conflicts on caribou range remain high with timber harvesting, oil and gas development, peat moss extraction, coal mining, agricultural expansion and increasing road access overlapping. Cumulative effects of these disturbances are poorly understood and have received little attention to date.

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