scholarly journals Woodland caribou range occupancy in northwestern Ontario: past and present

Rangifer ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.D. Racey ◽  
T. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Development Activity ◽  
Current Conservation ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
Forest Use ◽  
Historical Range

A zone of continuous woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) distribution is defined for northwestern Ontario. This zone establishes a benchmark for measuring the success of future management of habitat and conservation of populations. Inventory of key winter, summer and calving habitats reaffirms the concept of a dynamic mosaic of habitat tracts that supports caribou across the landscape. The historical range recession leading to this current distribution has been associated with resource development, fire and hunting activities over the past 150 years, and numerous attempts at conservation over the last 70 years. The decline was apparently phased according to several periods of development activity: i) early exploitation in the early to mid-1800s; ii) isolation and extirpation of southern populations due to rapid changes in forest use and access between 1890 and 1930; and iii) further loss of the southernmost herds due to forest harvesting of previously inaccessible areas since the 1950s. Lessons learned from history support current conservation measures to manage caribou across broad landscapes, protect southern herds, maintain caribou habitat as part of continuous range, maintain large contiguous tracts of older forest and ensure connectivity between habitat components.

If You Build It, Will They Come? Caribou Habitat Restoration for Pipeline Projects

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Coupal ◽  
Paula Bentham
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Management ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Landscape Fragmentation ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Recovery Strategy ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Northeastern Alberta

The federal Recovery Strategy for the Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), Boreal Population in Canada, identifies coordinated actions to reclaim woodland caribou habitat as a key step to meeting current and future caribou population objectives. Actions include restoring industrial landscape features such as roads, seismic lines, pipelines, cut-lines, and cleared areas in an effort to reduce landscape fragmentation and the changes in caribou population dynamics associated with changing predator-prey dynamics in highly fragmented landscapes. Reliance on habitat restoration as a recovery action within the federal Recovery Strategy is high, identifying 65% undisturbed habitat in a caribou range as the threshold to providing a 60% chance that a local population will be self-sustaining. In alignment with the federal Recovery Strategy, Alberta’s Provincial Woodland Caribou Policy identifies habitat restoration as a critical component of long-term caribou habitat management. Habitat restoration initiatives of Alberta’s historical industrial footprint within caribou ranges began in 2001 and have largely focused on linear corridors, including pipelines. Initiatives include revegetation treatments, access control programs and studies, and restricting the growth of plant species that are favourable to moose and deer, the primary prey for wolves. Habitat restoration for pipelines also includes pre-construction planning to reduce disturbance and create line-of-sight breaks, and construction techniques that promote natural vegetation recovery. Lessons learned from habitat restoration programs implemented on pipeline projects in northeastern Alberta will be shared as an opportunity to improve common understanding of restoration techniques, the barriers to implementation, and potential outcomes.

scholarly journals Will ecosystem management supply woodland caribou habitat in northwestern Ontario?

Rangifer ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
David L. Euler
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Management ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Managed Forest ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
And Function ◽  
Forested Ecosystems

Ecosystem management is emerging as an important concept in managing forests. Although the basic conceptual idea is not new, important defining principles are developing that elucidate some of the specific attributes of ecosystem management. These principles include: the maintenance of all ecosystems in the managed forest, rhe emulation of natural disturbance patterns on rhe landscape and the insurance that structure and function of forested ecosystems are conserved. Forest management has an impact on woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), although the presence of wolves (Canis lupus) and moose (Alces alces) in the same northern ecosystems also affects the caribou-forestry interacrion. Specific management for caribou as a featured species has been proposed, based on managing large landscape blocks. Ecosystem management would also produce habitat in a manner that might accomplish the goal of conserving woodland caribou as well as maintaining other important ecosystem functions.

scholarly journals Developing a woodland caribou habitat mosaic on the Ogoki-Nakina North Forests of northwestern Ontario

Rangifer ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 235
Author(s):  
I. Armstrong ◽  
G. Swant ◽  
H.R. Timmermann
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Forest Management Planning ◽  
Habitat Mosaic ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Thunder Bay

The Ogoki-North Nakina Forests consist of (10 638 km2) unroaded boreal forest approximately 400 km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario (lat 50°- 51°31'N, long 86°30'- 89°W). Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) inhabit discrete portions within these forests based on minimal current and past historical data. As part of the Forest Management Planning process, for the period 1997-2097, a woodland caribou habitat mosaic has been developed to coordinate present and future forest management activities with the retention and development of current and future woodland caribou habitat. Several criteria including, past fire history, forest structure, age, species composition, proximity to current road access and location of existing and potential caribou habitat, helped identify and delineate 50 mosaic harvest blocks. Each harvest block will be logged in one of five 20 year periods over a 100 year rotation (1997¬2097). The harvest blocks have been developed to simulate a pattern of past wildfire history in an area that has not been subjected to past forest management activities, while managing for woodland caribou, a locally featured species.

scholarly journals Towards a Caribou Habitat Management Strategy for Northwestern Ontario: Running the Gauntlet

Rangifer ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald D. Racey ◽  
Edward R. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategy ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Wood Supply ◽  
The Public ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
The Government

A management strategy for woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) habitat is being developed in northwestern Ontario. This strategy is based upon a set of draft Timber Management Guidelines for the Provision of Woodland Caribou Habitat. These guidelines recommend maintaining a sustainable supply of winter habitat within large tracts of old forest, protecting calving areas and minimizing human disturbance. Due to the large temporal and spatial scale of caribou habitat management, an ecosystem-based approach is recommended. Public response to the strategy shows a strong dichotomy between environmental and utilitarian values among all the major stakeholder groups. The major issues raised by the public include security of industrial wood supply, quality of the knowledge base, level of awareness of caribou, economic impacts on remote communities, concern about environmental impacts and silvicultural know-how. The government is responding to these concerns as the strategy evolves. Current emphasis is placed on increasing awareness of the public, training resource managers in caribou biology, management and habitat planning, implementing interim habitat management prescriptions and studying the potential impact on wood supply. The final direction for a northwestern Ontario strategy to conserve woodland caribou habitat has yet to be decided, although a commitment has been made to strive for the conservation of woodland caribou populations and their habitat.

A protostrongylid nematode (Strongylida: Protostrongylidae) in woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou)

1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 680-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. W. Lankester ◽  
V. J. Crichton ◽  
H. R. Timmermann
Keyword(s):  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Neurologic Disease ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus Caribou ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus Tarandus

First-stage protostrongylid larvae found in faeces of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in northwestern Ontario and Manitoba may be larvae of Elaphostrongylus sp., a well-known agent of neurologic disease in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) of Eurasia.

scholarly journals Analysis of forest stands used by wintering woodland caribou in Ontario

Rangifer ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 157 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Antoniak ◽  
H.G. Cumming
Keyword(s):  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Landsat Imagery ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Wintering Areas

Two summers' field surveys at 9 locations in northwestern Ontario showed that woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) wintering areas supported jack pine and black spruce stands with low tree densities (mean 1552 trees/ ha, 39% of a fully stocked stand), low basal areas (mean 14.14 m2/ha), low volumes (mean 116 mVha, 68% of Normal Yield Tables) and short heights (95% of stands 12 m or less). Ecologically, most sights were classed V30. Significantly more lichen (averaging 39% lichen ground cover) was found on plots used by caribou. Three measured areas showed few shrubs, possibly enhancing escape possibilities and reducing browse attractive to moose. An HIS model predicted known locations of caribou winter habitat from FRI data with 76% accuracy. Landsat imagery theme 3 (open conifer) produced 74% accuracy. Combining these methods permitted prediction of all 50 test sites. The low volumes of timber found in caribou wintering areas suggest that setting aside reserves for caribou winter habitat would not sacrifice as much wood product value as might at first appear.

scholarly journals Preliminary analysis of habitat utilization by woodland caribou in northwestern Ontario using satellite telemetry

Rangifer ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 195 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.L. Hillis ◽  
F.F. Mallory ◽  
W.J. Dalton ◽  
J. Smiegielski
Keyword(s):  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Satellite Telemetry ◽  
Habitat Utilization ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Gis Technology ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
One Year

Locational data collected over a one year period from 10 female woodland caribou, Rangifer tarandus caribou, collared with Argos satellite collars in northwestern Ontario, Canada were superimposed on supervised Landsat images using Geographical Information System (GIS) technology. Landscape parameters, land cover classifications, and drainage were utilized to create the basemap. Using ARCVIEW software, all digital fixes from collared caribou with information of date, time, and activity status were overlain on the basemap to facilitate a preliminary analysis of habitat use in this species. Results supported the conclusions (1) that woodland caribou in northwestern Ontario select habitats containing high to moderate conifer cover and avoided disturbed areas and shrub-rich habitats, (2) that seasonal changes in habitat utilization occurs in females of this species, and (3) that satellite telemetry technology can be employed in the boreal forest ecosystem to assess habitat utilization by large ungulate species.

scholarly journals Vegetation characteristics of forest stands used by woodland caribou and those disturbed by fire or logging in Manitoba

Rangifer ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha M. Metsaranta ◽  
Frank F. Mallory ◽  
Dale W. Cross
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Suitability ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Forest Management Planning ◽  
Vegetation Characteristics ◽  
Negative Impacts

This study examined woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in an area known as the Kississing-Naosap caribou range in west central Manitoba. The vegetation characteristics of areas used by caribou and areas disturbed by fire or logging were measured in order to develop a model to estimate habitat quality from parameters collected during stan¬dard resource inventories. There was evidence that habitat index values calculated using a visual score-sheet index could be used as the basis to relate parameters commonly collected during resource inventories to habitat suitability. Use of this model to select long and short-term leave areas during forest management planning could potentially mitigate some of the negative impacts of forest harvesting. Abundance of arboreal lichen and wind-fallen trees were important predictor variables in the suitability model, but their inclusion did not explain more variance in habitat suitability than models that did not include them. Extreme post-fire deadfall abundance may play a role in predator-prey dynamics by creating habitat that is equally unsuitable for all ungulates, and thus keeping both moose and caribou densities low.

scholarly journals Forest management guidelines for forest-dwelling caribou in Québec

2004 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 598-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Réhaume Courtois ◽  
Jean-Pierre Ouellet ◽  
Claude Dussault ◽  
André Gingras
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Habitat Recovery ◽  
Irregular Structure

The forest-dwelling ecotype of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) is vulnerable to predation, hunting, and disturbances due to anthropogenic activities. Its strategies of space and habitat use are oriented towards reducing the effects of these limiting factors. Caribou occupy large home ranges, undertake extensive movements, and avoid fragmented areas. They use various habitats, but especially mature and over-mature conifer stands with irregular structure, which are less suitable for other ungulates, wolves and black bears. In order to protect habitat for forest-dwelling caribou, we suggest an ecosystem approach based on the protection of large forested blocks, the concentration of forest harvesting in large management blocks, and the maintenance of habitat connectivity. This strategy focuses on short-term conservation of minimum caribou habitats in the protected blocks, a medium-term habitat recovery in the management blocks, the maintenance of forest activities, and facilitation of seasonal and dispersal movements. Within the management blocks, we recommend creation of an irregular forest structure similar to the pattern created by natural disturbances inherent to spruce-moss forests. These guidelines have been tested in Québec for the last few years and were well received by forest and wildlife agencies as well as the forest industry. Key words: adaptive management, boreal forest, ecosystem management, forest-dwelling ecotype, forest management, spruce forest, woodland caribou

Demographic and behavioural response of woodland caribou to forest harvesting

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (11) ◽  
pp. 2837-2849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Réhaume Courtois ◽  
André Gingras ◽  
Daniel Fortin ◽  
Aïssa Sebbane ◽  
Bruno Rochette ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Behavioural Response ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus Caribou ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Aerial Surveys ◽  
Continuous Forest ◽  
Female Survival ◽  
Forest Management Plan

We investigated whether woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ) would remain in a 2772 km2 area in eastern Quebec where the forest management plan included the preservation of large forest blocks (35–182 km2) linked with >400 m wide corridors and where cuts were amalgamated in large zones. To evaluate changes in caribou abundance and habitat selection, we conducted five aerial surveys and followed by telemetry 13 to 22 female caribou each year, from March 1998 to March 2005. Caribou numbers declined by 59% between 1999 and 2001 but gradually recovered to initial abundance. Female survival increased from 73.3% in 1999 to 87.3%–93.4% in 2004 and 2005. Caribou selected protected blocks, used corridors in proportion to their availability, and avoided logged areas. They preferred closed conifer stands without terrestrial lichens and open conifer stands with or without terrestrial lichens throughout the study. Open habitats (clearcuts and burns), regenerating sites, mixed and deciduous stands, and water bodies were avoided. The main zones used by caribou gradually shifted towards the southwest of the study area, likely as a result of disturbance and habitat loss due to logging of mature conifers in the east. We conclude that caribou numbers were maintained within the managed area as a result of the presence of protected blocks and uncut continuous forest.

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