The 2014 North American Caribou Workshop is happening now in Whitehorse, Yukon. The conference brings together caribou scientists from across the continent to talk about the latest research related to caribou.
Chantelle Bambrick from the Foothills Landscape Management Forum (FLMF), has agreed to share her thoughts from the workshop.
Day 1:
The highlight of my day at the 15th NACW was the presentation from Mr. Danny Cresswell on the Southern Lakes Caribou Recovery Program. I found his presentation both encouraging and inspiring. I see many similarities between their recovery program and the work that the FLMF has been doing; most notably in our financial and in-kind support of the Caribou Patrol Program. I truly believe that the FLMF's collaboration with the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation of Canada, the Government of Alberta and Environment Canada on the Caribou Patrol is going to benefit woodland caribou in our area of west-central Alberta now and in the future.
Day 2:
Three of our local area caribou herds, the A la Peche, Redrock-Prairie Creek and Narraway, were listed in 2002 as threatened by COSEWIC and a proposed recovery strategy for southern mountain caribou in Canada was published by SARA earlier this year. At a presentation this afternoon by Justina Ray, COSEWIC just finished a status review of 3 mountain caribou designatable units in Canada in April, 2014. The three herds I referred to above have been reassigned to a new designatable unit: Central Mountain Caribou and they are now classified as endangered.
