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

Abstract

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

7th North Armerican Caribou Conference, 19-21 August 1996, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

“…This study, like Harris (1996) and , found that reindeer lichens grow on substrates created by logging activities including stumps, slash, and haul roads. The persistence of undisturbed reindeer lichens and growth of reindeer lichen fragments, however, likely accounted for the higher cover of reindeer lichens on burned sites than on logged sites of the same age since disturbance.…”

“…Fragments on logged sites presumably result from the mechanical break-up of existing reindeer lichens by timber harvesting and site preparation activities (Harris, 1996). This study and Harris (1996) found that reindeer lichens which were undisturbed by timber harvest and site preparation persisted and were still evident on the oldest logged sites.…”

“…Post-fire lichen and bryophyte succession follows a general progression, first described by Ahti (1959) and documented throughout the boreal forest in Canada (Maikawa & Kershaw, 1976;Carroll & Bliss, 1982;Clayden & Bouchard, 1983;Foster, 1985;Morneau & Payette, 1989 Darby et al (1989) note that deciduous trees and shrubs often increase after logging, and reindeer lichens may be replaced by vascular plants. Racey et al (1992) Ontario (Harris, 1996; and that some of these stands are being used by woodland caribou as winter habitat .…”

“…The persistence of undisturbed reindeer lichens and growth of reindeer lichen fragments, however, likely accounted for the higher cover of reindeer lichens on burned sites than on logged sites of the same age since disturbance. Harris (1996) found that microsites where mineral soil had been exposed during site preparation had significantly fewer reindeer lichens than where the ground cover had not been disturbed, suggesting that minimal disturbance to the ground cover of reindeer lichen-rich communities during harvest and site preparation will promote reindeer lichen persistence after logging. Similar observations were made in this study.…”

Caribou conservation and recovery in Ontario: development and implementation of the Caribou Conservation Plan

“…Racey & Armstrong (1996) summarized some of the early consultation efforts that were focused on the development of a caribou habitat management approach for northwestern Ontario. A stakeholder advisory panel provided key advice as part of this process (Greig & Duinker, 1996).…”