Imaginative solutions for caribou
Dear Editor,
In last week’s Fitzhugh there were two caribou related Letters to the Editor. I’m pleased that people are beginning to discuss this issue.
The first letter was in support of closure. It is based on the emotional plea “if there is even a slight chance that the caribou can be brought back from the brink, then all actions must be taken to work towards that.”
Pretty hard to complain about the intent of that mindset; we all love caribou.
I suggest that closing mammoth swaths of the park is a simplistic solution based on emotion and little data. Even the limited data we have on caribou mortality does not support that conclusion.
The few facts presented actually point out that more caribou were killed on an already closed road. (One mortality on the heavily used Whistler Creek trail, one on the Mount Edith Cavell road before it was closed and four on the Mount Edith Cavell Road while it was closed.)
No statistics supporting the notion that caribou are being killed by wolves who use tracks left by touring skiers have ever been presented.
The second letter was a demand for more facts, numbers, statistics. Again, pretty hard to complain about that perspective.
But simply demanding more statistics does not, of itself, advance the issue or solve the problem. I have been quoted in this paper as demanding more numbers. The point I was trying to make was that Parks has reached a conclusion (closure) without supporting facts; the closure decision was made with insufficient science.
While the call for more data is a fair one, time is not our friend here. There is very little historical data so history is no help. The need for an effective plan to help caribou after decades of neglect is urgent now.
Both of these observations fail as plans not because they are intrinsically wrong, but because they are limited in their vision and thinking. The correct plan must be based on good thinking. More facts would certainly be helpful. Fact gathering should continue regardless. A plan of simple, massive closure, lacking supporting data is emotionally based and amounts to overshooting the mark and an overreaction.
I suggest the forward thinking solution is to raise caribou here in the park.
When I voiced this concept at the public meeting I was told that raising caribou in city zoos has the benefit of increasing public awareness by the city zoo visitors. I have no real problem with school kids seeing caribou in a zoo; terrific idea actually. Academic expertise close at hand? Also good. Let’s do it. Let’s do it in addition to raising caribou locally.
Raising caribou has some clear advantages.
• The shock of reintroduction is lessened when young grow in the environment into which they will be released.
• Modern methods are now increasing localized populations. This technique has been studied and improved upon in other Western Canadian locations (Revelstoke.)
• We have the space. The space needed to be effective and manageable, though huge by urban standards, is far, far smaller than the currently proposed closure areas. The massive closures now proposed are not needed.
• Jasper National Park gains a credible tourist attraction of high public interest. Park visitors could see, from a distance, caribou in the wild.
• Jasper National Park would become an international learning centre for caribou restoration. We already have some pretty knowledgeable professionals here in Jasper. An undertaking of this scope would attract more.
It is my belief that the caribou deserve forward thinking and imaginative solutions.
Chris Garnham,
Jasper, Alta.
Caribou conservation in JNP
Dear Editor,
Parks Canada would like to thank all those who took the time to attend the recent Winter Recreational User workshops. With the ambitious schedule and large number of participants, we were unable to answer all questions at the sessions, and have received many comments and questions as follow up.
A “What We Heard” document posted on the web at www.pc.gc.ca/caribou provides answers to questions raised and summarizes the comments received.
Information on the proposed caribou conservation actions is also available on the caribou webpage. Parks Canada anticipates reaching a decision on actions to be implemented for the 2013-14 winter season in May.
Comments submitted before April 19. will be considered for this decision making process.
John Wilmshurst, PhD
Acting Manager Resource Conservation
Jasper National Park, Parks Canada Agency
