The decision to capture and place woodland caribou in enclosures is a “positive” gesture in favor of their protection, according to the Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks, Pierre Dufour. However, he promises that a “strategy” will be implemented next year to try to avoid the disappearance of the species in Quebec.
As part of the study of the appropriations of his ministry, Thursday, Mr. Dufour repeated that the government of Quebec has taken several actions since coming to power, in 2018, in favor of the protection of woodland caribou.
In particular, he praised certain measures taken to limit cutting near caribou habitats in Val-d’Or and Gaspésie, two isolated herds on the verge of extinction. The Legault government has spent “more than 25 million dollars” for the protection of the species, he recalled. By way of comparison, the most recent Quebec budget provides approximately $160 million to support the forestry industry, including $50 million for “multi-service” roads used by forestry companies.
” Positive “
“Apart from building new enclosures, there is nothing on the table. I cannot believe that my region has put in power the minister who will have driven the woodland caribou to extinction. I find it appalling, ”replied the supportive MP for Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue, Émilise Lessard-Therrien.
The Minister responded by welcoming the enclosure of the Val-d’Or herd in 2020, but also that of Charlevoix earlier this year. The last 16 caribou of this isolated population on a territory disturbed by human activity are now confined to a 0.2 km2 enclosure. It is not known if they will ever be released.
According to Mr. Dufour, however, it is wrong to qualify these enclosures as “death places”, as some critics of the project have done. “Currently, in Charlevoix, we have eight pregnant females. I think there is already something positive there. We may not be taking action on the means to deploy the strategy [de remise en liberté], but at least we’re protecting the beast. And we see that there is a success for the animals that have a chance of being safe for birth. »
However, the minister admitted that his ministry acted too late to manage to build the two maternity pens that were planned in Gaspésie. In this case, the enclosures should be ready for next winter. The objective will be to capture pregnant females, among the thirty caribou that remain, to place them in enclosures for calving.
“But if they have no habitat, the problem will remain the same. And caribou habitat is mature forests. There is a scientific consensus,” dropped Émilise Lessard-Therrien. The species is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the forestry industry. Logging not only destroys its habitat, but also facilitates the movement of caribou predators.
“Strategy” in 2023
The solidarity MP also criticized the absence of a Quebec “strategy” to try to save the forest caribou. This was first postponed to 2021, before being postponed again to 2023, after the next provincial elections.
Pierre Dufour, however, assured Thursday that this strategy would indeed be presented next year. According to what he argued, this plan should represent “a fair compromise”. He also said that the strategy was largely developed, but that the government will wait to read the report of the “Independent Commission” on the caribou before completing the process.
“It takes consultation with the various stakeholders in the circles affected by the actions taken in the strategy,” repeated the Minister. “There are no caribou specialists” on the Woodland Caribou Commission, he admitted in the same breath. The President of the Commission is a professor and researcher in forest economics. She is supported by two commissioners who have worked for a long time as civil servants in the Quebec government, mainly in areas related to the economy, administration and finance.
Negotiations with Ottawa
Asked about the possibility that the federal government will intervene to decree the protection of the critical habitat of the woodland caribou in Quebec, Pierre Dufour wanted to be reassuring by affirming that the exchanges are continuing. Recently, Premier François Legault stated that “caribou are clearly a field of jurisdiction of Quebec, not of the federal government”.
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, for his part, was encouraged on Thursday. He indicated in a press scrum that officials met on Wednesday to discuss the file. If he stressed that it is “an improvement”, he pointed out that he did not throw away his plan to intervene by decree. “I’m moving forward with that in case there is no agreement with the Government of Quebec, but I prefer there to be an agreement,” said the minister.
It must be said that time is running out for this species in decline. The Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks estimated that Quebec had between 6,000 and 8,500 woodland caribou during the last complete assessment, in 2012.
How many are there today? Impossible to know. Some inventories have been carried out for the different regional populations. Nine of the eleven inventories currently available indicate declines. But the consultation document of the “Independent Commission” on the woodland caribou does not present an “estimated total population”. However, a “minimum abundance” of 5252 is reported, which would indicate a decline of 20% to 35% of the species in the space of 10 years.