Foothills Research Institute Woodland Caribou Program was established in 1993, founded on more than a decade of Alberta Fish and Wildlife Division research. Today, the Caribou Program studies landscape changes that negatively impact woodland caribou populations. Based upon research results, this program also recommends mitigating management strategies. It is supported by the timber industry, petroleum industry, federal government, and provincial government.
University graduate research is key to program success (see this web site’s “publications” page). Research has found a reduction in caribou use of habitat adjacent to linear disturbances except older seismic lines. Research has also revealed the important role old forests with moderate to heavy canopy coverage play in caribou habitat. Additionally, it has shown that wolves use forest cut-blocks proportionately more than the cut-blocks are available; consequently, the Caribou Program has recommended the timber industry cut localized rather than extensively in relation to important caribou habitats—thus reducing the probability of wolf predation.
Research results have been incorporated into the forest management plans of Hinton Wood Products, Weyerhaeuser, Alberta Newsprint Company, and Canfor. Results have also been integrated with timber harvest projections of Hinton Wood Products, Weyerhaeuser, Alberta Newsprint Company, and Canfor, indicating the kind and location of woodland caribou habitat for which land-use managers must plan.
Originally, the Caribou Program tested for the exclusion—temporary or permanent—of a particular woodland caribou herd from Alberta timber harvest areas. Analysis of the animals’ winter-range distribution from 1991 through 1996 revealed that caribou avoid active logging areas. As a result, the Caribou Program recommended the timber industry 1) ensure adequate areas of suitable habitat, 2) minimize the amount of fragmented areas, and 3) avoid core areas of woodland caribou use, in the short term.
Since its first project, the program has expanded to include not one but three caribou herds. It currently is examining the woodland caribou’s thresholds for industrial activity. It is studying trends of the three primary woodland caribou herds in west-central Alberta, collecting data on adult-female survival, calf recruitment, and caribou distribution data. To assist managers in land-use decisions, it is also tying together much of its previous work by developing an expanded aspect of “predator/prey/landscape change” mechanics.