Workshop Conservation Breeding and Translocation to Increase Wild Caribou Populations in Western Canada

Despite much ongoing research, consultation and action regarding threats to boreal caribou populations, their overall population has been decreasing. Therefore, this workshop was facilitated to assess immediate and bridging conservation measures by evaluating relative potential of intensive, population-based management tools to improve the status of boreal caribou in Western Canada. The tools addressed were (1) maternal penning, (2) predator exclosure fencing, (3) wild-to-wild translocations, and (4) captive breeding and release. The workshop included 43 representatives from industry, provincial, federal and First Nations governments, academia, NGOs, zoos and private consultants. Participants followed a structured decision-making (SDM) process to outline the conservation situation for boreal caribou, define the focus and scope of the workshop, specify objectives, brainstorm alternative strategies, and compare how these strategies would be predicted to perform against specified objectives.

Generally, there was no interest in translocation and little interest in captive breeding or maternal penning. In the end, the most favored strategy was a large fenced area with non-lethal predator removal and cultural harvest of alternative prey. Some other strategies were better for meeting some objectives, so it was recommended that further development explore options for adjusting this strategy to improve on objectives to which it performed relatively poorly.