A unique wood bison herd near Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta is on the verge of being wiped out. The herd, one of only two naturally established disease-free herds in Alberta, has as few as nine bison remaining. With logging set to begin in the area imminently, community members are concerned it will have dire consequences. Federally, wood bison are considered a threatened species, but the Wabasca herd is stuck in a sort of regulatory limbo as the federal and provincial governments work to identify its critical habitat — a step that would bring protections through the Species At Risk Act. …Logging is now set to start on the southwest edge of the Wabasca range, an area that trapper Johnson Alook and members of ShagowAskee say will impact critical bison habitat, but which the B.C.-based logging company Tolko — and the provincial government — say is outside their range and won’t affect the herd.