THUNDER BAY — Two groups representing municipalities across northern Ontario have issued a joint statement challenging environmentalists’ claims about efforts to preserve and protect woodland caribou populations. Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association president Wendy Landry and Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities president Alan Spacek say climate change appears to be the real threat, and activists who allege that Ontario has not taken steps to save the species are “10 years behind the current state of science.”   Their statement, issued on Tuesday, says recently-published articles are working against the “substantial” efforts the province, industry, communities and stakeholders have taken to study the habitat of caribou in the Boreal forest.