Ottawa dragging its feet on protecting endangered caribou: B.C. conservation groups

By Brenna Owen
Canadian Press in the Victoria Times Colonist
January 22, 2025
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Southern mountain caribou are disappearing in British Columbia and the federal government has been dragging its feet for more than a decade on protecting the endangered herds, conservation groups say in a letter to the environment minister Steven Guilbeault. The letter sent on behalf of the Wilderness Committee, Wildsight (see their press release here) and Stand.earth said three populations of the caribou are in particularly steep decline as logging and other industrial development cuts through their habitat in eastern B.C. Wildsight’s Eddie Petryshen said successive federal governments and environment ministers have “kicked the can further down the road,” and that trend continues today. …Environment and Climate Change Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment. …Predator reduction may be part of a comprehensive recovery strategy for endangered caribou, Petryshen said, but it doesn’t address the destruction and fragmentation of their habitat, which is the driving force behind their decline.

Read More