Submitted by Skye Cunningham
Arrow Lakes Caribou Society
The Arrow Lakes Caribou Society (ALCS) would like to invite you to an upcoming open house.
On Saturday, Feb. 26 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., we will be at our project site (the caribou maternity pen) to answer your questions.
Please RSVP to register and receive directions to our site by emailing, al.caribou.society@gmail.com.
We’ve been working hard over the last year to complete the maternity pen for our Maternity Penning Project.
This project is one of our main efforts aimed at recovery of the Central Selkirk Southern Mountain caribou herd.
Southern Mountain caribou are listed as a threatened species under the Species at Risk Act and the Central Selkirk sub-population is the southernmost population in North America.
The Central Selkirk subpopulation has been reduced from 92 to 28 adults from 2010 to 2021 and has seen a decline of 84 per cent from 1997 to 2018.
The recovery of this population is an important step in halting caribou population decline and preventing the further extirpation of herds from historical caribou ranges in Canada and the United States.
The maternity pen will help to alleviate environmental pressures on pregnant caribou and calves, improve overall survival, and help return caribou into native habitat in healthy condition.
The Central Selkirk maternity pen is located in the Kuskanax Creek drainage near the Nakusp Hot Springs, approximately 10 kilometres northeast of the Village of Nakusp.
The Nakusp Hot Springs pen site was identified by ALCS using a coarse set of criteria and local knowledge and subsequently screened by an expert team.
The location is within caribou habitat and caribou experts are confident that the chosen site meets requirements for caribou penning.
Pen construction began in fall of 2019 and will be fully complete in winter 2022.
The outstanding operational components to be completed are the completion of the electric fencing, water system, and installation of caribou monitoring equipment.
The provincial government B.C. Caribou Recovery Program is involved in the project and has provided partial funding for pen construction and operation.
As well, the penning project has been supported through financial and in-kind contributions from ALCS members, many community organizations and the Kalispel Tribe of Indians.
ALCS continues to work with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians on the maternity penning project and other caribou recovery initiatives.
Pregnant female caribou will be captured in March and April this year and placed in the pen for their pregnancy and calving.
Cows and newborn calves will be fed, cared for, and monitored over the spring and released into their natural habitat in July.
ALCS is confident that the maternity pen project will continue for multiple years and will have a positive impact on both caribou populations and local communities.
The maternity pen will provide opportunities for community engagement through volunteer work, stakeholder involvement, education sessions, scientific research, and public reports.
The pen will also provide more data on the impact of maternity penning on southern mountain caribou and its effectiveness as a recovery action.
Data collected during capture and penning are valuable information for the study of southern mountain caribou and will help to further our understanding of caribou populations and their long-term recovery.