NEW PAPER ALERT! Habitat loss is a main contributor to caribou declines across Canada. But, how much caribou habitat is lost each year vs. what’s gained as trees regrow? One average, caribou ranges lost twice as much habitat as they gained. doi.org/10.1111/CSP2.4… 
Caribou habitat loss isn’t news – we’ve seen news reports of caribou habitat loss for years. But the RATE of habitat loss hadn’t been quantified.
For 48 of 70 herds in BC and Alberta, caribou habitat is being lost faster than it is regrowing. This includes things like forestry, wildfire and other major forest cover loss. At least seven caribou ranges have lost nearly a quarter of their habitat.
Linear features (LFs) like roads and seismic lines also continue to spread @ rates up to 1254 km/yr in the boreal. Only 5% of LFs have naturally revegetated to levels predicted to reduce their effect on caribou predation, resulting in net increase of ~537 km/yr.
Of the 9 ranges where regrowth data were available, only 1 had a net decrease in LF creation rate. To better estimate these rates across ranges and over time, we need better remote sensing data.
What does this all mean? Temporary solutions, like predator reductions or maternal pens, can’t be temporary if habitat loss isn’t addressed. Addressing habitat loss is the ultimate solution to caribou survival. Protection and restoration are vital. Photo @cenovus
This work was a collaboration with @SophieLGilbert @StanBoutin @HebblewhiteLab, folks from Provincial and Federal Governments and other twitterless colleagues.
The predominant type of disturbance is variable by range. Forestry and wildfire are major players - as well as LFs in some areas (particularly the boreal from oil and gas exploration).
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