1954 – first records of mountain caribou decline (14).
 

1961 – wide-scale use of predacides (poisons targeting predators, namely wolves and coyotes, yet still indiscriminate in what species they kill) was  ended in BC, becoming more restricted to use in areas with livestock.
 

1975 – caribou biologists first published concern that southern mountain caribou may be endangered(14).  Note that a recovery plan was not implemented for another 38 years….in 2007.

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1980's - Aerial hunting of wolves for BC wolf kill program in northern Rockies (Fort Nelson area) during which more than 798 wolves in Northeastern BC were killed before being stopped by intense public outcry.  The helicopter killing paused in 1985, only to be revived briefly in 1987.  Over four years, about 1,000 wolves were killed.

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1983-1996 Between 1983–1996 Compound 1080 killed 1400 wolves, 1024 coyotes, and many non-target animals including more than 900 bears, eagles, and other scavengers.  These numbers are bare minimums.  Note this was not done for caribou but as part of a province-wide carnivore-killing program, prior to contemporary understanding of ecological benefits of apex predators and compassionate conservation.

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1984 – Southern Selkirk mountain caribou herd which straddles the US-Canada border officially declared “endangered” through U.S. Endangered Species Act (14).

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1994 – Preliminary caribou recovery plan published but not implemented (14).

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2001 – Government suspended use of Compound 1080 (POISON!)

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2001-2004 -Radio-collared wolves were tracked in 20 sampling intervals for a total of 71 days within the study area in the Northern Columbia Mountains had NO CONFIRMED MORTALITIES of mountain caribou by wolves based on tracking sessions (all predations were moose)(3)

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2002 – The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) lists south Selkirk transboundary population of caribou as “Threatened”.

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New (2nd) recovery strategy put forward by new team of biologists (14).  During the 8 years between implementing recovery efforts, the South Purcell population was reduced from approximately 90 to 20 caribou, with other herds following a similar trajectory (14).

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Quesnel Highland Experimental Wolf Sterilization Project initiated.  Wolves collared to assess distribution and identify overlapping territory within mountain caribou habitat (4).  Wolf population reduced during this time through sterilization, killing and more accurate data on wolf numbers (4).  The project lost funding.

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2003 – Province lists southern mountain caribou as “endangered”, (Red list)

-Revelstoke moose reduction experiment initiated by increasing number of hunting permits over area encompassing the Columbia North, Columbia South, and Frisby-Boulder caribou ranges (18)

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2005 – New scientific team put together to work on recovery plan (3rd).

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2003- 2005 - BC government caught wolves in traps and snares in Quesnel Highlands and West Cariboo Mountains, killing 30 wolves and sterilizing 16 in attempt to eliminate all subdominant wolves and sterilize breeding pair (11).

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2005 - Quesnel Highland Wolf Sterilization Project reinitiated due to renewed funding by Forest Investment Accounts, specifically through West Fraser Mills (4)

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Northern Columbia Mountain ecoregion in southeastern BC radio-collared 19 wolves                from 2 packs. (3)

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2006 – Third set of “management options and related actions for mountain caribou” was recommended by government appointed scientific team

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Annual moose hunting permits were doubled in the Parsnip Caribou Range (18).

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2005 - 2007: A collared and sterile male from the Crooked Lake pack (Quesnel Highland Wolf Project) was shot by a hunter Nov. 2006, returning pack to fertile status (4)

  

The Mountain Caribou Recovery Project states “Recovery can only be accomplished by protecting, restoring, and reconnecting critical mountain caribou habitat, and by establishing enforceable standards for motorized recreation and commercial recreation tenures.  Smaller herds may need to be bolstered with animals transplanted from healthier herds.  Finally, predator management, a very controversial activity, should only occur where adequate habitat is protected and then only with full consideration of all impacts”. (8)

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2007 – Mountain Caribou Recovery Implementation Plan (4th) released by provincial government, announcing goal to restore Mountain Caribou populations to pre-1995 levels (25,000) within 20 years (14, 15).  Given the lack of adequate habitat and the slow capacity which caribou to reproduce, this goal is unrealistic and puts more pressure on killing predators.

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Ministry of Environment liberalizes hunting seasons for wolves and cougars over Mountain Caribou ranges (14, 16), and in regions 3 and 5 for black bears (15).

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Forest Investment Accounts contributes more funding to Quesnel Highland Wolf Project for helicopter costs during aerial darting of wolves (4).

Recommendations from the Quesnel experiment include:

• Attempt to identify, capture, & sterilize dominant wolf pairs in all 13 wolf packs (within 5 caribou census blocks) (15)

• Eliminate sub-dominant wolves

• Attempt to locate den sites, trap dominants, and kill pups from high threat packs (April-May yearly)

2007 - The Government announces plan to set aside 2.2 million hectares of habitat for mountain caribou protection, HOWEVER only 380,000 hectares of this would be NEW protection, and of those only 77,000 falls within the timber harvesting land base (THLB) (14).  In fact, 64% of the 2.2 million hectares announced was already under some form of protection and included National and provincial parks (14). Furthermore, much of the additional habitat that would be protected is only high elevation or had been previously harvested and thus is of no value for timber harvest (12).  Mid and low elevation forests, full of biodiversity and old growth trees and lichen, do not fall under protection from timber harvest.  Mountain Caribou use ALL elevations and change altitudes with seasons over the period of a year, adjusting to follow and obtain the best food sources, avoid natural predators, avoid insects, and give birth.

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  BC Mountain Caribou Recovery Plan released Oct 16, 2007; has 6 plan objectives:

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1. Protect mountain caribou habitat from logging and roads (good plan)

2. Ensure effectiveness of protected habitat by managing human use (good plan)

3. Manage predator populations where needed (can cause undesired changes to entire ecosystem and ethically wrong, ends do not justify the means)

4. Manage primary prey of caribou predators (ends do not justify the means, especially if habitat continues to be altered to accommodate primary prey and their natural predators)

5. Augment critically low herds (sounds great)

6. Support adaptive management and research

 

In the recovery plan, habitat loss is identified as the number one cause of declining caribou populations, with predators as a proximate cause.  Despite this…

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• Plans include killing wolves in areas where there will be no change in land use regulations (ie. commercial recreation)

• Mineral exploration has been exempted from meeting scientific rigour where habitat requirements of mountain caribou are considered

  According to the Quesnel Highland Wolf Project Progress Report Aug. 2006 - March 2007(4):

•  Over an 8-month period 4 wolves are trapped on behalf of MOE in the Quesnel area, 2 of which died

• A mature male wolf was killed by another pack while “trapped”, unable to defend himself or escape (4) pg. 24

• An alpha female of the Sellars Creek pack was “destroyed” after she broke her leg in trap.  She was in heat at the time of capture (4)

 

2008 - As of March 31st, 18 wolves have been radio-collared in Parsnip study area by MOE (5)

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In the Winter Carnivore Surveys in the Kootenay's Mountain Caribou Recovery Areas Winter 2007/2008, researchers note that caribou from the South Selkirk and South Purcell herds rarely occupy habitat below 1400 meters (elevation), providing evidence there is little overlap among wolves, cougars, and mountain caribou.

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Investigation by Vancouver Sun reveals BC government killed 24 wolves under the guise of Mountain Caribou recovery this year alone (10)

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Predator Management Activities, as reported in the Mountain Caribou Recovery Implementation Plan Newsletter, Volume 4 May 2008, include:

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• Extensive radio-collaring and tracking of wolves and cougars to learn more and facilitate killing these predators

• Changes in hunting seasons for wolves and cougars to allow for more predators killed

• Continuation of the wolf reduction program in Quesnel Highlands

• Trapping wolves in Narrow Lake and the South Purcells

• Planning for the removal of 2 wolf packs (families) at den sites in Revelstoke

 

Between 2007-2008 MOE invested $700,000 to pay for (6) (note discrepancy in numbers from Vancouver Sun investigation).

1. 22 wolf packs collared

2. 10 wolves killed in mountain caribou recovery areas within 6 months (Nov. 2007 - May 2008)

3. 6 males and 6 females sterilized (ie. organs altered or removed) in the Quesnel Highlands, totaling 5 packs being sterilized in this region.

 

An investigation by the Vancouver Sun obtains Ministry report with figures:  20 wolves killed through snaring and trapping across mountain caribou range, including 2 wolves within range of the South Purcells herd, 5 within Columbia South herd, 2 within Narrow lake area, and 11 within the Quesnel Highlands (10).

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Mountain Caribou Recovery Program Science Team recommends that government close areas to snowmobiling, but government opted for “Steward Management Agreements” with snowmobile clubs instead.  These agreements have no “teeth” and cannot be enforced.

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Open letter from the Mountain Caribou Project urging government to fulfil its commitment to: (7)

i) augment smaller herds between 10 - 50 animals (government funding has been secured to construct maternity pens) nor

ii) reach agreements with snowmobile clubs for area closures or restrictions.

 

Late fiscal 07/08 and Early 08/09 tally of predator “reductions” included (15):

• Death by trapping of 2 wolf packs in Narrow Lake region

• Sterilization of breeding pair and sub-dominants in 4 packs in North Cariboo Mountains

• Sterilization of breeding pair and sub-dominants in 3 packs in Barkerville area

• Sterilization of breeding pair and sub-dominants in 6 packs in Wells Gray North, and killing of wolves trapped that are not candidates for collaring/fertility control

• Death by trapping of 2 wolf packs in the South Purcells

 

2009 - Between March 2007 and March 2009, "intensive capture, sterilization and removal (AKA killing) work was accomplished" (13).  During this time. 40 wolves were radio-collared and 34 wolves were killed (13).

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During the fiscal year of 2008/09, 10 out of 13 targeted wolf packs had been sterilized. (13)

Mountain Caribou Project (MCP) member groups make it clear they “have NOT endorsed the killing of wolves” because they have not seen evidence that wolves are significantly threatening small herds and “because identified critical habitat has not been adequately protected for caribou recovery” (9).  “MCP is not supporting a government wolf kill with the information presently available” (9).  

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MCP states its immediate concern is in regard to current hunting and trapping policies which are extremely unregulated.  Random killing of wolves can increase predation pressure on caribou by causing stable packs to splinter, reproduce, spread out, and thus have more wolves in more places. (9).

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​Recommendations for Predator-Prey Management to Benefit the Recovery of Mountain Caribou in British Columbia presented by scientist to MOE.  Included in proposal is a plan to continue to kill and/or sterilize wolves, kill cougars, reduce moose populations, and limit white tailed deer from expanding their territory.  

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Ongoing practices in critical habitat for mountain caribou include mineral exploration and commercial recreational activities such as cat skiing, snowmobiling, glading planning and construction of snow trails.  These practices involve tree clearing and road building.  In other words, humans are still creating snow pack in caribou territory and leading predators through easy accessibility into areas where in the past caribou would have been safe through avoidance.  Previous timber harvesting in and around mountain caribou critical habitat has led to an increased moose and deer population, through changes in vegetation to early stage forests from old growth. BC government is still issuing and authorizing new helicopter recreation tenures within fragile alpine habitats. 

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The Government has failed to INSTITUTE any AREA-BASED CLOSURES to commercial recreational activity, regardless how critical to caribou.

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Radio-collaring and monitoring of wolves in the Parsnip area indicates that wolves here spend very little time at elevations used by mountain caribou, and GPS-point clusters give evidence that wolf predation on caribou is low in this region.(5).  The study suggests that even when elevation overlap occurs wolves may still be hunting moose. 

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2010 - Between Dec. 2005 and March 2010 $670,420 was spent by BC government on the Quesnel Highland wolf sterilization and removal program.  The goal of the program was to remove the reproductive organs of the dominant breeders and kill subdominant wolves, including pups.  Between 2007-2010 50 wolves were killed on behalf of the government in the Quesnel Highland region, and more were killed through public hunting and trapping (13).

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Numbers of wolves killed and sterilized in the Quesnel Highland Experiment

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