News Room
Alberta silent on status of declining caribou population
University of Alberta biologist Stan Boutin, who has been involved in Alberta’s caribou conservation efforts since 1991, said there is ironclad evidence that shows the species should be classified as endangered.
But the Endangered Species Conservation Committee, which received the subcommittee’s recommendations in December, told the minister of sustainable resource development that woodland caribou should remain classified as threatened, said Dave Ealey, a ministry spokesman.
Ealey would not say what evidence they based their decision on. He said the scientific subcommittee is “just one of the inputs” and added, “We’re really not in a position to discuss the deliberations of the committee.”
But Boutin said that the decision should be based foremost on the woodland caribou population data. If the caribou populations are dropping to low numbers and/or are declining rapidly, which they are, that would be the signal to take the very important next step of listing them as endangered, he said.
“If you asked me, if I were an expert sitting on that committee there would be absolutely no doubt that there’s enough scientific information that the species should have been moved from threatened to endangered.”
Some of the caribou herds are disappearing so quickly, they could be gone in 10 years, he said.
Boutin is also perplexed that the scientific subcommittee’s recommendations are not released.
“Why in the world should they ever not be public? This is an organization or group of people that are appointed and are supposed to supply this information in an unbiased but expert fashion. Yes, the Endangered Species Conservation Committee still has the final say, but that science should be published and everybody should be held accountable such that if they decide not to list it after the recommendations come, then somebody has to stand up and defend why they did that.”
Premier Ed Stelmach’s office did not respond to requests from the Edmonton Journal to facilitate the release of the subcommittee’s report.
Colleen Cassady St. Clair, a University of Alberta biologist and a member of the scientific subcommittee, said she could not say what she and the three other members recommended on caribou.
When asked what she thought about the process, she said: “I think there have been some real challenges and quite a few complications. These have been worked on over the last several months and the process is becoming more straightforward and it’s becoming a better process.”
She said she understands why the government would like the decision to be something that comes from the minister, an elected official who retains the discretion to accept the committee’s recommendation.
“However, I think there are a lot of Albertans who really care about their biodiversity and their endangered species in particular. And a lot of people would probably like to weigh as much information as possible for themselves. And I think they’re capable of doing that.”
Hanneke Brooymans, The Edmonton Journal
