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Endangered caribou need a better advocate than Pat Bell

Paul Willcocks, Special to the Sun
Published: Monday, October 30, 2006

VICTORIA - Something was a little off right from the beginning of Lands Minister Pat Bell's mountain caribou announcement.

By the end of the day things were even weirder. It became clear that Bell -- a businessman whose main recent interest has been two Wendy's restaurants in Prince George -- was staking the future of an endangered species on his own "preferences" rather than science.

The announcement was one of those rush jobs, where reporters get a call telling them to be in the minister's office in an hour. It's not that the idea just popped suddenly into someone's head -- "Hey, let's release that report we've had for months." The ministry had arranged for supporting players from out of town to be there.

The short notice is tactical. Report-ers are even less prepared than usual to ask useful questions. Critics don't get a chance to prepare their responses.

But the mountain caribou deserved better. The caribou are endangered. About 1,900 are left in the province, down from 2,500 a decade ago. They're doing not badly at the north end of their range, up past Prince George, and poorly at the southern end in the Kootenays.

Unlike the spotted owl, the mountain caribou's survival depends on B.C.'s efforts. There are no significant populations outside the province.

The caribou face several problems, including being eaten by cougars, wolves and bears. Lately there have been more of those predators, because deer and moose have been more numerous.

But the underlying problem is change to caribou habitat. They favour mature forests and a lichen diet, and they don't mix well with people, whether loggers, snowmobilers or heli-skiers. Logging and other activities have also created conditions that result in increasing populations of deer and, as a result, of predators.

The obvious solution is to protect existing caribou habitat while restoring already damaged areas.

But we're talking about a big area, with significant portions already protected. The idea of restricting activity on more land irks some people. Forest companies want to keep logging. Heli-skiing businesses don't want to lose out. Snowmobilers complain of having to stay out of protected habitats.

So the government wisely asked a 14-person scientific panel to report on the problem. That's the report Bell was presenting, complete with a snappy little PowerPoint show. The scientists said at least 75 animals are needed in a range area to maintain a resilient population. Five of the 11 management areas now have much smaller populations, some with just a few animals.

The panel proposed rebuilding the caribou herds in all 11 areas by culling predators, deer and moose. Core habitat would be protected from logging and recreation activities.

The plan also included capturing caribou from large herds and introducing them into the smaller herds to help the populations rebuild.

But the minister had other ideas. And he slipped them into the presentation in a way that left reporters confused about where science stopped and his opinion began. It turned out to be an important distinction. Bell favours writing off any herds below 75 animals. He talks about relocating them, but there's really no point to that.
Bell's solution would reduce by one-third the area needing to be managed with the interests of caribou in mind. Forest companies, heli-skiers and snowmobilers would all be pleased.

The scientists? Perhaps less so.

The ministry offered up a list of contacts for reporters to call about the announcement -- spokesman for the forest industry, a heli-skiing business and tourism operators. No one on the conservation side.

Of course, Bell is lands minister, not environment minister, despite being responsible for species at risk. His operation is geared to economic activity more than conservation.

And he's just taking the same position as Liberal MLA Bill Bennett, whose constituency includes the Southwest Kootenay caribou range.

Bennett, also the junior minister for mining, said earlier that a herd in an area coveted by snowmobilers should be "moved or written off.''

Perhaps there really are better economic uses for the land. Perhaps the mountain caribou could do just fine with a much smaller geographic range.

But that's not the recommendation of the government's science team.

Bell's a businessman. Bennett's a lawyer. It's tough to see why we should listen to them, rather than the experts, when it comes to saving an endangered animal.

willcocks@ultranet.ca
© The Vancouver Sun 2006