When it comes to protecting endangered mountain caribou, Canadians prefer forest protection. According to poll results released by ForestEthics in early 2007, approximately 86 percent of the 500 British Columbians polled said they prefer that the government focus its restoration efforts on protecting the caribou's old-growth forest habitat from logging and other industrial uses, rather than killing off the caribou's predators.

Caribou habitat is home to dozens of other plants and animals, including ever-new species of lichen, some of which caribou rely upon for food, particularly in winter.

As of 2006, the provincial government's Species At Risk Coordination Office created a recovery plan that recommends killing predators such as wolves, black bears, wolverines, and cougars in an attempt to restore mountain caribou populations. Conservationists point out that loss of old-growth habitat is the ultimate problem. Forest fragmentation within the Inland Temperate changes predator/prey relationships. Killing predators won't solve the problem of habitat loss for mountain caribou.