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Mountain Caribou
The Inland Temperate Rainforest's mountain caribou of eastern British Columbia and northeastern Washington are one of North America's most endangered large mammals.
An Inland Rainforest Icon
Conservation Northwest works closely with conservation groups in Canada (the Mountain Caribou Project) to protect mountain caribou and its inland rainforest habitat. Recently, caribou received a promise of protection from the BC government, with an agreement for recovery of their fast-dwindling population.
Mountain caribou are a unique variety of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus), adapted to the lush, old-growth forests found in the Inland Temperate Rainforest. They exist no where else on Earth.
Endangered caribou
In the United States, the mountain caribou is listed as endangered and is considered one of the most endangered large mammals in the US. A small herd of about three linger on in the Selkirk Mountains. In British Columbia, mountain caribou is deemed "red-listed," or endangered; but, unlike the US, Canadian law does not provide protection for the habitat of at-risk species.
On the Canadian side of the border logging, roadbuilding, and motorized recreation are caribou's chief threats; in the US snowmobile use, recently restricted in critical habitat by a federal judge, is important. Loss of old-growth habitat to logging and other development has shrunk mountain caribou herds to just 1,900 animals.
Fragmentation of remaining old-growth forest habitat in British Columbia means isolation of herds and direct loss of food. It has also altered predator/prey relationships: clearcuts and roads provide a more attractive environment for whitetail deer, elk, and moose, and as these ungulates move in, cougars and wolves follow and incidentally prey upon caribou.
The continuing proliferation of motorized recreation in winter such as snowmobiling and heli-skiing stresses mountain caribou when they are weakest and force them into poorer habitat, where predation and avalanche risks are higher and nutrition sources marginal.
More than just a figurehead on a coin
A poll of British Columbians shows that Canadians want Inland Temperate Rainforest habitat protected and caribou populations restored, and the new caribou recovery plan and agreement, released in 2007, if fully implemented, has greatly improved the chance of recovery for these magnificent creatures, a heritage for Canadians and Americans alike.