The Caribou Program has partnered with two university groups to further conservation efforts for threatened caribou and other wildlife. The projects will take advantage of the program’s extensive datasets to develop practical knowledge and tools for forest and landscape management.
Advancing Harvest System and Silvicultural Practices for Improved Woodland Caribou and Fibre Outcomes
Dr. Ian Best
University of Northern British Columbia
November 2022 to April 2024
This project will capitalize on stand condition and vegetation community data collected in 2021 and 2022. It will be used to compare a variety of disturbance types, particularly fire and forest harvesting. In conjunction with location data for caribou found across the study area, Dr. Best will be able to build useful models and glean new insights into the effects of disturbance on caribou habitat.
The goal is to develop strategic-level recommendations to guide forest harvesting and silvicultural prescriptions that maintain habitat for woodland caribou across managed landscapes in west-central Alberta.
The project is supported by the Alberta Regional Caribou Knowledge Partnership
Wildlife Response to Forest Stands Impacts by Mountain Pine Beetle in Western Canada
Dr. Laura Griffin
University of British Columbia
April 2023 to April 2024
Dr. Griffin will use data on wildlife locations, camera traps, and fine-scale stand characteristics to understand wildlife response to mountain pine beetle, wildfire, salvage harvesting, and single-tree cut and burn management.
The objective is to help forest managers in government and industry to take science-based decisions that balance the trade-offs between mountain pine beetle spread control and impacts on wildlife, including species-at-risk, across Western Canada.
This project is supported by the Federal-Provincial MPB Research Partnership
