The impact of mountain pine beetle (MPB) infestations on wildlife, such as caribou and grizzly bears, whose habitat consists largely of pine forest remains largely unknown, and is a significant conservation and management concern.
This project will develop models that quantify the habitat value of lodgepole pine forest to caribou and grizzly bear, and to evaluate changes in habitat value for caribou and grizzly bear following MPB infestations (~10 years since tree death) in west-central Alberta. The models will then be used to create an interactive GIS tool to allow land managers to predict the impact of user-defined scenarios on caribou and grizzly bear habitat.
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