Arrow Lakes Caribou Society to Host Open House for New Caribou Maternity Pen – Arrow Lakes News
Kevin D. Carignan
3 min read
Submitted by Skye Cunningham
Arrow Lakes Caribou Society
The Arrow Lakes Caribou Society (ALCS) would like to invite you to an upcoming open house.
On Saturday, February 26 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., we will be at our project site (the caribou maternity enclosure) to answer your questions.
Please RSVP to register and receive directions to our site by emailing [email protected]
We have worked hard over the past year to complete the Maternity Pen for our Maternity Penning project.
This project is one of our major efforts to restore the south central Selkirk mountain caribou herd.
Southern mountain caribou are listed as Threatened under the Species at Risk Act and the central Selkirk subpopulation is the southernmost population in North America.
The Central Selkirk subpopulation has been reduced from 92 to 28 adults from 2010 to 2021 and has declined by 84% from 1997 to 2018.
Recovering this population is an important step in halting caribou population decline and preventing the disappearance of herds from historic caribou ranges in Canada and the United States.
The maternity pen will help alleviate environmental pressures on caribou and pregnant calves, improve overall survival, and return caribou to their natural habitat in good health.
The Central Selkirk Maternity Pen is located in the Kuskanax Creek watershed near the Nakusp Hot Springs, approximately 10 kilometers northeast of the village of Nakusp.
The Nakusp Hot Springs enclosure site was identified by the ALCS using a rough set of criteria and local knowledge, then reviewed by a team of experts.
The location is within caribou habitat and caribou specialists are confident that the chosen site meets caribou enclosure requirements.
The construction of the enclosures began in the fall of 2019 and will be fully completed in the winter of 2022.
The remaining operational components to be completed are the completion of the electric fence, the water supply system and the installation of caribou monitoring equipment.
The provincial government’s BC Caribou Recovery Program is participating in the project and has provided partial funding for the construction and operation of the enclosures.
In addition, the enclosure project was supported by financial and in-kind contributions from ALCS members, numerous community organizations and the Kalispel Indian Tribe.
The ALCS continues to work with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians on the maternity pen project and other caribou recovery initiatives.
Pregnant female caribou will be captured in March and April of this year and placed in the enclosure for gestation and calving.
Newborn cows and calves will be fed, cared for and monitored in the spring and released into their natural habitat in July.
The ALCS is confident that the maternity enclosure project will continue for several years and will have a positive impact on caribou populations and local communities.
The maternity pen will provide opportunities for community engagement through volunteer work, stakeholder involvement, education sessions, scientific research and public reporting.
The enclosure will also provide more data on the impact of the maternity enclosure on southern mountain caribou and its effectiveness as a recovery measure.
Data collected during capture and enclosure is valuable information for the study of southern mountain caribou and will help further our understanding of caribou populations and their long-term recovery.
