The Habitat Restoration Working Group (HRWG) of the NBCKC

Established in 2019, the Habitat Restoration Working Group (HRWG) is a working group of the National Boreal Caribou Knowledge Consortium (NBCKC), and is a forum to share, generate, and mobilize knowledge for caribou recovery related to habitat restoration. This working group includes members of the NBCKC and Indigenous Knowledge Circle (IKC) as well as additional experts, knowledge holders and practitioners in the field of habitat restoration. The HRWG was facilitated by Environment & Climate Change Canada (Science & Technology Branch) in conjunction with Natural Resources Canada (Canadian Forest Service) and a private consultant (SwampDonkey). As coordination by ECCC comes to an end in March 2026, the group is exploring ways that it might continue. Any updates related to the HRWG will be posted here. 

Goal 
Image of the Habitat Restoration Working Group icon.

 

 

Habitat restoration is an essential conservation lever for boreal caribou in population ranges with less than 65% undisturbed habitat remaining. The goal of the HRWG was to support the undertaking of coordinated and efficient actions to reclaim boreal caribou habitat through restoration and the sharing of knowledge gained from these actions through an adaptive management approach. Members of the HRWG worked together to share, generate and mobilize knowledge to achieve this goal.

What We Did 

The HRWG met quarterly to share information, build relationships and advance group projects. Their work focused on:

 

  • Building a community of practice through knowledge sharing: Sharing updates on the ongoing habitat restoration projects underway across Canada, as well as detailed updates on specific habitat restoration projects undertaken by HRWG members, including sharing project challenges, successes and lessons learned.
  • Facilitating relationship building: Connecting and supporting group members working towards caribou habitat restoration and better understanding ecological responses to restoration actions.
  • Collaboration: Working together to develop knowledge mobilization products to support caribou habitat restoration planning, implementation, and monitoring across Canada.

 

 

 

 

Tools developed by the Habitat Restoration Working Group:

For information about the  Habitat Restoration Group’s ongoing community of practice, please contact Jesse Tigner at jesse@swampdonkeysolutions.ca

Restoration field site

 

 

Image of the Boreal Caribou Ecological Model
The Boreal Caribou Ecological Model, developed by the Habitat Restoration Working Group (HRWG), illustrates the disturbance mediated pathways to caribou decline.
HRWG Members 
Working Together on Habitat Restoration

Like other NBCKC groups, the HRWG brought together Federal/Provincial/Territorial governments, Indigenous governments, communities and organizations, ENGOs, industry, academics and consultants working on or interested in caribou habitat restoration across Canada. HRWG members and their respective organizations / communities are listed below (last updated Nov. 1, 2021).

 

We welcome new members who are involved in caribou habitat restoration work or those interested in undertaking habitat restoration work in the future. 

 

Members & Organizations   

Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute

fRI Research (Laura Finnegan)

Matrix Solutions (Kelli Cote)

 

Alberta Regional Caribou Knowledge Partnership (Kristy Burke)

Golder Associates Ltd.

Metis Nation of Alberta

 

Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries

Gouvernement du Quebec

Natural Resources Canada - Canadian Forest Service (Carly Sponarski, Jaime Pinzon, Katalijn MacAfee)

 

Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

Government of Alberta

NBCKC Secretariat (Anne Munier*)

 

CENOVUS

Government of British Columbia

Nunatsiavut Government (Jason Dicker)

 

CPAWS Northern Alberta

Government of Manitoba

Prince Albert Model Forest and on behalf of Prince Albert Grand Council

 

Délı̨nę Got'ı̨nę

Government of Newfoundland & Labrador

Regional Industry Caribou Collaboration

 

Ecologic Research (Steve Wilson)

Government of Northwest Territories

Suncor Energy Inc. (Mark Boulton)

 

Environment & Climate Change Canada - Canadian Wildlife Service

Government of Ontario

SwampDonkey (Jesse Tigner*)

 

Environment & Climate Change Canada - Science & Technology Branch (Tatyana Bond)

Government of Saskatchewan

The Firelight Group

 

Fort Nelson First Nation (Katherine Wolfenden)

LGL Limited (Marc d'Entremont)

Weyerhaeuser* Indicates HRWG co-facilitators

 

 

 CCLM Supporter Logos

 

 

 

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