The Alberta Regional Caribou Knowledge Partnership (ARCKP) is committed to supporting initiatives that provide management direction for woodland caribou conservation on working landscapes. Drawing from expert knowledge, they identify important knowledge gaps and allocate funds to research projects, synthesis projects, modelling projects and knowledge exchange efforts that are best suited to fill these gaps. Currently, the ARCKP has three opportunities they would like to explore and are inviting members of the research and consulting communities to submit Expressions of Interest.
Funded by the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA) through the support of 12 forestry companies in Alberta, the ARCKP has over $1 million per year for five years (2020-2025) to address region-specific knowledge gaps in woodland caribou ecology. The ARCKP is governed by a steering committee of government and industry representatives who oversee the allocation of ARCKP funds and guide the operation of the partnership. Priority topics and questions explored by the partnership are collaboratively identified by ARCKP partners, stakeholders and members of their technical committee.
The current opportunities include:
- Understanding options for, and value of, alternative harvesting and silvicultural approaches for promoting woodland caribou habitat within coniferous forests and deciduous/mixedwood forests.
- Exploring the implementation of aggregated harvest in woodland caribou ranges compared to current and other potential harvesting approaches on: ecological outcomes for woodland caribou, other species/values and socio-economic and operational considerations.
- An evaluation of the feasibility of terrestrial lichen seeding and/or transplantation.
Submissions are due December 23 rd (extended from the 18 th), 5 pm (MST) and should be emailed to kristy@fuseconsulting.ca. Any questions should also be directed at Kristy Burke.
Full project details and submission guidelines are available on the ARCKP website (https://arckp.friresearch.ca/) or on the document available for download below. Responses to questions submitted by interested proponents are also provided below: