The primary objective of the Pilot is to establish and maintain a small breeding population of caribou in a fenced predator-free exclosure within their natural habitat in northeast Alberta. The intent of the Pilot is to improve caribou survival and reproductive success inside the fenced area and to translocate caribou born within the exclosure to reinforce extant local population(s). This management approach is important for supporting habitat protection and restoration measures that are aimed at addressing landscape-scale factors of caribou decline that are ultimately linked to human-caused habitat alteration, primary prey enrichment and changes in predator-prey dynamics.
Because the Pilot concept is a new and untested management tool for Alberta, it has been, and will continue to be, important to develop the Pilot with the knowledge and experience that regional interested parties have to make the Pilot a success. This includes traditional knowledge from years of living on the land and being stewards of the environment as well as current knowledge from living and working within identified potential Pilot candidate areas. This Engagement Report describes the engagement that took place with identified Aboriginal communities during 2016 and 2017 in support of the Pilot. The full scope of work that was conducted during this period is described in the Caribou Recovery Pilot Project Summary Report.