This single year Habitat Stewardship Program Species at Risk Stream project will improve threatened boreal caribou and endangered southern mountain caribou habitat by increasing undisturbed habitat within caribou ranges in west-central and north-western Alberta. It is supported by Environment and Climate Change Canada, AUPRF/PTAC and FLMF.

Caribou are declining across the boreal forest and the primary threat to population persistence is habitat disturbance. Restoration of disturbed habitat within caribou ranges is both a federal and provincial priority. 

The study area encompasses the entirety of the ranges of the Redrock Prairie Creek, A La Peche, Narraway, Little Smoky, and Chinchaga caribou herds in Alberta, excluding areas that fall within parks and protected areas (parts of the summer ranges of A La Peche, Narraway and Redrock Prairie Creek herds). 

This proposed project will use high-resolution remote sensing data on seismic line regeneration, GIS based data of ecosite and site characteristics, and existing field data (ungulate food and species composition) collected along seismic lines in west-central and north-western Alberta. This will be used to determine how regeneration and other attributes of seismic lines affects use of these features by alternate prey (moose, deer, and elk) that attract caribou predators, and to identify seismic lines that are on a trajectory towards natural recovery versus those that will need active restoration.

We will use these new data to further refine priority seismic lines for reclamation identified through our previous HSP-funded work (empirical analysis of caribou, caribou predator, and human response to regenerating seismic lines). Ultimately, we will provide land managers with GIS-based maps of seismic lines in west-central and north-western Alberta prioritized for reclamation that maximise benefits for caribou, and that maximise the efficacy of restoration efforts. 

This project has been developed in collaboration with resource users within caribou ranges, and continual outreach activities (workshops, website updates, documents) throughout the project will make available the tools produced by this project for management and reclamation plans across the range of these five caribou herds. This will ensure that reclamation of caribou habitat is based upon science, and also that restoration effort is directed to areas are the most beneficial for caribou. 

This single year Habitat Stewardship Program Species at Risk Stream project will improve threatened boreal caribou and endangered southern mountain caribou habitat by increasing undisturbed habitat within caribou ranges in west-central and north-western Alberta. It is supported by Environment and Climate Change Canada, AUPRF/PTAC and FLMF.

Caribou are declining across the boreal forest and the primary threat to population persistence is habitat disturbance. Restoration of disturbed habitat within caribou ranges is both a federal and provincial priority. 

The study area encompasses the entirety of the ranges of the Redrock Prairie Creek, A La Peche, Narraway, Little Smoky, and Chinchaga caribou herds in Alberta, excluding areas that fall within parks and protected areas (parts of the summer ranges of A La Peche, Narraway and Redrock Prairie Creek herds). 

This proposed project will use high-resolution remote sensing data on seismic line regeneration, GIS based data of ecosite and site characteristics, and existing field data (ungulate food and species composition) collected along seismic lines in west-central and north-western Alberta. This will be used to determine how regeneration and other attributes of seismic lines affects use of these features by alternate prey (moose, deer, and elk) that attract caribou predators, and to identify seismic lines that are on a trajectory towards natural recovery versus those that will need active restoration.

We will use these new data to further refine priority seismic lines for reclamation identified through our previous HSP-funded work (empirical analysis of caribou, caribou predator, and human response to regenerating seismic lines). Ultimately, we will provide land managers with GIS-based maps of seismic lines in west-central and north-western Alberta prioritized for reclamation that maximise benefits for caribou, and that maximise the efficacy of restoration efforts. 

This project has been developed in collaboration with resource users within caribou ranges, and continual outreach activities (workshops, website updates, documents) throughout the project will make available the tools produced by this project for management and reclamation plans across the range of these five caribou herds. This will ensure that reclamation of caribou habitat is based upon science, and also that restoration effort is directed to areas are the most beneficial for caribou. 

This Caribou Program project examines how moose respond to different re-vegetation trajectories after disturbance. This will give re-vegetation prescriptions that favour moose less, and therefore are less of a problem for caribou.

This project in the Little Smoky, A la Peche, Redrock-Prairie Creek, and Narraway caribou ranges will look at variables like ecosites, vegetation height, and other habitat and landscape characteristics. We will use moose GPS collar data to figure out which re-vegetation prescriptions after disturbance like forest harvesting and seismic lines moose are more likely to avoid.

Disturbance such as forest harvesting and cut blocks replaces old growth habitat preferred by caribou with early seral stage re-vegetation that tends to draw other ungulates and their predators.

This Caribou Program project uses GPS collar data from moose in four west-central Alberta caribou ranges to determine which re-vegetation attributes moose favour. We’ll be looking at ecosites, vegetation heights, and several other landscape and habitat characteristics and matching those variables up with moose occupancy.

We’ll be making maps that show the relative probability for moose selection based on the landscape features so that land managers can factor in the apparent competition effect of moose on caribou when they are making site prescriptions.

This extends previous work on restoration prioritization and is an important companion project to our ongoing work that looks at deer use of cut blocks. Eventually, these results will be integrated into our webtools so that end users can see how adding or restoring landscape features will influence habitat quality for moose.

This Caribou Program project examines how moose respond to different re-vegetation trajectories after disturbance. This will give re-vegetation prescriptions that favour moose less, and therefore are less of a problem for caribou.

This project in the Little Smoky, A la Peche, Redrock-Prairie Creek, and Narraway caribou ranges will look at variables like ecosites, vegetation height, and other habitat and landscape characteristics. We will use moose GPS collar data to figure out which re-vegetation prescriptions after disturbance like forest harvesting and seismic lines moose are more likely to avoid.

Disturbance such as forest harvesting and cut blocks replaces old growth habitat preferred by caribou with early seral stage re-vegetation that tends to draw other ungulates and their predators.

This Caribou Program project uses GPS collar data from moose in four west-central Alberta caribou ranges to determine which re-vegetation attributes moose favour. We’ll be looking at ecosites, vegetation heights, and several other landscape and habitat characteristics and matching those variables up with moose occupancy.

We’ll be making maps that show the relative probability for moose selection based on the landscape features so that land managers can factor in the apparent competition effect of moose on caribou when they are making site prescriptions.

This extends previous work on restoration prioritization and is an important companion project to our ongoing work that looks at deer use of cut blocks. Eventually, these results will be integrated into our webtools so that end users can see how adding or restoring landscape features will influence habitat quality for moose.