To learn more about the NBCKC, please visit our interactive story map, available in English and French!

The National Boreal Caribou Knowledge Consortium (NBCKC), which launched in 2018 under Canada’s federal action plan for boreal caribou, is a forum for knowledge sharing, knowledge generation, and knowledge mobilization. Members of the NBCKC represent federal, provincial and territorial governments, Wildlife Management Boards, Indigenous Peoples and communities, industry, environmental non-governmental organizations, and academic researchers. Several representatives who are part of the NBCKC are also members of a parallel body known as the Indigenous Knowledge Circle (IKC). The IKC advocates for the respectful inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge, supports the transition towards Indigenous-led management to support the recovery of caribou, and, provides opportunities for learning about what is working and not working in Indigenous contexts.

The NBCKC also includes several working groups and knowledge networks that were formed to assess what we already know, to ask what we still need to know, and to determine how to apply what we know to maximize caribou conservation and recovery goals. These groups currently include:

• The Monitoring Working Group
• The Habitat Restoration Working Group
• The Population Management Working Group
• The Caribou Health Knowledge Network

The NBCKC sets ambitious targets and deadlines in order to resolve remaining knowledge gaps by developing impactful guidance meant to inform caribou managers as they structure their respective programs. They have built a powerful interactive map and populated it with over 100 caribou projects, the majority of which involve Indigenous peoples. Despite boasting a large membership consisting of keen, skilled, and focused individuals, the NBCKC has been able to reach even higher levels of relevance and impact by joining our efforts with those of other initiatives. 

Follow this link to browse the repository of newsletters, guidance documents, best practices, tool kits and other resources that have been developed collaboratively by the NBCKC housed on our boreal caribou portal.

To learn more about the NBCKC, please visit our interactive story map, available in English and French!

The National Boreal Caribou Knowledge Consortium (NBCKC), which launched in 2018 under Canada’s federal action plan for boreal caribou, is a forum for knowledge sharing, knowledge generation, and knowledge mobilization. Members of the NBCKC represent federal, provincial and territorial governments, Wildlife Management Boards, Indigenous Peoples and communities, industry, environmental non-governmental organizations, and academic researchers. Several representatives who are part of the NBCKC are also members of a parallel body known as the Indigenous Knowledge Circle (IKC). The IKC advocates for the respectful inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge, supports the transition towards Indigenous-led management to support the recovery of caribou, and, provides opportunities for learning about what is working and not working in Indigenous contexts.

The NBCKC also includes several working groups and knowledge networks that were formed to assess what we already know, to ask what we still need to know, and to determine how to apply what we know to maximize caribou conservation and recovery goals. These groups currently include:

• The Monitoring Working Group
• The Habitat Restoration Working Group
• The Population Management Working Group
• The Caribou Health Knowledge Network

The NBCKC sets ambitious targets and deadlines in order to resolve remaining knowledge gaps by developing impactful guidance meant to inform caribou managers as they structure their respective programs. They have built a powerful interactive map and populated it with over 100 caribou projects, the majority of which involve Indigenous peoples. Despite boasting a large membership consisting of keen, skilled, and focused individuals, the NBCKC has been able to reach even higher levels of relevance and impact by joining our efforts with those of other initiatives. 

Follow this link to browse the repository of newsletters, guidance documents, best practices, tool kits and other resources that have been developed collaboratively by the NBCKC housed on our boreal caribou portal.

Project Description:

This project is developing a foundational genomics platform to:

1. enable long-term, non-invasive genomic monitoring of boreal caribou;
2. allow for validated cross-compatibility among data generators; and,
3. house data in an open access repository that supports analytical toolkits for use by our project partners.

The implementation of this genomic platform will allow comparisons through space and time to monitor the recovery, or continued loss, of caribou populations and their associated habitat.

Project Outcomes or Intended Outcomes:

1. The development of a standardized methodology for generating individual specific genetic profiles, which will allow for comparable data among years, geographies and jurisdictions.
2. The development of standardized genomics-based parameters suitable for use by Environment and Climate Change Canada as well as other project partners, that are targeted to small and declining caribou populations (affected by anthropogenic activities or climate change, e.g. southern ranges) in need of immediate management actions requiring the most comprehensive monitoring of population parameters.
3. The generation of a platform of standardized boreal caribou genomic profiles providing the Receptor a cost-effective monitoring toolkit, access to new technologies by partners and a suitable framework for use in inter-laboratory genotype comparisons. Best practices in field collection will direct future monitoring work.

Project Description:

The primary scope of this project will be an assessment of historical, current, and predicted caribou ranges and space use in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. This will include time-series analysis of habitat characteristics and connectivity in order to determine if there have been changes in use of land cover type and patterns of movement by caribou over the past 40 years and, if those changes can be linked to changes in cover type or land use. The project will also complete an assessment of habitat availability and connectivity under different climate change scenarios.

Project Outcomes or Intended Outcomes:

There are several general objectives of this project

1. Delineate and quantify areas of the landscape utilized by caribou in Newfoundland and Labrador.
2. Delineate and quantify landcover types found in areas utilized by caribou.
3. Delineate and quantify changes in landcover in areas utilized by caribou over time.
4. Where possible identify caribou range shift over time.
5. Determine the relationships between any observed caribou range shifts and any changes found in land cover types over time.
6. Compare/augment results with traditional knowledge data.
7. Determine potential impacts of climate change scenarios on caribou habitat availability and connectivity.
8. Generate information to support mitigation of road mortality through (i) analysis of movement patterns and space use relative to roads, (ii) selection of roads as a habitat feature, and (iii) generate a predictive map of relative risk along roads by comparing movement data and georeferenced data on road mortality compiled by the province and Parks Canada with factors such as road class (e.g. speed limit or road type) and surrounding habitat.
9. Mobilize project results and outputs so that they are available to, and usable by, a range of end-users.

Project Description:The Pasquia-Bog area was assessed by reviewing best available caribou Indigenous Knowledge and western science information to characterize the caribou range and draft an interjurisdictional caribou conservation range plan (first in Canada). Using this consolidated information, a three-zone land management system was applied to the planning area, which was systematically tested and assessed though an iterative process to optimize the best configuration of zones to ensure a balance of sustainable habitat supply for long-term caribou persistence and land use, by manipulation of allowable disturbance levels by zone type and configuration. The range plan was compliant with provincial and federal recovery strategy guidance.

Project Outcomes or Intended Outcomes:Caribou conservation / range plan for Pasquia-Bog interprovincial local population

Project Description:This project will assess the potential for competition between caribou and muskox in northern Quebec, particularly in regards to space use, habitat selection and diet overlap.

Project Outcomes or Intended Outcomes:This study examines spatial overlap, habitat selection and diet composition of an introduced muskox population and a declining migratory caribou population to determine whether they compete for space and/or food. Concerns regarding competition between muskox and migratory caribou were first expressed by Inuit hunters in the 1970’s and still remain to this day.