New hope for mountain caribou through Indigenous-led conservation Leading the way on caribou recovery
An alpine meadow full of wildflowers, moss and lichen in northeast B.C.’s Peace Region is the final resting place for a magnificent weather-bleached antler from the now-extinct Burnt Pine caribou herd. Mountain caribou have roamed these highlands since time immemorial, and Treaty 8 First Nations Elders remember last century when there was still a “sea of caribou like bugs on the land.” But the cumulative impacts of resource development have pushed these animals to the brink. Their habitat is being fractured and degraded by mining, oil and gas development, intensive logging, dams and roads. The stakes for wildlife here — the narrowest pinch-point of the entire Yellowstone to Yukon region — couldn’t be higher.
Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative
Photo: David Moskowitz
