Caribou protection | Biologists denounce the lack of courage and vision of elected officials

(Quebec) Quebec biologists accuse elected officials of lacking courage and vision in protecting caribou.

In a brief, they denounce in particular the violation of laws and regulations by the government and its “laxity”, its inaction for at least thirty years concerning this emblematic endangered species, while recovery plans and consultations follow one another. .

The Association of Biologists (ABQ) is calling in particular for the creation of new protected areas and the adoption of a more viable method of forest management, consistent with sustainable development.

“It is clear that our elected officials lack vision and courage with regard to forest management, to the permanent detriment of Quebec’s natural heritage,” we read in the brief.

This document actually discusses two government pilot projects aimed at protecting the populations of woodland caribou in Charlevoix and mountain caribou in Gaspésie, out of the 16 populations in total in Quebec.

These pilot projects are “incomplete and clearly insufficient to prevent the disappearance of the caribou of Charlevoix and Gaspésie,” believes the association.

“The problem is not simple, the science is simple, the causes are clear, there is a scientific consensus, after that, putting actions in place is not easy,” admitted the vice-president of the association, Amélie Goulet, during an interview with The Canadian Press on Tuesday.

We know in particular that logging, the large number of logging roads, the lack of old coniferous forests, the abundance of moose which attracts many predators, all of this harms the survival of caribou.

Polarisation

“There is a political fear of weakening an industry” in recent decades, she argued, but according to her, we should stop pitting the preservation of caribou habitat against the economy.

This “unnecessarily polarizes communities,” the report reads. The government should seek to ease social tensions and not use this false dilemma.”

However, “the caribou is the canary in the mine, in fact an indicator of the health of the boreal forest”, we continue: current exploitation is not sustainable, the forest is depleting and the caribou is its symbol. .

A good portion of workers could be reassigned to restoring caribou and forest habitats, suggests M.^me Goulet.

Loss assessment

The ABQ notably requires an assessment by independent experts on the losses to be expected in the industry with the implementation of conservation measures for the species.

Indeed, the data diverge: the commission set up in 2022 estimated that 841 direct jobs would be lost and 96 million per year for the conservation of the habitat of woodland caribou and mountain caribou.

The Quebec Forest Industry Council (CIFQ) estimates the impact over 10 years caused by the federal decree for just three groups of caribou at nearly $6.5 billion.

Pen failure

Let us recall that in June, Ottawa, dissatisfied with the protection measures put in place by Quebec, proposed a draft decree aimed at prohibiting logging in certain areas in order to protect three herds comprising a total of 265 forest caribou. , namely those of Val-d’Or, Charlevoix and Pipmuacan, between Saguenay and the North Shore.

The ABQ also criticizes Quebec’s enclosure operations to protect populations in the Val-d’Or, Charlevoix and Gaspésie areas, which have experienced numerous failures.

According to biologists, Val-d’Or was a “complete failure”, while in Gaspésie, “having not produced results, the outcome of this attempt takes us very close to the threshold of extinction of this unique genetic strain,” it reads.

The woodland caribou has been designated as a “vulnerable” species since 2005 under Quebec’s Threatened or Vulnerable Species Act and as a “threatened” species since 2003 under Canada’s Species at Risk Act.

The mountain caribou of Gaspésie has been designated as a “threatened” species since 2009 in Quebec and “endangered” since 2003 in Canada.

The ABQ brings together more than 1,000 biologists, according to its data.