Caribou

Yukon has many populations of caribou, including woodland, barren ground, and some Boreal caribou. These herds cross each other’s ranges at different times of the year and span territorial and national borders, creating an interesting mosaic.

After an initial decline at the turn of the century and following the Gold Rush, the Fortymile caribou population had a significant rebound in numbers. One hypothesis to explain this was that diseases passed from dogs decimated the wolf population in the region for a time, allowing herds to flourish. In the 1920s, the herd size was so great that it took multiple days for it to cross the Yukon. But, following this, the population dangerously dwindled due to excessive hunting and the cumulative effects of decades of road and mining development across the region. This brought the population from hundreds of thousands to only a few thousand by the 1970s¹. Since conservation efforts began in earnest in the 1990’s, herd numbers have fluctuated up to about 84,000 in 2017, and down again to about 40,000 in 2022 ².  

Like most migratory caribou, the Fortymile have natural boom and bust population cycles. This can make it hard to be certain how much a population’s decline is cyclical and how much is due to external factors. However, reduced available summer habitat means the animals have fewer places to go and less food in the summer. The herd has never expanded back into its full range in the Yukon, for reasons that are unclear. It is possible that, beyond habitat disturbance in some areas, the herd has lost knowledge of their ranges over the generations. 

In 2024, the Yukon government greenlit the Kudz Ze Kayah mine to move into the regulatory phase despite First Nation opposition. The mine has not yet been built (beyond the existing exploration infrastructure). Still, it would threaten the Finlayson caribou herd, water, and Kaska culture in a part of the Yukon with a long history of abandoned mines. The Finlayson Herd is a part of the Northern Mountain population of woodland caribou. 

Another northern herd, the Porcupine caribou, undertakes the longest land mammal migration in the world – an astounding 2,400 km journey through the Yukon, Alaska and Northwest Territories. Unfortunately, an enormous amount of pressure is coming to their calving grounds in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, which President Trump opened to oil leasing in 2017. The Arctic Refuge has faced the threat of oil development repeatedly over the past 40 years, but the Gwich’in and their allies have managed to keep development out of these special lands every time. The calving grounds face renewed threats under the second Trump presidency, but the resolve to protect these lands and the Porcupine caribou herd is as strong as ever.  

CPAWS Yukon has been working alongside the Gwich’in Nations and the Arctic Defence Campaign, which includes many of the biggest American Environmental NGOs, to protect the Porcupine caribou herd’s calving grounds. As part of this campaign, they successfully advocated for Canada’s largest banks never to finance drilling in these sacred calving grounds. 

You Can Help

Please support CPAWS Yukon so that they can continue this crucial work, and contact your Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) to let them know that you want to see caribou protected.  

Learn more about CPAWS Yukon’s conservation work for Porcupine caribou. 

1. Source: Forty Mile Caribou in the Dawson Region (2012)
2. Source: Yukon at a crossroads with Fortymile caribou herd (2021) 
This information is up to date as of June 16, 2025.

Caribou in the Northwest Territories are very important ecologically, culturally, and spiritually. There are five types of caribou in the NWT, including Peary, Dolphin & Union, Northern Mountain, Boreal and Barren-ground caribou and all of them are considered to be at risk. 

Three Barren-ground caribou herds are struggling in the Northwest Territories, threatened by forest fires, resource development, and cuts through the boreal forest. Further, road development gives predators like wolves an advantage as they can travel fast in straight lines, leading to great increases in caribou predation.

These caribou are listed as “threatened” on both the Canadian and NWT species at risk lists.  The NWT Species at Risk Act is fundamentally harvest-driven, meaning it intends to ensure populations persist to continue providing country foods. Because caribou are a culturally important species, this is an effective way of ensuring conservation.  

The government of the NWT has a cooperative approach with Indigenous communities and organizations to manage Barren-Ground caribou. Its  Recovery Strategy for Barren-Ground Caribou sets out plans for the protection of caribou and their habitat. In December 2022, the Government of NWT and the federal government announced that they were committing a combined $7.6 million to support actions in the territory that will help to conserve Barren-Ground caribou.

Similarly, the 2019 Framework for Boreal Caribou Range Planning document is a positive step toward protecting the Boreal caribou population. With large, undisturbed tracts of boreal forest, the NWT has the chance to create protected areas that will provide important intact habitat for Boreal caribou.

Furthermore, the new Nature Agreement signed between the territory and the federal government is a step in the right direction. It includes conservation efforts to conserve and recover species at risk and their critical habitats. For Boreal and Barren-Ground caribou, that means protecting areas such as water crossings, migratory corridors, calving grounds, and post-calving habitats. CPAWS NWT works to help ensure Boreal caribou habitat is kept intact for current and future generations of Boreal caribou. 

You Can Help

Please support CPAWS NWT so that they can continue this crucial work, and contact your Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) to let them know that you want to see caribou protected.  

Learn more about CPAWS Northwest Territories’s caribou conservation work. 

This information is up to date as of June 16, 2025.

Caribou populations in British Columbia have suffered steep declines over the past century — dropping from around 40,000 animals to just 17,000 today. The most severe losses have occurred in the last 40 years due to considerable changes in their preferred habitat. Alarmingly, 81% of essential habitat for caribou and other at-risk species fails to meet federal protection standards and B.C. continues to allow industrial logging in areas essential for their survival.

But there are signs of hope in Northern B.C. A major expansion of almost 170,000 hectares to the Klinse-za/Twin Sisters Provincial Park provides a vital protected refuge for the endangered Southern Mountain caribou, among other species.  

The Klinse-za herd, which had dwindled to just 16 animals in 2013, has now grown to more than 100 due to recovery efforts, including maternal penning and feeding.  While the work has been positive for the West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations leading the project, this last-ditch effort to save the populations should never have been allowed to become so threatened by the provincial government and industry. “Protecting the habitat and foods that caribou depend on is key to long-term caribou and community health. This park expansion is much-awaited and welcomed for this iconic species,” says Tori Ball, Conservation Director – Lands & Freshwater Program at CPAWS BC. 

Now, BC enters a 12-month period of Land Use Planning that will determine the future of over 16 million hectares of land in the Northwest. Within this area lies Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) from the Kaska, Tahltan, Taku River Tlingit,  and Gitanyow and Nisga’a Nations. This process has the potential to create millions of hectares of protected area for caribou, salmon, grizzly bears, and can ensure healthy, pristine wilderness remains a part of BC’s legacy for generations to come.  

You Can Help

Please follow CPAWS-BC for updates on this Land Use Planning process and how you can speak up for nature. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for nature protection. Start the process off right by taking this action to encourage the BC government to continue putting nature at the center of decision-making. 

Learn more about CPAWS British Columbia’s caribou conservation work. 

This information is up to date as of June 16, 2025.

Unfortunately, caribou across Alberta are in serious trouble. Many caribou ranges have been heavily fragmented by industrial activity. Disturbed landscapes attract predators like wolves and leave caribou with nowhere to escape predation.

For Southern Mountain caribou, the high disturbance to their winter range in the forested foothills forces these iconic animals to hide in the harsh mountains year-round, where they can be caught in avalanches. Multiple avalanches have killed significant numbers of the Redrock Prairie Creek population, which only has ~100 individuals left. For example in 2019, avalanches killed at least 25% of the population. 

Some caribou in Alberta have less than one percent of their ranges intact. With so little habitat left, it is essential to prevent additional disturbances in their ranges to recover and stabilize caribou populations. As an umbrella species, protecting caribou habitat protects habitat for all other species that rely on intact boreal forest to survive.  

Yet, the provincial government remains years behind schedule on caribou conservation. Agreements between Alberta and the federal government are failing to restore  and protect caribou habitats and populations as the province continues to prioritize industrial development, which further jeopardizes caribou survival.  

For instance, Alberta’s draft Upper Smoky Sub-Regional plan would, if approved, enable the U.S.-based timber company Weyerhaeuser to entirely clear-cut the last remaining winter range forests occupied by the Red Rock-Prairie Creek and Narraway caribou. This would further open caribou ranges to oil and gas developments. Already, these two caribou populations are barely hanging on and would be lost if the plan is approved.  

“The plan doesn’t even list caribou recovery as an objective and would approve the clearcutting of nearly all remaining forests in the caribou’s winter range.” – Tara Russell, Program Director of CPAWS Northern Alberta.  

Caribou in Crisis, It’s Not Too Late 

On federal lands, as a last-ditch emergency effort, a new Caribou Conservation Breeding Centre has been established in Jasper National Park. The centre plans to capture 25 to 35 female Woodland caribou and start producing enough calves to restore Jasper’s dwindling herds to sustainable levels.  

While CPAWS Northern Alberta is glad that Parks Canada is investing in their recovery, it highlights the precarious nature of caribou populations in Alberta and the extreme expense and intervention needed when habitat management measures have been ignored for decades. The need for these extreme measures must be avoided for Southern Mountain caribou by safeguarding their winter habitat, and for Boreal caribou by restoring and protecting critical habitat. 

Alberta urgently needs to shift course. Protecting caribou means moving beyond a ‘development at all costs’ mindset and taking bold, science-based action to safeguard what little habitat remains.  

You Can Help

Please support CPAWS Northern Alberta so they can continue this crucial work and contact your Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to let them know that you want to see caribou protected.  

For more information, see the Chapter’s press release and their report on the projected impacts of the Upper Smoky Sub-Regional Plan on caribou and their habitat. You can also learn more about their caribou conservation work here. 

This information is up to date as of June 16, 2025.

Saskatchewan’s 2019 conservation agreement with the federal government has fallen short of protecting Boreal caribou. Critical habitat remains fragmented and poorly connected — conditions that make it hard for caribou populations to remain healthy and self-sustaining. Through the Woodland Caribou Range Planning process, the province committed to avoiding habitat and sensory disturbance to important caribou areas and set a management objective to “retain habitat”  for caribou for 20 years. However, the provincial regulation has not prevented mining and forest projects from moving forward.  

CPAWS Saskatchewan is calling on the province to work with the federal government to develop an updated Conservation Agreement under the Species at Risk Act — one that includes stronger commitments to habitat protection and restoration. The provincial government must also act urgently to meet its responsibilities for caribou habitat protection, connectivity, and species recovery — especially in areas where continued disturbance from logging, mining, oil and gas development and associated roadbuilding could lead to local extinction.  

You Can Help

Please support CPAWS Saskatchewan so they can continue this crucial work, and contact your Member of Parliament (MP) and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) to let them know that you want to see critical caribou habitat protected.  

Learn more about CPAWS Saskatchewan’s caribou conservation work. 

This information is up to date as of June 16, 2025.

In Manitoba, support is needed to keep pressure on the provincial government to develop recovery plans for each of the Boreal caribou management units. They are sixteen years late on their own deadline!  

Caribou in Manitoba include the barren-ground Beverely and Qamanirjuag herds as well as Boreal caribou herds. The Beverly and Qumanirjuagg Management Board, consisting of representatives from multiple territorial governments and Indigenous Nations, recently released their 2023-2032 Management Plan. This ten-year plan outlines recommendations for monitoring, harvesting respectfully, land-use planning to maintain habitat, integrating Traditional Knowledge, and communicating to the public.   

In our 2022 “Roadmap to 2030 – Delivering on Canada’s Land and Ocean Protection Targets”, CPAWS recommended that Manitoba map and protect critical habitat for Boreal caribou. The province established an agreement with the federal government to advance caribou conservation under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), and almost $1 million was dedicated to the efforts. Manitoba initiated plans, but progress toward completing them has been painfully slow. Caribou assessments have been done, and the province claims they work with the logging, mining, and hydro industries to conserve caribou, but this doesn’t replace the dire need for recovery plans.  

In 2023, the Manitoba government reached a three-year agreement with the federal government to support the recovery and conservation of Boreal caribou. Despite an updated provincial caribou recovery strategy in 2015 and mandated action plans for nine range management zones, no plans have been completed to date.   

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed that sets the stage for a future Nature Agreement between Manitoba, Canada, and Indigenous Nations that could lead to significant federal dollars for protecting habitats in Manitoba. 

We and CPAWS Manitoba are proud to be involved since the beginning and are encouraged by the progress towards establishing the 50,000-square-kilometre Seal River Watershed IPCA. This would protect the habitat of barren-ground and Boreal caribou as well as other wildlife, while honouring First Nations’ continued role as guardians of the region.  

It is recommended that the province of Manitoba make good on its long-overdue commitment to complete recovery plans for Boreal caribou that map out and actively protect critical habitat. We would love to see caribou habitat conservation in Manitoba that maintains Manitobans’ access to nature for hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, and more. 

You Can Help

Please support CPAWS Manitoba so that they can continue this crucial work, take action in their latest campaign,  and contact your Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) to let them know that you want to see caribou protected.  

Keep up to date on caribou in Manitoba. 

This information is up to date as of June 16, 2025.

Ontario continues to refuse to protect Boreal caribou critical habitat. In 2023, the Government of Canada confirmed what Wildlands League (CPAWS chapter in Ontario) and others have been saying: that the province was not effectively protecting caribou habitat. An agreement between Canada and Ontario characterized by Wildlands League as “the weakest in Canada” fails to provide for any meaningful habitat protections. Instead, it enshrines harmful activities like logging and mining, encouraging corporations to continue business as usual. 

Under the guise of responding to Trump tariffs and threats of economic force against Canada, earlier in June, Ontario introduced and passed legislation that guts protections for vulnerable wildlife, fast-tracks mining and development projects, tramples Indigenous rights, silences local voices and creates lawless zones for proponents as designated by cabinet. This will worsen things for species at risk in Ontario, including Boreal caribou (learn more).  

As Anna Baggio, Conservation Director from Wildlands League told the Toronto Star, “You don’t even need to be much of an expert to see they’ve just taken us back like 50 years … repealing (the Endangered Species Act), narrowing the definition of habitat — basically, forget science. This is just a supercharged development agenda.”   

You Can Help

Our colleagues at Wildlands League will continue to give voice to the voiceless and fight for species at risk, such as Boreal caribou. The fight against Bill 5 continues, and Wildlands League is calling for the law to be repealed.  

Please support Wildlands League so they can continue this crucial work, and contact your Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) to let them know that you want to see caribou protected.  

This information is up to date as of June 16, 2025.

Across the province, caribou populations are showing worrying signs of decline due to logging and habitat fragmentation, and some have reached the brink of extinction.

By 2024, the Quebec government had failed to take action on caribou conservation and safeguard herds to the extent that the federal government had to implement an emergency order to protect habitats for three of the most at-risk Boreal caribou populations in the province: Charlevoix, Val-d’Or, and Pipmuakan. Eventually, an agreement was signed with the federal government, and the emergency order was not enacted; however, the situation left much to be desired. The province has yet to establish a Woodland Caribou recovery strategy for all populations, hindering progress for this species at risk. 

In response, Indigenous Nations and local organizations took action. In Part I of this series, I mentioned Iris and Benoit’s work in the Abitibi region with the Detour-Kesagami population of Woodland caribou or ‘Atik’ in the language, Anicinabemowin. This population originally roamed the entire Abitibiwinni Aki territory but is now confined to the north of the territory¹.  

The Detour-Kesagami population range crosses into Ontario, which makes it difficult to monitor, but in 2022, the first joint inventory between Ontario and Quebec was carried out. SNAP Quebec worked with the Abitibiwinni Environmental Office, Chantiers Chibougamau (forest industry) and the Quebec government to design a habitat management and protection plan for the Woodland caribou that ensures that caribou-related sites of interest are protected, extensive forests are maintained, and connectivity between these forests is preserved. The team is also working on other issues affecting caribou and the development of protected areas through consultation with Ontario stakeholders. 

Good News!  

Bill 97, which was proposed by the Quebec government in early 2025 has been abandoned. This bill proposed a new forest regime that put caribou at greater risk by giving industry the responsibility of public forest management and weakening historic commitments such as the protection of 50% of northern Quebec. We are relieved that this threat to caribou has been abated at this time. 

You Can Help

Please support SNAP Quebec so that they can continue this crucial work, take action in their latest campaign, and contact your Members of the Assemblée Nationale (MNA) to let them know that you want to see caribou protected. Support SNAP  

1. Source: Benoit Croteau and Iris Lochon. Territoire et Environnement, Conseil de la Première Nation Abitibiwinni. (Interview August 28, 2024) 
This information is up to date as of June 16, 2025.

In 2020, the provincial and federal governments announced an agreement (including $5.4 million in funding) to conserve Boreal caribou in Labrador, especially the Mealy Mountain, Lac Joseph and Red Wine caribou herds. Under the four-year Boreal Caribou Conservation Agreement with Environment and Climate Change Canada, the province, in collaboration with the Indigenous governments, has been monitoring trends among these caribou populations. The studies have revealed a decline in adult survival, calf recruitment rates, and overall population numbers.  

For instance, the George River caribou herd’s highest recorded population was about 500,000 in 1986. Unfortunately, the population has dropped quite severely since then and was estimated at about 8,600 in 2024. This herd experienced a great loss of habitat range. Historically, their near-100,000 km2 range extended from the eastern shore of Hudson Bay to the Atlantic coast of Labrador. Now, the George River caribou live nearly entirely in Labrador.  

Unlike nearly all other regions in Canada, the caribou habitat in Newfoundland and Labrador is largely untouched, with only two percent of combined human disturbance occurring across all ranges. The decline and persistently low numbers of Boreal caribou populations in Newfoundland and Labrador are primarily due to natural threats compounded by unsustainable and unauthorized harvesting practices. 

You Can Help

Please support CPAWS Newfoundland and Labrador so they can continue this crucial work, and contact your Members of the House of Assembly to let them know that you value wildlife and caribou conservation.  

This information is up to date as of June 16, 2025.