Performance Measures for Resource Review Areas for...performance measures. In addition to tracking...

Performance Measures for Resource Review Areas for Woodland Caribou in British Columbia

March31,2012

Preparedby:

DeborahCichowskiCaribouEcologicalConsulting

Box3652,Smithers,B.C.,V0J2N0

DianeCullingDiversifiedEnvironmentalServices

Box6263,FortSt.John,B.C.,V1J4H7

ScottMcNayWildlifeInfometricsInc.

Box308,MackenzieB.C.,V0J2C0

Preparedfor:

ChrisRitchieMinistryofForests,LandsandNaturalResourceOperations

405118thAve.,PrinceGeorge,B.C.,V2N1B3

WoodlandCaribouResourceReviewAreas–PerformanceMeasures ii

Executive Summary

InJune2010,theprovincialgovernmentestablishedResourceReviewAreas(RRAs)tosupportmanagementofBorealCaribou(Rangifertaranduscaribou)innortheasternBCandtheBurntPineCaribouHerd(NorthernCaribou)innorth‐centralBC.Nonewoilandgas,mineral,placerorcoalstenuresareallowedinRRAsforaminimumof5years.EffectivenessofRRAswillbeassessedin2015.TheroleofRRAsistoprovideconditionsthataremorefavourableforcariboupersistencethanconditionsthatexistoutsideRRAs.ThisreportrecommendsperformancemeasuresandmonitoringplansforBorealCaribouandBurntPineCaribouHerdRRAsbasedongoalsandobjectivesfrommanagementplansforthetwopopulations.ForBorealCaribou,theoverallgoalsoftheImplementationPlanfortheOngoingManagementofBorealCaribou(Rangifertaranduscariboupop.14)inBritishColumbiaare:todecreasetheexpectedrateofdeclineintheBorealCariboupopulation;and,tosignificantlyreducetheriskofBorealCaribouextirpationintheCalendar,Chinchaga,MaxhamishandProphetrangeswithin50years.TwoplansrecentlycompletedfortheBurntPineCaribouHerdprovidearecoverypopulationobjectiveof50caribou.TherearefourRRAsinBorealCaribourangesinnortheasternBCandoneRRAintheBurntPineCaribouHerdRange.BorealCaribouRRAscontain13%oftheoverallrange,13%ofUngulateWinterRanges,and5%ofradio‐collaredcariboulocations.Extremelylowgradientslopes(0‐0.6°),whichhavebeenfoundtobeagoodpredictorofBorealCaribouhabitatinnortheasternBC,makeup74%ofthecombinedRRAarea.Theindustrialdisturbancezone(areawithin250mofindustrialfeatures)covers62%ofthefourBorealCaribouRRAareas.TheBurntPineRRAcontains47%oftheWildlifeHabitatAreas,36%oftheUngulateWinterRange,42%ofthewintercorearea,37%ofthesummercorearea,43%ofradio‐collaredcaribouwinterlocationsand26%ofsummerlocations.Theindustrialdisturbancezonecovers11%oftheBurntPineRRA.WerecommendusingthefollowingperformancemeasuresforassessingtheeffectivenessofRRAs:populationrateofincrease,adultmortalityrate,calfrecruitmentrate,%areawithin500mofindustrialactivities,%areainburns<40years,undisturbedpatchsizedistribution,%areaofundisturbedlowgradientslope(BorealCaribou),wolf(Canislupus)

WoodlandCaribouResourceReviewAreas–PerformanceMeasures iii

density,moose(Alcesalces)densityandwhite‐taileddeer(Odocoileusvirginianus)relativedensity.ForBorealCaribou,effectivenessofRRAswillbeassessedat3levelsofspatialresolution:RRA,BorealCaribourange,andBorealCariboupopulationanddistribution.ThefollowingquestionswillbeusedtoevaluateeffectivenessofRRAsatthethreespatialscales.1. DotheRRAscontainappropriateconditionsforcaribou?2. ArecaribouinRRAsbetteroffthancaribououtsideofRRAs?3. ArecaribouinrangeswithRRAsbetteroffthancaribouinranges

withoutRRAs?PerformancemeasuresattheRRAlevelfocusonrangeconditions(habitatanddisturbance)whileperformancemeasuresattherangeandBorealCariboupopulationlevelsincludebothrangeconditions(disturbance,predatorabundance,alternatepreyabundance)andcariboupopulationcondition.AttheRRAlevel,targetsforperformancemeasuresfocusonnoincreaseintheindustrialdisturbancezonewithinRRAs.TargetsforperformancemeasuresforRRAsattherangescalearebasedonperformancemeasurelevelsinRRAscomparedtolevelswithinthesamerangebutoutsidetheRRA,andtargetsfortheBorealCariboupopulationlevelarebasedonperformancemeasurelevelsinrangeswithRRAsversusrangeswithoutRRAs.RRAswereestablishedinJune2010witha5‐yearwindowforevaluatingtheireffectiveness.Therefore,monitoringandanalysismustbecompletedinthenext3years.ThemonitoringprogramforBorealCaribouRRAsincludesmaintainingasampleof20radio‐collaredcaribouineachofthefollowingmonitoringunits:RRAs(4),non‐RRAportionsofrangeswithRRAs(2),and,rangeswithoutRRAs(3),tosupportcollectionofcalfrecruitment,adultmortalityandpopulationrateofincreaseperformancemeasures.Inadditiontotrackingperformancemeasures,evaluationandmonitoringoftheBorealCaribouRRAshouldinclude:theproportionofradio‐collaredcariboulocationsinRRAs,causesofadultmortality,beaver(Castorcanadensis)density,andRRAshape.Themonitoringprogramrecommendedinthisreportisrestrictedtothethree‐yearwindowstillremainingbeforetheeffectivenessofRRAshastobeassessed.Asmoreofthelandscapeisdisturbedbydevelopment,therelativecontributionoftheRRAstosustainingBorealCaribouwilllikelyincreaseaslongasRRAscontainadequateconditionsforBorealCariboutopersist.WhenassessingtheeffectivenessofRRAsattheendofthe5‐yearevaluationperiod,thefutureeffectivenessofRRAsshouldalsobeconsidered.

WoodlandCaribouResourceReviewAreas–PerformanceMeasures iv

DuetotheapparentlackofcaribouintheBurntPineCaribouHerd,performancemeasuresfortheBurntPineRRAfocusonhabitat/rangecondition.WerecommendassessingrangeconditionswithintheRRAandalsospecificallywithintheMt.StephensonportionoftheRRAwherethemajorityofusebytheBurntPineCaribouHerdhasoccurred.AlthoughthecurrentcontributionoftheRRAtothepopulationgoalfortheBurntPineCaribouHerdmaynotbepossibletoassessatthispointintime,thecontributionoftheRRAtothepopulationgoalfortheKennedy‐Sidingcaribouherdarepossibleandshouldbeconsidered.PerformancemeasuresforrangeconditionsintheBurntPineRRAshouldbeassessedin2012andin2015.Inaddition,caribouthatusetheMt.StephensonareaandtherestoftheRRAshouldbemonitoredregardlessofwhichherdtheybelongto.SurveysoftheRRA(andnon‐RRAportionoftheMt.Stephensonarea)shouldbeconductedmonthlyfromDecembertoMarcheachyearandcariboufoundintheRRAshouldberadio‐collared.AsrecoveryoftheBurntPineCaribouHerdprogresses,performancemeasuresforpopulationconditionsimilartothoserecommendedforBorealCaribouRRAsshouldbeincluded.

Acknowledgements

WewouldliketothankChrisRitchie(MinistryofForests,LandsandNaturalResourceOperations[MFLNRO]),ChrisPasztor(MinistryofEnvironment[MOE]),DaleSeip(MOE),ConradThiessen(MFLNRO),KarenPriceandDaveDaustforsharingtheirthoughtsandinsightsonvariousaspectsoftheproject.ChrisRitchieandChrisPasztoralsoreviewedearlierdraftsofthereport.DaleSeip,ConradThiessen,DaveHervieux(AlbertaSustainableResourceDevelopment),NicLarter(NorthwestTerritoriesGovernment),CraigDeMars(UniversityofAlberta),CanadianForestProductsLtd.andNexenInc.providedradio‐collaredcariboulocations.ChrisPasztorprovidedthedisturbancelayerfortheBorealCaribouranges.WewouldalsoliketothankViktorBrumovsky(WildlifeInfometricsInc.)forpreparingthemaps.FundingforthisprojectwasprovidedbytheMinistryofEnergyandMines.

WoodlandCaribouResourceReviewAreas–PerformanceMeasures v

Table of Contents

ExecutiveSummary .................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements................................................................................. iv TableofContents ..................................................................................... v ListofFigures .......................................................................................... vi ListofTables .......................................................................................... vii 1 Background/Context...........................................................................1

1.1 RequirementsofWoodlandCaribou............................................2 1.2 BorealCaribou.............................................................................4

1.2.1 ImplementationPlanfortheOngoingManagementofBorealCaribouinBritishColumbia(2011) .........................4

1.2.2 BorealCaribouResourceReviewAreas .............................7 1.3 BurntPineCaribou ....................................................................15

1.3.1 BurntPineCaribouPlans .................................................15 1.3.2 BurntPineCaribouResourceReviewArea ......................15

2 LiteratureReview–PerformanceMeasures/Indicators,TargetsandMetrics .............................................................................................24 2.1 PerformanceMeasures/IndicatorsandTargets .........................24 2.2 MetricsUsedtoMeasureCaribouPopulationandRange

Condition...................................................................................27 2.2.1 PopulationMeasures ......................................................27 2.2.2 RangeOccupancy/Distribution ........................................29 2.2.3 Habitat/Range.................................................................29 2.2.4 OtherSpecies ..................................................................34 2.2.5 PerformanceMeasuresforResourceReviewAreas ........35

3 BorealCaribouResourceReviewAreasPerformanceMeasuresandMonitoringPlan................................................................................38 3.1 PerformanceMeasures .............................................................38

3.1.1 ResourceReviewAreaLevel ............................................39 3.1.2 BorealCaribouRangeLevel .............................................40 3.1.3 BorealCaribouPopulationLevel......................................41

3.2 MonitoringProgram ..................................................................43 3.3 OtherStrategies ........................................................................45 3.4 FutureConditions ......................................................................45

4 BurntPineCaribouResourceReviewAreaPerformanceMeasuresandMonitoringPlan .........................................................................47 4.1 PerformanceMeasures .............................................................47 4.2 MonitoringPlan.........................................................................48 4.3 FutureConditions ......................................................................49

5 References .......................................................................................50

WoodlandCaribouResourceReviewAreas–PerformanceMeasures vi

List of Figures

Figure1. RoleofResourceReviewAreasintheBorealCaribouImplementationPlan................................................................5

Figure2. RelationshipbetweenResourceReviewAreas(RRAs)andobjectivesfromtheBorealCaribouImplementationPlan.Rangenamesareinparentheses..............................................6

Figure3. LocationofResourceReviewAreasinBorealCaribourangesandcorehabitats. ....................................................................8

Figure4. BorealCaribouResourceReviewAreas,UngulateWinterRangesandWildlifeHabitatAreas..........................................11

Figure5. SlopeclassdistributioninBorealCaribouResourceReviewAreas......................................................................................12

Figure6. Radio‐collaredBorealCariboulocationsinResourceReviewAreas......................................................................................13

Figure7. Industrialdisturbancewith250mbuffersinBorealCaribouResourceReviewAreas. .........................................................14

Figure8.ObjectivesandstrategiesfortheBurntPineCaribouHerdintheRecoveryandAugmentationPlanforWoodlandCaribouintheCentralRockyMountainsofBritishColumbia...............16

Figure9.RoleoftheResourceReviewAreaintheBurntPineCaribouAugmentationPlan. ...............................................................17

Figure10. BurntPineCaribouResourceReviewArea,UngulateWinterRangesandWildlifeHabitatAreas..........................................18

Figure11. BurntPineCaribouHerdResourceReviewArea,wintercoreareasandwinterhighselectivityhabitat. ...............................20

Figure12. BurntPineCaribouHerdResourceReviewArea,summercoreareasandsummerhighselectivityhabitat......................21

Figure13. Radio‐collaredcariboulocationsintheBurntPineResourceReviewArea. ..........................................................................22

Figure14. Industrialdisturbancewith250mbuffersintheBurntPineCaribouHerdResourceReviewArea. .....................................23

WoodlandCaribouResourceReviewAreas–PerformanceMeasures vii

List of Tables

Table1. ManagementandpopulationtargetsforBorealCaribouranges. .....................................................................................7

Table2. Habitat,range,caribouuseanddisturbancecharacteristicsofResourceReviewAreasinBorealCaribouranges. ..............10

Table3. Habitat,range,caribouuseanddisturbancecharacteristicsoftheBurntPineCaribouHerdResourceReviewArea...........19

Table4. Examplesofperformanceindicatorsandtargetsfromothercariboumanagementplans. ...................................................25

Table5. RecommendedperformancemeasuresandmethodsforassessingeffectivenessofRRAs..............................................36

Table6. PerformancemeasuresforBorealCaribouRRAsattheRRAlevel. ......................................................................................39

Table7. PerformancemeasuresforBorealCaribouRRAsattherangelevel. ......................................................................................40

Table8. PerformancemeasuresforBorealCaribouRRAsattheBorealCaribouPopulationlevel. ............................................42

Table9. BorealCaribouRRAmonitoringplanactivityschedule. ..........43 Table10. BorealCariboumonitoringunitsandassociatedplan

strategies,andradio‐collarsrequired. ....................................44 Table11. PerformancemeasuresfortheBurntPineCaribouHerd

RRA. .......................................................................................48

WoodlandCaribouResourceReviewAreas–PerformanceMeasures 1

1 Background/Context

InJune2010,theprovincialgovernmentestablishedResourceReviewAreas(RRAs)tosupportmanagementofBorealCaribou(Rangifertaranduscaribou)innortheasternBCandtheBurntPineCaribouHerd(NorthernCaribou)innorth‐centralBC.BothBorealCaribouandtheBurntPineCaribouHerdaredesignatedasThreatenedunderthefederalSpeciesatRiskAct.RRAsarelocatedinareaswithinexistingcaribourangesthatcurrentlydonotcontainanyoilandgas,coal,mineralorplacertenures.ANoDispositionNotationwasplacedoverRRAssothatnonewoilandgastenurerequestswillbeacceptedintheRRAsforaminimumof5years.Mineral,placerandcoalNoRegistrationReserveshavealsobeenplacedovertheRRAsundertheMineralTenureActandCoalActforaminimumof5years.TheeffectivenessofRRAswillbereviewedafter5yearsbasedonperformancemeasuresrelatedtocariboupopulationandrangeconditions.Theprovincialgovernmentrecentlycompletedmanagementplansforthetwopopulations.TheImplementationPlanfortheOngoingManagementofBorealCaribou(Rangifertaranduscariboupop.14)inBritishColumbia(henceforththeBorealCaribouImplementationPlan)wascompletedin2011(MinistryofEnvironment2011).TwoplanswerepreparedforguidingmanagementoftheBurntPineCaribouHerd:theRecoveryandAugmentationPlanforWoodlandCaribouintheCentralRockyMountainsofBritishColumbia(henceforththeCentralRockiesCaribouPlan)providesobjectivesandstrategiesformanaging7cariboupopulationsinthecentralRockyMountainsinBritishColumbia,includingtheBurntPineCaribouHerd(Seipetal.2010);and,theBurntPineCaribouAugmentationPlan,whichwaspreparedspecificallyfortheBurntPineCaribouHerd(MinistryofForests,LandsandNaturalResourceOperations2011).ThisreportrecommendsperformancemeasuresandmonitoringplansforBorealCaribouandBurntPineCaribouHerdRRAsbasedongoalsandobjectivesfromthemanagementplansforthetwopopulations.


1.1 Requirements of Woodland Caribou

CariboufoundintheborealzoneinnortheasternBCbelongtothe“boreal”ecotypeofwoodlandcaribou(HeardandVagt1998).Ingeneral,BorealCaribourequirementsinclude(MinistryofEnvironment2010,EnvironmentCanada2008,2011a):

• largerangeareascomprisedofcontinuoustractsofundisturbedhabitatwherecariboucan:o reducepredationriskby:maintaininglowpopulationdensities

throughouttherange;and,avoidingareasofhighpredationrisk,suchasareaswithhighdensitiesofalternatepreyspecies(e.g.moose[Alcesalces]andwhite‐taileddeer[Odocoileusvirginianus]);and,

o shifttheirrangeuseinresponsetovariousnaturalprocesses(e.g.fire,weather/snowconditions,foodavailability)andhumanactivities(e.g.disturbancefromoilandgasdevelopment,forestharvesting,recreation);

• adequateareasofimportanthabitatssuchas:o largepatchesoflowgradient(<0.6°slope)peatlands;and,o maturetoold‐growthconiferousforestwithabundantlichens;

• adequateforagequalityandquantitytoallowbreedingandrecruitmentofcalves,includingbogandfenhabitatsthatofferaccesstoseasonallyimportantforagespecies(e.g.wintergreenvascularplants,andsedgesandrushesassociatedwithlakemargins);

• snowconditionsduringwinterthatallowaccesstoterrestriallichenforageandthatprovideunimpededmovements;

• minimalamountsofearlysuccessionalforestsandrecentlydisturbedareasthatattractotherungulates;

• isolated,relativelypredator‐freeareas(e.g.treedpeatlands,islandsinlakes)thatallowindividualfemalecariboutospaceoutatlowdensitiesforcalving;

• areassurroundingrangeswithrelativelylowintensityofhumanactivitytobuffereffectsofareaswithintensivehumanactivities;

• connectivitybetweenranges:o toenableimmigrationandemigrationbetweenlocalpopulations

tomaintainorincreasegeneticdiversity;and,o toprovidepotentialmovementcorridorstofacilitateresponseto

changingconditionscausebyclimatechange;and,• rangesthatrepresentthefullecologicalgradientnecessaryto

capturelocaladaptationsthatarisefromadaptivevariation.


TheBurntPineCaribouHerdbelongstothe“northern”ecotypeofwoodlandcaribou(StevensonandHatler1985,HeardandVagt1998).Ingeneral,NorthernCaribourequire(NorthernCaribouTechnicalAdvisoryCommittee2004,EnvironmentCanada2011b):

• largetractsofrangewherecariboucanspaceawayfromotherpreyandpredators(horizontallyandvertically);

• adequateforagequalityandquantitytoallowbreedingandrecruitmentofcalves;

• highqualityundisturbedcalvingareaswherecariboucanspaceawayfromotherpreyandpredators(e.g.highelevationalpine,subalpineparkland,subalpineforests,islandsinlakes);

• accesstoanadequatesupplyofterrestrialandarboreallichensduringwinter;

• largepatchesofhighqualitywinterhabitat:o lowelevationmaturepineforestswithabundantterrestrial

lichens;o lowelevationmatureforests(pineorspruce)orforested

wetlandswithabundantarboreallichens;o highelevationwindsweptalpineridgeswithabundantterrestrial

lichens;o highelevationsubalpineforestswithabundantarboreallichens;

and,• relativelyundisturbedmatrixhabitatforseasonalmigrationsand

connectivitybetweenranges.


1.2 Boreal Caribou

1.2.1 Implementation Plan for the Ongoing Management of Boreal Caribou in British Columbia (2011)

BorealCaribourequirelargeareasofcontiguoushabitattoavoidpredators(MinistryofEnvironment2010).DisturbancefromhumanactivitiesindirectlyaffectsBorealCaribouthroughhabitatloss,fragmentationandalteration,andresultingchangesinpredator/preyrelationships(MinistryofEnvironment2010,2011).RRAswereestablishedtoprotectportionsofBorealCaribourangeinnortheasternBCfromfurtherdisturbanceforaminimumof5years.IntheBorealCaribouImplementationPlan,RRAscontributetoObjective#1(Figure1):

• protectsufficientBorealCaribouhabitattoprovidetheopportunitiestorecoverpopulationsinallsixrangeswithin50years;

and,ultimatelytobothoftheplangoals:

• todecreasetheexpectedrateofdeclineintheBorealCariboupopulation;and,

• tosignificantlyreducetheriskofBorealCaribouextirpationintheCalendar,Chinchaga,MaxhamishandProphetrangeswithin50years.

Strategiessuchashabitatrestoration,firesuppressionandpredatormanagementthatwillbeusedtoachievetheotherplanobjectiveswillalsoaffectconditionswithinRRAs(Figure2)andcontributetotheoverallplangoals.EachBorealCaribourangecontainsaspecificcombinationofstrategiestomeetplanobjectivesandrange‐specificpopulationtargets(Table1).StrategiesusedtoachieveotherplanobjectiveswillbeappliedatthesamelevelofeffortinRRAsandoutsideofRRAswithinindividualranges.TheroleofadditionalprotectionaffordedbyRRAsistoprovideconditionsthataremorefavourableforcariboupersistencethanconditionsthatexistoutsideRRAs,nowandinthefuture(ifthemoratoriumonnewoilandgastenurescontinuesbeyond5years).


Figure1. RoleofResourceReviewAreasintheBorealCaribouImplementationPlan.

HabitatManagement MonitoringPlanningSpeciesandPopulationManagement

Objective:1.ProtectsufficientBorealCaribouhabitattoprovidetheopportunitiestorecoverpopulationsinallsixrangeswithin50years

HabitatRestorationHabitatProtection

2.RecruitcapableBorealCaribouhabitatintoasuitableconditionbyundertakingrestorationactivitiesintheChinchaga,Parker,ProphetandSnake‐Sahtanehranges

3.Inallsixranges,managethesizeoftheindustrialfootprintbyprotectinghabitatfromindustrialactivitiesandrequireindustrystandardmanagementpracticesthatminimizesurfacefootprintandpreservescaribouhabitat

5.Monitortheeffectivenessofmanagementactionswithinallrangeareasandmodifyactionsaccordinglytoensurepopulationanddistributiongoalsarebeingachieved.

(Nostatedplanningobjectives)

4.Inallsixranges,mitigatetheeffectsoftheindustrialfootprintbyreducingpredatorsandmanaginghabitatconditionsthroughfiresuppression

• EstablishResourceReviewAreas(RRAs)

• EstablishUWRsandWHAsunderFRPA• EstablishUWRsandWHAsunderOGAA

• Developanactivity(e.g.pipeline,seismicaccess)managementstrategyforRRAs• Implement

• Developcross‐agencymanagementteams,boards,and/orcommitteeswithassociatedrolesandresponsibilitiestoimplementallaspectsofmanagementforBorealCaribou

• Developaresearchandeffectivenessmonitoringboardwithassociatedrolesandresponsibilitiestoensuregovernmentimplementationgoalsandobjectivesarebeingachieved

• DetermineTraditionalEcologicalKnowledge(TEK)relatedtohistoricandcurrentdistributionsandpopulationsofBorealCaribouandotherwildlife

• ReviewBorealCariboupopulationmodeltodeterminemanagementactioneffectiveness

• Developaneffectivenessmonitoringstrategyassociatedwithmanagementactions• Develop

performancemeasurestodeterminetheeffectivenessofRRAs

• Developahabitatsuitabilitymonitoringstrategytomanageforfuturehabitatconditions• Implement

• Developafireresponse/suppressionstrategytomanagehabitatconditions• Implement

• Developpetroleumandnaturalgasindustrystandardoperatingandplanningpractices• Implement

• Developahabitatrestorationstrategy• Implement

• DevelopaBorealCariboupopulationmonitoringstrategy• Implement

• Determinetheneedandlevelofalternatepreymanagement• Developanalternatepreymanagementstrategyifdeemednecessary• Implement• Implement

• DeterminepredationrisktoBorealCaribou• Determinetheneedandlevelofpredatormanagement• Developapredatormanagementstrategyifdeemednecessary• Implement

BorealCaribouImplementationPlan‐GOALS

1.TodecreasetheexpectedrateofdeclineintheBorealCaribouPopulation2.TosignificantlyreducetheriskofBorealCaribouextirpationintheCalendar,

Chinchaga,Maxhamish,andProphetrangeswithin50years.


Figure2. RelationshipbetweenResourceReviewAreas(RRAs)andobjectives

fromtheBorealCaribouImplementationPlan.Rangenamesareinparentheses.

ResourceReviewAreas

RRA“B”(Prophet)

1.Protectsufficienthabitat

2.Restorehabitat

4.Mitigateindustrialfootprint

• reducepredators• firesuppression

3.Managesizeofindustrialfootprint

RRA“A”(Chinchaga)

RRA“C”&“D”(Calendar)


Table1. ManagementandpopulationtargetsforBorealCaribouranges.

RangeManagementGuidancefrom

BorealCaribouImplementationPlan1

CurrentEstimatedPopulation2

ExpectedTarget3

Chinchaga • EstablishRRA• Reduceriskofextirpationwithin50years

• Restorehabitat• Managefootprint• Mitigate(predatormanagement,firesuppression)

483 110

Maxhamish • Reduceriskofextirpationwithin50years

• Managefootprint• Mitigate

306 201

Calendar • Establish2RRAs• Reduceriskofextirpationwithin50years

• Managefootprint• Mitigate

291 106

SnakeSahtaneh

• Restorehabitat• Managefootprint• Mitigate

365 11

Prophet • EstablishRRA• Reduceriskofextirpationwithin50years

• Restorehabitat• Managefootprint• Mitigate

54 97

Parker • Restorehabitat• Managefootprint• Mitigate

13 6

Total 1512 5311SeeFigure1toseehowindividualmanagementelementsfitinthebroaderplanforBorealCaribou

2FromMinistryofEnvironment20103From“SummaryofBorealCaribouManagementPlan–September2010”

1.2.2 Boreal Caribou Resource Review Areas TherearefourRRAsinBorealCaribouranges:twointheCalendarRange,oneintheChinchagaRangeandoneintheProphetRange(Figure3).ThetwoRRAsintheCalendarRangecover41%ofthatrangeandcorehabitat,theProphetRRAcovers73%oftherangeandcorehabitat,and


Figure3. LocationofResourceReviewAreasinBorealCaribourangesandcorehabitats.


theChinchagaRRAcovers16%oftherangebutdoesnotincludeanycorehabitat(Table2).AllRRAscombinedcover13%ofthetotalareainBorealCaribouranges.TheRRAsdonotincludeanyWildlifeHabitatAreas(Figure4),butthetwoCalendarRRAscontain41%oftheUngulateWinterRangeinthatrange,andtheProphetRRAcontains75%oftheUngulateWinterRangeinthatrange(Figure4,Table2).TheChinchagaRRAdoesnotoverlapwithanyUngulateWinterRanges.BorealCaribouinnortheasternBCselectareaswithslopesoflessthan0.6°(Cullingetal.2006).Slopesoflessthan0.6°comprise75%ofthetotalareainallRRAscombined(Figure5,Table2).Mostoftheradio‐collaredcariboulocationsintheProphetRangefallwithintheRRA(Figure6,Table2).However,recenttelemetrydatashowthatcaribouradio‐collaredintheProphetRangearealsousingareasthatareoutsideofanycurrentlyidentifiedBorealCaribouranges,butwithinthedefinedareaofdistribution(CraigDeMars,unpubl.data).RRA“D”intheCalendarRangecontains17%oftheradio‐collaredcariboulocationsinthatrange,buttheotherRRAintheCalendarRangeandtheRRAintheChinchagaRangecontainalmostnoradio‐collaredcariboulocations.ThelackoflocationsinRRAsintheCalendarandChinchagarangesmayreflectalackofcaribouradio‐collaredinthoseareasratherthanalackofusebycaribou.Theindustrialdisturbancezone(areawithin250mofindustrialfeatures)coversabout60%ofeachRRAexceptRRA“D”intheCalendarRange,whereitcoversabout70%oftheRRA(Figure7,Table2).ThelevelofindustrialdisturbancewithinRRAsisslightlylowerthanthatfoundintheentirerange,exceptinRRA“D”intheCalendarRange,wherethelevelofdisturbanceissimilartothatoftherange(Table2;Thiessen2009,Wilsonetal.2010).Meanpatchsizeofundisturbedrangeisabout100haintheRRAsexceptinRRA“D”wheremeanpatchsizeis51ha.ThesmallermeanpatchsizeinRRA“D”maybearesultofthehigherlevelofdisturbanceandalsopossiblytheorientationofthelinearfeatures.LinearfeaturesinRRA“C”intheCalendarRangearemostlyorientedinanorth‐southandeast‐westgridpattern,whereaslinearfeaturesinRRA“D”areorientedbothnorth‐south/east‐west,andsouthwest‐northeast/northwest‐southeast.Therearefewundisturbedpatcheslargerthan1000hainanyoftheRRAsinBorealCaribouranges(Table2).


Table2. Habitat,range,caribouuseanddisturbancecharacteristicsofResourceReviewAreasinBorealCaribouranges.

Range Chinchaga Prophet CalendarTotal(All6Ranges)

RRA A B C D All4RRAs

Totalrangearea(ha) 1389750 119303 497293 497293 3991038

Totalcorehabitatarea(ha) 597636 119303 497293 497293 2281524

RRAarea(ha) 240323 98588 87998 123567 550476

%ofcorehabitatinrangewithinRRA 0 73 17 24 13

%ofrangewithinRRA 16 73 17 24 13

%ofrange’sidentifiedWildlifeHabitatAreasinRRA1

0 N/A N/A N/A 0

%ofrange’sidentifiedUngulateWinterRangeinRRA

0 75 17 24 13

%ofRRAmadeupofUngulateWinterRange 0 70 92 93 48

HabitatRepresentation

%ofRRAmadeupofhighvaluehabitat(extremelylowgradientslopes0‐0.6°)

75 54 76 87 74

CaribouUse %ofrange’sradio‐collaredcariboulocationsinRRA

<0.01 83 2 18 5

%ofRRAwithin250metersofindustrialdisturbance(ha)

58 63 58 72 62

%ofRRAUngulateWinterRangeinundisturbedzone

N/A 28 38 27 30

Meanundisturbedpatchsize(>0.5ha)2 101 108 96 51 87

Patchsizerange 0.5–16849 0.5–8731 0.5–3545 0.5–1491 0.5–16849

Numberofpatches 985 339 387 681 2392

LevelofDisturbance

Numberofpatches>1000ha 5 2 3 2 121TherearenoWildlifeHabitatAreasintheProphetandCalendarranges;noneoftheWildlifeHabitatAreasintheChinchagaorotherrangesoverlapwithRRAs.2Patches<0.5hawereexcludedtoaccountforpolygonssliversresultingfromslightdifferencesinboundariesindifferentmaplayers


Figure4. BorealCaribouResourceReviewAreas,UngulateWinterRangesandWildlifeHabitatAreas.


Figure5. SlopeclassdistributioninBorealCaribouResourceReviewAreas.


Figure6. Radio‐collaredBorealCariboulocationsinResourceReviewAreas.


Figure7. Industrialdisturbancewith250mbuffersinBorealCaribouResourceReviewAreas.


1.3 Burnt Pine Caribou

1.3.1 Burnt Pine Caribou Plans TwoplanshaverecentlybeenpreparedthatincludeobjectivesfortheBurntPineCaribouHerd.Bothplansprovidearecoverypopulationtargetof50cariboufortheBurntPineCaribouHerd(Figures8,9).TheRRAintheBurntPineCaribouHerdareacontributestothepopulationobjectivethroughhabitatprotection.

1.3.2 Burnt Pine Caribou Resource Review Area TheBurntPineRRAislocatedinthewesternportionoftheBurntPineCaribouHerdRangeandcontains47%oftheWildlifeHabitatAreasand36%oftheUngulateWinterRangethatcurrentlyexistintherange(Figure10,Table3).TheRRAalsocontains42%ofthewintercoreareaand37%ofthesummercoreareaintherange(Figures11,12;Table3).BurntPineradio‐collaredcaribouusetheRRAmoreduringwinterthansummer(Figure13,Table3).BurntPinecaribougenerallywinterathigherelevationsintheMt.Stephenson(64%ofwinterlocations)andMt.LeHudette(22%ofwinterlocations)areasandsummerinPine‐LeMorayPark(Jones2007).JustoverhalfofthewinterlocationsonMtStephensonwereintheRRA.BurntPinecaribouusedtheHowlingWolfRidgeareaduringwinterinonlyoneyearsincethestudybeganin2002(D.Seip,pers.comm.).TheKennedy‐SidingcaribouherdalsousestheRRAinbothwinterandsummer(Figure13;Jones2007).Duringearlywinter,Kennedy‐Sidingcaribouarefoundinlowelevationpineforestsandmovetohigherelevationsinmid‐latewinter(Jones2007)sopotentialoverlapwithBurntPinecaribouonMt.Stephensongenerallyoccursinmidtolatewinter.Wesummarizerangeusepatternsherebasedonthetotalnumberofradio‐collaredcariboulocationsanddonotdiscriminatebetweenthemethodsbywhichthelocationsofradio‐collaredcaribouwerecollected(i.e.,VHFaerialtelemetryorGlobalPositioningSystems[GPS]).Becausemanyoftheradio‐collarsusedduringtheearlypartofthestudywereVHFcollars,therelativecontributionofthosecariboutousepatternsmaybeovershadowedbylocationsfromGPScollars.Therefore,itmaybemoreappropriatetoassessdistributionby“caribouyear”ratherthancariboulocation,whichisbeyondthescopeofthisproject.Oursummaryisonlyintendedto


RecoveryandAugmentationPlanforWoodlandCaribou(Rangifertaranduscaribou)intheCentralRockyMountainsofBritishColumbia(Seipetal.2010)

Figure8.ObjectivesandstrategiesfortheBurntPineCaribouHerdintheRecoveryandAugmentationPlanforWoodlandCaribouintheCentralRockyMountainsofBritishColumbia.

RecoveryObjective:

IncreasethecariboupopulationintheBurntPinerangeto>50animals,andmaintainexistingcariboupopulationsintheGraham,Kennedy

Siding,Moberly,Narraway,Quintette,andScottherdrangesforatotalofapproximately1000

caribou

AugmentationObjective:

IncreasethetotalcariboupopulationintheBurntPine,Graham,KennedySiding,Moberly,Narraway,QuintetteandScottherdrangesovertimetoapproximately3000cariboutoprovideanannualsustainableharvestof60‐

90caribouforFirstNations.

• ToachievetheRecoveryObjective,nodestructionofcorealpine/subalpinehabitatforallherds.

• ToachievetheRecoveryandAugmentationObjectives:• Managetherateandpatternofindustrialdisturbanceonlowelevationhabitattoprovidesustainablecaribouhabitatconditions• Manageactivitieswhichdisturbordisplacecariboufromalpine/subalpinehabitat.• Donotcreateorimproveaccessthatislikelytosignificantlyimprovepredatororhumanaccessintoalpine/subalpinehabitatareas.

HabitatProtection

• ToachievetheAugmentationObjective,nodestructionofhighqualityalpine/subalpinehabitatforallherds.

PopulationManagement

• Populationmanagementshouldbeconductedinadditionto,notinplaceofhabitatprotection.• Evaluatetheneedfortransfersofanimalstomaintaingeneticandpopulationviabilityamongherds.

• ToachievetheAugmentationObjective,managepredationonallcaribouherdstoincreasenumbers

• ToachievetheRecoveryObjective,managepredationtoincreasetheBurntPineherd,andwherenecessarytopreventpopulationdeclinesoftheother6herds.


BurntPineCaribouAugmentationPlan(MinistryofForests,LandsandNaturalResourceOperations2011)

Figure9.RoleoftheResourceReviewAreaintheBurntPineCaribouAugmentationPlan.

PopulationandDistributionObjective:

Toincreasetheherdtoaviablepopulationthatisappropriateforthesizeoftheirrangeandhabitatitcontains(populationobjectiveof50)

Planning HabitatProtection

RRAObjective:ToensureBurntPinecaribouhabitatwithin

ZoneAisnotadverselyimpactedby

industrialdevelopmentfora

minimumoffiveyears

SpeciesandPopulationManagement

• InitiateplanningfortheBurntPineCaribouherd

• Developandimplementwinterrecreationmanagementoptions

• DevelopBestManagementPractices(BMPs)forindustrialactivitiesinZonesBandC

• MaintainsufficienthighsuitabilityhabitatintheburntPineherdareatoenabletheBurntPinepopulationtoincrease• Implement

• Defernewmineral,petroleumandcoaltenuresalesanddefernewLandActtenuresinZoneA(ResourceReviewArea(RRA))

• IncreasetheBurntPinecariboupopulation

• Undertakecorehabitatinventoryandmonitoring

• EvaluateexistingcaribouUWRsandWHAstodetermineifadjustmentsarewarranted

• ExplorethepossibilityofthedeferralofwindtenuredevelopmentwithincorehabitatonMountStephenson

• Exploreothercariboumanagementoptions

• ExploreopportunitiestoreduceprimarypreypopulationsinBurntPinecaribourange

• ManagepredatordensitytoenabletheBurntPinecariboupopulationtoincrease

• DevelopindicatorstodeterminetheeffectivenessoftenuredeferralsinZoneA


Figure10.BurntPineCaribouResourceReviewArea,UngulateWinterRangesandWildlifeHabitatAreas.


characterizepatternsofuseinrelationtotheRRAbasedonreadilyavailabledata.Theindustrialdisturbancezone(areawithin250mofindustrialfeatures)coversabout11%oftheBurntPineRRA(Figure14,Table3).Meanpatchsizeis504ha(range1.6–3292ha)and7patchesarelargerthan1000ha(Table3).Table3. Habitat,range,caribouuseanddisturbancecharacteristicsof

theBurntPineCaribouHerdResourceReviewArea.

TotalRangeArea(ha) 171090

RRAarea(ha) 23231

%ofrangewithinRRA 13

%WildlifeHabitatAreainRRA 40

%UngulateWinterRangeinRRA 36

%ofwintercoreareainRRA 42

%ofsummercoreareainRRA 37

%ofRRAmadeupofWildlifeHabitatArea 37

%ofRRAmadeupofUngulateWinterRange 30

%ofRRAmadeupofwintercorearea 46

HabitatRepresentation

%ofRRAmadeupofsummercorearea 70

%BurntPinecollaredcaribouwinterlocationsinRRA

43CaribouUse

%BurntPinecollaredcaribousummerlocationsinRRA

26

%ofRRAwithin250metersofindustrialdisturbance

11

%ofRRAWildlifeHabitatAreainundisturbedzone

90

%ofRRAUngulateWinterRangeinundisturbedzone

90

meanundisturbedpatchsize(>0.5ha) 504

numberofpatches 41

LevelofDisturbance

numberofpatches>1000ha 7


Figure11.BurntPineCaribouHerdResourceReviewArea,wintercoreareasandwinterhighselectivityhabitat.


Figure12.BurntPineCaribouHerdResourceReviewArea,summercoreareasandsummerhighselectivityhabitat.


Figure13.Radio‐collaredcariboulocationsintheBurntPineResourceReviewArea.


Figure14.Industrialdisturbancewith250mbuffersintheBurntPineCaribouHerdResourceReviewArea.


2 Literature Review – Performance Measures/Indicators, Targets and Metrics

2.1 Performance Measures/Indicators and Targets Wereviewedcaribourecoveryormanagementplansfromotherareastoidentifyperformancemeasures/indicatorsusedtomonitoreffectivenessofthoseplans.Manyplansdidnotcontainindicators/performancemeasuresordidnotexplicitlystatethemassuch.Table4summarizesperformancemeasures/indicatorsandtargetsthatwereexplicitlyorimplicitlystatedinrecentcaribouplans.Mostindicators/performancemeasuresfocusedon:• populationparameters:

o populationsize;o populationchange;o calfrecruitment;o adultsurvival;

• rangeoccupancy/populationdistribution;• habitat/range:

o disturbancelevels;o connectivity;o intactness;and,

• predatorandotherpreypopulations.Wethenreviewedtheliteratureformetricsandmethodsformonitoringindicators/performancemeasuresfoundinexistingplans(seeSection2.2).


Table4. Examplesofperformanceindicatorsandtargetsfromothercariboumanagementplans.

Plan Indicatortype Indicator1 Target

Ratioofannualrecruitmentversustotalmortality

• ≥1

Annualadultsurvival(>1year)

• ≥0.85overa5‐yearperiod

Latewinterrecruitment • >15%calvesinpopulation

ParturitionratesinearlyJune • ≥0.85foradultfemales>2yearsold

RecoveryStrategyforThreeWoodlandCaribouHerds(Rangifertaranduscaribou;Borealpopulation)inLabrador(Schmelzeretal.2004)

Population

Populationsize • stableorshowinganincreasingtrend

Population • Atleast12,000caribouinwinter(about2caribou/100km2)

TheForest‐DwellingCaribou(Rangifertarandus)RecoveryPlaninQuebec–2005‐2012(Forest‐DwellingCaribouRecoveryTeam2008)

Population

Calfrecruitment • >30calves/100femalesor15%calves

Range ProvincialRangeOccupancy • currentlyoccupiedrangedefinedasthepresentzoneofcontinuousdistributionandcurrentusepatternsofknownlocalpopulations

PopulationHealth

Intrinsicrateofincrease • negativervaluesdonotpersistforgivenpopulationsandareoffsetbypositivevalues

• negativervaluesoccuronlyinasmallproportionoflocalpopulationssampled

• neutralorpositivervaluesareobservedforalargeproportionoflocalpopulationsattheedgeofcurrentcaribourange

RecoveryStrategyfortheWoodlandCaribou(Rangifertaranduscaribou)(Forest‐Dwelling,BorealPopulation)inOntario(OntarioWoodlandCaribouRecoveryTeam2008)

Connectivity AnimalMovement • evidenceofanimalmovementamonglocalpopulations


Plan Indicatortype Indicator1 Target

Population Populationsize • SouthJasper(150);LittleSmoky(150);ALaPeche(150);Redrock‐PrairieCreek(350);Narraway(100?)

Wolfmanagement

Wolfdensity • 2‐6wolves/1000km2

• <100/1000km2withoutwhite‐taileddeerMoosedensity

• <50/1000km2withwhite‐taileddeer

WestCentralAlbertaCaribouLandscapePlan(WestCentralAlbertaCaribouLandscapePlanningTeam2008)

Alternateprey

White‐taileddeerdensity • tobedeterminedbasedoninventoryorexpertopinion

Populationsize/trend • lambda>1,averagedover3yearsorherdatthetargetpopulationsize

Proportionofcalves • >15%calves,averagedover3years

Population

Adultsurvival • >88%,averagedover3years

Distribution Spatialdistributionofmountaincariboudetections

• 75%ofhighsuitabilitywinterhabitatoccupied,basedon1‐kmbuffereddetectionsover3years

PredatorManagement

Wolfdensityinandnearcaribouhabitat

• <1.5‐6.5wolves/1000km2dependingonplanningunitrisk

Recreation Evidenceofdisplacementofcaribou

• noevidenceofdisplacementbasedonaerialsurveyortelemetryinformation

Preymanagement

Summermoosedensityinandnearcaribouhabitat

• <50‐300/1000km2dependingonplanningunitrisk

AProposedMonitoringandAdaptiveManagementStrategyforMountainCaribouRecoveryImplementation(WilsonandNyberg2009)

Habitatmanagement

Kmofroad‐buildingincaribouhabitat/yr

• netdecreaseintotallengthofroadsincaribouhabitatovertime(deactivationexceedsnewconstruction,5‐yearhorizon)

1Indicatorswerenotalwaysexplicitlystatedandthereforewereadaptedfromthetext;onlyindicatorswithstatedtargetsareincluded


2.2 Metrics Used to Measure Caribou Population and Range Condition

Indicatorsforcariboupopulationandrangeconditiongenerallyfellinto4categories:• population;• rangeoccupancy/distribution;• habitat/range;and,• predatorsandalternateprey.

2.2.1 Population Measures Themostcommonmetricsfoundforevaluatingpopulationconditionincluded:• populationsize;• populationgrowthrate;• calfrecruitment;and,• adultsurvival/mortality.

Althoughpopulationsizeisadesirablepopulationmetrictouse,itisoftenthemostdifficulttoobtain.Forcaribouthatliveinopenareasduringatleastpartoftheyear,aerialsurveysofthoseopenareasprovideminimumpopulationsizesbasedonthenumberofcaribouobserved.Asampleofmarkedanimals(e.g.radio‐collaredcaribou)canbeusedinconjunctionwithtotalcountstoestimatethetotalpopulationbasedontheproportionofmarkedcaribouseenduringthesurvey(Wittmeretal.2005a).However,ifthenumberofmarkedcaribouislow,confidencelimitsaroundtheestimateareusuallywide,makingitdifficulttoassesschangeinpopulationsizebetweensuccessivesurveys.CaribouintheBurntPineCaribouHerdarefoundprimarilyathighelevationsinalpineandalpineparklandhabitatduringwinter(Jones2007,2008).Becausealargeproportionofthepopulationisvisibleathighelevationsinlatewinter,minimumpopulationcountsarepossible,andanumberofminimumcountsurveyshavebeenconductedinlatewinterforthatherd(SeipandJones2011).However,theseareonlyminimumcountsandtheportionofthepopulationthatisnotvisibleisnotenumerated.Also,thewesternportionofthewinterrangeissharedwiththeKennedy‐Sidingherd(Jones2008,SeipandJones2011),soaradio‐collaredcaribousampleisneededtodiscernwhichpopulationthegroupsofcaribouinthesharedareabelongto.


BorealCaribouarenotoriouslydifficulttoenumerate(AlbertaSustainableResourceDevelopmentandAlbertaConservationAssociation2010,MinistryofEnvironment2010).Onealternativetototalpopulationcountsforwidelydistributedspeciesisthestratifiedrandomblockmethod,whichestimatesdensitiesinportionsofthesurveyarea,whicharethenappliedtothetotalsurveyareatoprovideapopulationestimate(Gasawayetal.1986).Stuart‐Smithetal.(1997)conductedastratifiedblocksurveyonBorealCaribouinnortheasternAlbertaandfoundthatsightabilitywas40%.AStratifiedRandomBlockcountforcaribouwasconductedintheMaxhamishRangeinBCinMarch2006(Rowe2006)anddensitiesfromthatsurveywereappliedtoallBorealCaribourangestoestimatepopulationsizes(MinistryofEnvironment2010).Rowe(2006)notedthatsightabilityissueslimitedtheeffectivenessofconventionalstratifiedinventorywithintheMaxhamishRangeandthatcalfrecruitmentandadultmortalitymonitoringislikelyamorecost‐effectivemethodofassessingpopulationstatus.TwotechniquesrecentlyusedforpotentiallyimprovingestimatesofpopulationsizeforBorealCaribouinclude:forwardlookinginfraredtechnologytodetectcaribouduringtransectsurveys(Carretal.2012);andmark‐recapturesamplingofcariboupelletsusingDNAanalysis(Hettinga2010,Wasseretal.2011,Carretal.2012).Carretal.(2012)testedthetwotechniquesandconcludedthatbothprovidedsimilarpopulationestimatesandthatconfidenceintervalsusingthosetwomethodsweretighterthanconfidenceintervalsforapopulationestimatebasedonrandomtransectcounts.Costsofbothtechniquesweresimilarbuttheforwardlookinginfraredtechnologyrequiredspecializedequipmentandtrainedobservers(Carretal.2012).Mark‐recapturesamplingusingfecalDNAworkedwellwhensampleswerecollectedduringatleast3samplingsession,andpotentiallycouldbeintegratedintoalreadyexistingmonitoring(Hettinga2010,Carretal.2012).Awidelyusedmethodforassessingpopulationconditionforwoodlandcaribouiscalculatingratesofpopulationchangeusingcalfrecruitmentandadultsurvivalrates(HatterandBergerud1991,Stuart‐Smithetal.1997,RettieandMessier1998,McLoughlinetal.2003,Wittmeretal.2005a,AlbertaSustainableResourceDevelopmentandAlbertaConservationAssociation2010,Lathametal.2011a,Nagy2011,DeCesareetal.2012).Adultsurvivalratesarebasedonsurvivalofasampleofradio‐collaredcaribou,andcalfrecruitmentisgenerallybasedontheproportionofradio‐collaredfemalecaribouwithcalvesinlatewinter(calves/100cows)ortheproportionofcalvescountedduringlatewintercompositionsurveys.Becauseadultfemalescanbedifficulttodistinguishfromadultmalesinlatewinterintreedhabitats,calf


recruitmentissometimesreportedascalves/100adultsor%calvesratherthancalves/100cows.Latewintercalfrecruitmentisalsousedasanindicatorofpopulationchangeifadultmortalityratesarenotavailable.Apopulationisconsideredstablewhencalvesmakeup15%ofthelatewinterpopulation(Bergerud1996)orwhenlatewintercalfrecruitmentis28.9calves/100cows(EnvironmentCanada2008).WhileWittmeretal.(2005b)foundthatpopulationtrendsweresignificantlycorrelatedwithadultfemalesurvival,DeCesareetal.(2012)foundthatadultfemalesurvivalandrecruitmentratewerenearlyequivalentdriversofpopulationgrowthandrecommendedmonitoringbothadultsurvivalandrecruitmentrates.

2.2.2 Range Occupancy/Distribution Rangeoccupancydescribesthedistributionofcaribouwithintheirrange.Ascariboupopulationsizedecreases,theyoccupylessoftheirrange(Bergerud1996,Schaefer2003).Alternatively,cariboumayfocustheiruseinaportionoftheirrangeinresponsetodisturbanceinanotherpartoftheirrange(Smithetal.2000,Courtoisetal.2007,ArsenaultandManseau2011).Althoughitmaybedifficulttodeterminewhythepopulationisoccupyinglessrange,bothcasesindicatelessthanoptimalconditionsforcaribou.Distributioncanbeassessedbyaerialsurveys(e.g.,NellemannandCameron1996,Weiretal.2007,Bowmanetal.2010),orradio‐collaredcaribou(e.g.,RettieandMessier1998,Wittmeretal.2005b,Cullingetal.2006).

2.2.3 Habitat/Range Habitatandrangeconfigurationareimportantindicatorsfortheabilityofacaribourangetosupportcaribouandinclude:• amountofhighqualityhabitat;• disturbance;and,• undisturbedpatchsizeandconnectivity.


High quality habitat Caribouselecthabitatinahierarchicalmanner;atthecoarsestlandscapescalethepriorityofselectionistoavoidpredationrisk(RettieandMessier2000,Gustineetal.2006).Caribouoftenusehabitatsorareaswithintheirrangeswhereoverlapwithotherpreyorwolves(Canislupus)islow(Seip1992,Cummingetal.1996,Jamesetal.2004,Courbinetal.2009,Latham2009,Bowmanetal.2010,Hebblewhiteetal.2010,Robinsonetal.2012).Throughouttheyear,BorealCaribouselecttreedblacksprucepeatlands(bogs)andavoiduplandhabitat,younghabitatandanthropogenicdisturbance(Bradshawetal.1995,Stuart‐Smithetal.1997,RettieandMessier2000,JamesandStuart‐Smith2000,Cullingetal.2006,Dyke2008,DeMarsetal.2011,Nagy2011).IntheSnake‐SahtanehRangeinnortheasternBC,BorealCariboualsoselectareasofextremelylowgradient(0°to0.6°slope)withthestrongestselectionshownforsiteswithlessthan0.3°gradient(Cullingetal.2006).OtherrecenttelemetrydatafromnortheasternBCalsosupportsthisselectionpattern.McLoughlinetal.(2005)suggestedthatcariboucanavoidpredationbymaximizingselectionofpeatlandssinceuplandspresentcaribouwithhigherthanexpectedlevelsofpredationrisk.InnortheasternBC,habitatselectionduringcalvingissimilartooverallselection,butcariboualsoselectfens(lowvegetationhabitatclass),andwetlandsandwaterbodies(Cullingetal.2006,DeMarsetal.2011).Sitefidelityduringcalvingisgreaterthanduringanyotherseason(Failleetal.2010,Traczetal.2010).Winterhabitatselectionisalsosimilartooverallselection,butcariboualsoappeartousedenserconiferousforeststandsduringperiodsofhighsnowaccumulation(Cullingetal.2006).HabitatclassesderivedfromDucksUnlimitedForestNelsonEarthCoverClassificationLandsatTM7imagery(DucksUnlimited2003)provedusefulindelineatingBorealCaribourangesandcorehabitats,anddescribinghabitatuseinnortheasternBC(Cullingetal.2004,2006).ExpandedDucksUnlimitedEarthCovermapping(DucksUnlimited2011)hasalsobeenusedinanongoingstudyencompassingseveralranges(DeMarsetal.2011).HighqualityhabitathasbeencapturedinBorealCaribourangesandcorehabitats(Cullingetal.2004,MinistryofEnvironment2010).RangesaredefinedasbroadareasofknownhistoricalorcurrentusethatsupplytheresourcesnecessarytosupportlocalpopulationsofBorealCaribou,andcorehabitatsaredefinedasareasofhighcurrentcapabilityandsuitabilitybasedongeneralhabitatrequirementsanddocumented


occurrence.Rangeandcorehabitatboundarieswereupdatedin2010(MinistryofEnvironment2010).WildlifeHabitatAreasandUngulateWinterRangesaretwotoolsavailableundertheForestandRangePracticesActandtheOilandGasActivitiesActandrelatedregulationsthathavebeenusedtoprotectknownBorealCariboucalvingandwinteringareasrespectively.WhileWildlifeHabitatAreasdonotadequatelyaddresstheBorealCaribou’sneedfor“space”overthelandscape,theydoofferameasureofprotectionattheindividualcalvingsitelevel.BurntPinecaribouarefoundprimarilyinalpineandsubalpinehabitatthroughouttheyear(Jones2007,2008).Jones(2008)identifiedcoreareasandhighlyselectedhabitatforbothwinterandsummer.ImportantknownwinterrangeshavebeenestablishedasUngulateWinterRangesandimportantknowncalvingareashavebeenestablishedasWildlifeHabitatAreasundertheForestandRangePracticesActandtheOilandGasActivitiesActandrelatedregulations.

Level of disturbance Disturbanceoncaribourangeshasbeenlinkedto:• reducedrangeoccupancy(RettieandMessier1998,Smithetal.

2000,Schaefer2003,AppsandMcLellan2006,Vorsetal.2007,Wittmeretal.2007,Courtoisetal.2008,ArsenaultandManseau2011);

• displacement(Chubbsetal.1993,SchaeferandMahoney2007,Weiretal.2007);

• reducedspatialseparationbetweencaribouandotherpreyorpredators(Latham2009,Peters2010,Robinsonetal.2012);

• reducedadultcaribousurvival(Dunford2003,Smith2004,Courtoisetal.2007);

• reducedcalfrecruitment(McCarthyetal.2011);and,• populationdeclines(Schaefer2003,Vorsetal.2007,Wittmeretal.

2007).Also,Lathametal.(2011a)suggestthatincreasednumbersofwhite‐taileddeerresultinginincreasednumbersofpredatorsandconsequentlyhigherincidentalpredationoncariboumaybearesultofdisturbanceand/orclimatechange.Caribougenerallyavoidroadsandotherlinearfeatures(JamesandStuart‐Smith2000,Dyeretal.2001,Oberg2001,Dyke2008,Fortinetal.2008,Courbinetal.2009,Hebblewhiteetal.2010,Leblondetal.2011,


Nagy2011,Polfusetal.2011,Pinardetal.2012),oftendespitetheavailabilityofpreferredhabitat(e.g.vegetationtypes)nearthosefeatures(Florkiewiczetal.2003,Cameronetal.2005,Schindleretal.2007).Theyalsoavoidareasdisturbedbyforestharvesting(RettieandMessier2000,Smithetal.2000,SchaeferandMahoney2007,Courtoisetal.2008,Courbinetal.2009).Avoidancedistancevarieswithtypeofdisturbance,sizeofundisturbedpatchesandcaribourange(Dyeretal.2001,Florkiewiczetal.2003,Hebblewhiteetal.2010,Nagy2011;seesummaryofdisturbancedistancesinEnvironmentCanada2011c–Table49inAppendix7.4).Ingeneral,cariboudistancethemselvesawayfromdisturbancesiftheyhavetheopportunityto(Chubbsetal.1993,CummingandHyer1998,SchaeferandMahoney2007,Weiretal.2007,Nagy2011).However,inareaswithveryhighdensitiesofdisturbance,undisturbedpatchsizesmaybelimited,diminishingtheopportunitiesforcariboutouseareasdistanttodisturbance(Leblondetal.2011).Onverydisturbedlandscapes,duringcalvingwhenfidelitytorangesishigher,cariboumayneedtochoosebetweenreducingrangefidelity(potentiallyresultinginlowerfemaleandcalfsurvivalduetoreducedfamiliaritywithescapecover,predationriskandfooddistribution)ormaintainingsitefidelityinalandscapewherepredationriskhasincreasedduetoincreaseddisturbance(Failleetal.2011,Traczetal.2011).ForBorealCaribou,relationshipshavebeendevelopedbetweenpopulationparametersandthedegreeofdisturbance(%disturbanceordensityofdisturbance)withinranges.Negativerelationshipshavebeenfoundbetween:• populationchange(lamba)and%habitatwithin250mofindustrial

disturbanceplus%burnedinthelast50years(Sorensonetal.2008);• populationchange(lamba)andlinearfeaturedensityplus%young

habitat(<30yearsold,burn+cut)(BoutinandArienti2008);and,• calfrecruitmentand%habitatwithin500mofindustrialdisturbance

(EnvironmentCanada2008,2011c).Basedonthoserelationships,thresholdshavebeensuggestedthatindicatethelevelofdisturbanceatwhichcariboupopulationsarelikelytodecline(EnvironmentCanada2011c).Distancetodisturbancefromcariboulocationsisanothermeasurefrequentlyusedinassessinghabitatselectionanddisplacement(Chubbsetal.1993,JamesandStuart‐Smith2000,Florkiewiczetal.2003,SchaeferandMahoney2007,Latham2009,McNay2009,DeMarsetal.2011,Leblondetal.2011,Nagy2011).Theareaofavoidancearoundanthropogenicdisturbanceshasbeenreferredtoasthe“development


footprint”forindustrialactivities(Dyeretal.2001)orthe“zoneofinfluence”forallhumanactivities(Florkiewiczetal.2003,Polfusetal.2011).

Undisturbed patch size and connectivity Nagy(2011)cautionsagainstusingonly%disturbanceordensityofdisturbancetotrackcumulativeeffectsofindustrialdevelopmentandsuggeststhattheamountandpatchconfigurationofunburnedsecurehabitatsremainingwithindevelopedareasisamoreappropriatemeasure.Nagy(2011)foundapositiverelationshipbetweenpopulationsizeandsizeof“secure”patches(unburnedareasgreaterthan400mfromdisturbance)forBorealCariboupopulationsintheNorthwestTerritories.Schneideretal.(2010)suggestthatlargeundisturbedpatchesmayneedtobeprotectedtopreventinfiltrationbypredatorsfromsurroundingareas.Thedistributionandconfigurationofhighqualityhabitatacrossthelandscapeisalsoanimportantdeterminantofrangequalityforcaribou.BorealCaribouselectareaswherehighqualityhabitatpatchesareclusteredandwellconnected(O’Brienetal.2006).Duringcalving,%BarrenGroundCaribouoccurrenceanddensityincreasedashabitatclustersizeincreased(NellemannandCameron1996).Inwest‐centralAlberta,caribouselectedwinterhabitatpatcheswithhighareatoperimeterratios(Saher2005).Somemeasuresofpatchsizeandconfigurationinclude:• habitatpatchsize(RettieandMessier2000,Wittmeretal.2007);• area‐weightedpatchsize(McNay2009,ArltandManseau2011);• undisturbedareapatchsizeanddistribution(Nagy2011);and,• patchareatoperimeterratio(Saher2005).

InAlberta,theconceptof“intactness”hasbeenproposedasanindicatorofrelativelyundisturbedareas(WestCentralAlbertaCaribouLandscapePlanningTeam2008,McCutchenetal.2009).InBC,AppsandMcLellan(2006)usedtheRecreationOpportunitySpectrumclassificationsystemasameasureofremoteness.Connectivitycanbemeasuredwiththecentroidconnectivityindex(CCE),whichusesacombinationofpatchsizeanddistancebetweenpatches(Daustetal.2003,MladenoffandDeZonia2004)orbyclustersizedistributionwhereclustersofpatchesareconnectedusingvariousbufferdistances(DaveDaust,pers.comm.).


2.2.4 Other Species InnortheasternBC,theprimarypredatorsofBorealCaribouarewolvesandblackbears(Ursusamericanus;Cullingetal.2006).Theinteractionbetweenindustrialdisturbance,numbersofotherungulatespeciessuchasmooseandwhite‐taileddeer,numbersandhuntingefficiencyofwolves,andwolfencounterrateswithcaribouisbelievedtobethedrivingforcebehindBorealCariboupopulationdeclines(McLoughlinetal.2003,Schneideretal.2010,Boutin2010,Festa‐Bianchetetal.2011).WhilepredationisconsideredthemainproximatelimitingfactorforBorealCariboupopulations,large‐scalehabitatalterationsthataffecthabitatuseandmovementsofpredatorsandalternatepreyultimatelyaffectcariboupopulations(CummingandHyer1996,RettieandMessier,1998,McLoughlinetal.2003).ResearchfromnortheasternAlbertainthe1990’sindicatedthatBorealCaribouspacedthemselvesawayfromwolvesandmoosebyusinglargepeatlands(Jamesetal.2004).However,asindustrialdevelopmentcontinued,bythemid2000’s,white‐taileddeernumbers,wolfnumbersandincidentalwolfpredationoncaribouincreasedandcariboupopulationsstartedtodecline(Lathametal.2011a).Beaver(Castorcanadensis)arealsoanimportantalternatepreyforwolvesinBorealCaribourangesduringsummer(Cullingetal.2006,Lathametal.2011a).Consequently,distributionandabundanceofotherspeciesalsoneedtobeconsideredwhenassessingcaribourangecondition.Themostimportantspeciestoconsiderarewolves,bears,moose,white‐taileddeerandbeaver.BergerudandElliot(1986)suggestedthatwolfdensitiesexceeding6.5wolves/1000km2wouldresultinadeclineincariboupopulations.AerialsurveysforwolvesaredifficultinBorealCaribouhabitat(ConradThiessen,pers.comm.).IntheSnake‐SahtanehRange,Cullingetal.(2006)usedradio‐telemetrytoestimateaminimumwolfdensityof6.3wolves/1000km².Estimatingwolfnumberswillrequiretheuseofradio‐telemetry,withaminimumof3memberscollaredineachpack.Currently,thereare10wolvescollaredin4individualwolfpackswithin3BorealCaribourangesinnortheasternBC,includingtheMaxhamish(1pack),Prophet(1pack)andSnake‐Sahtaneh(2packs;CraigDeMars,pers.comm.).Bearsandcaribougenerallypreferdifferenthabitats(Bastille‐Rousseauetal.2011,Lathametal.2011b)andbearsappeartobeanopportunisticpredatoroncaribou(Bastille‐Rousseauetal.2011).However,some


individualbearsprefertoforageinpeatlandsandmaycontributetocariboucalfmortality(Lathametal.2011b).IntheSnake‐SahtanehBorealCaribouRangeinnortheasternBC,Cullingetal.(2006)foundthatblackbearswerestronglyassociatedwithdeciduous‐dominateduplandandriparianhabitats,andearlyseralplantcommunitiesondisturbedsites(cutblocksandlinearopenings)duringthespringcalvingperiod.Theyalsofoundthatindividualbearsmadebriefforaysintoadjacentblacksprucepeatlands.Forbears,themostcommontechniqueforassessingpopulationsfocusesoncollectinghairfrombearsatbaitstationsandusingDNAtodistinguishbetweenindividuals.Astratifiedrandomblocksurveytechniquehastypicallybeenusedtoestimatemoosenumbers(Gasawayetal.1986).However,becausestratifiedrandomblocksurveysareexpensivetoconduct,aerialtransectsurveyscanbeusedtodeterminerelativedensityestimatestocomparedensitiesbetweenareasorbetweentimeperiods.Aerialtransectsurveyswereusedtocomparemooseandwhite‐taileddeerrelativedensitiesinnortheasternAlbertabetweenthemid‐1990s(Jamesetal.2004)andthemid2000s(Lathametal.2011a).Distancesamplinghasrecentlybeenusedtoestimatemoosepopulationsandisprovingtobeeffectiveandmoreefficientthanstratifiedrandomblocksurveys(Hebblewhiteetal.2010,Peters2010,Thiessen2010).Thiessen(2010)usedthedistancesamplingtechniquetoestimatemoosedensitiesintheHornRiverbasininnortheasternBC.Transectsusedduringthe2010survey(Thiessen2010)canbeusedforsubsequentsurveystomonitorchangesinmoosedensity.Althoughwhite‐taileddeernumbersarecurrentlylowinBorealCaribourangesinnortheasternBC(ConradThiessen,pers.comm.),incidentalsightingsduringthemoosedistancesamplingsurveyscouldpotentiallybeusedtoassessrelativechangesinwhite‐taileddeernumbers.BeaversarealsoanimportantpreyspeciesinsummerforwolvesthatuseBorealCaribouranges(Cullingetal.2006,Lathametal.2011b).AerialsurveysforbeaverswereconductedintheParkerandProphetrangesinfall2011(ConradThiessen,pers.comm.).

2.2.5 Performance Measures for Resource Review Areas Table5listsperformancemeasuresrecommendedforassessingtheeffectivenessofRRAsinsupportinggoalsandobjectivesinexistingplansforBorealCaribouandtheBurntPineCaribouHerd.


Table5. RecommendedperformancemeasuresandmethodsforassessingeffectivenessofRRAs.

PerformanceMeasure Method

Populationrateofincrease(lambda,λ)

• adultmortalityratebasedonradio‐collaredcaribou

• calfrecruitmentbasedoncalveswithradio‐collaredcariboucowsorcalveswithallcowsobservedduringlatewinterrecruitmentsurveys

• λ averagedover2years(2013/14and2014/15)Adultmortalityrate • basedonradio‐collaredcaribou

• averagedover2years(2013/14and2014/15)

Calfrecruitmentrate • basedoncalveswithradio‐collaredcariboucowsorcalveswithallcowsobservedduringlatewinterrecruitmentsurveys

• averagedover3years(2012/13,2013/14and2014/15)

%areawithin500mofindustrialactivities

• BorealCaribou–useWilsonetal.(2010)disturbancelayerandaddnewfeaturesfromsatellitephotosin2012/13and2014/15

• BurntPinecaribou–updatedisturbancemapfromthisreportbyaddingnewfeaturesfromsatellitephotosin2012/13and2014/15

%areainburns<40years

• buildmapsfromfiredisturbancedatabaseandsatellitephotosin2012/13

• updatein2014/15

Undisturbedpatchsizedistribution

• usemethodsusedbyNagy(2011)• assessin2012/13and2014/15

Connectivitybetweenundisturbedpatches

• usecentroidconnectivityindexorclustersizedistribution

%areaofundisturbedlowgradientslope(BorealCaribou)

• slopeclasses:0‐0.3°,0.3‐0.6°and>0.6°• calculatebasedondisturbancelayerin2012/13and2014/15

Wolfdensity • wintercountsusingradio‐collaredwolvestolocatepacks(3radio‐collaredwolves/pack)

• averagedover3years(2012/13,2013/14,2014/15)

Moosedensity • distancesampling• averagedover3years(2012/13,2013/14,2014/15)

White‐taileddeerrelativedensity

• incidentalobservationsduringmoosedistancesampling

• averagedover3years(2012/13,2013/14,2014/15)


Performancemeasuresforpopulationconditionincludepopulationrateofincrease,adultmortalityrateandcalfrecruitmentrate.Althoughadultmortalityrateandcalfrecruitmentratearecomponentsofthepopulationrateofincrease,theyarealsorecommendedasperformancemeasurestoidentifywhichvitalrateismostinfluencingrateofchange.Wedonotrecommendcariboupopulationsizeasaperformancemeasurebecausepopulationestimatesaredifficulttodetermineandlacksufficientprecisiontodetectsmalltomoderatechangesinnumbers.Forhabitat/rangeanddisturbance,performancemeasuresaddressbothlevelofdisturbance,andcharacteristicsofundisturbedpatches.Forindustrialdisturbance,becausetherehavebeennostudiesofdisturbanceonBorealCaribourangesinnortheasternBC,werecommendusinga500mbufferarounddisturbancetoaccommodatethevariationindisturbancedistancesindifferentareas(EnvironmentCanada2011c:Appendix7.4).Ameasureofareaburnedisalsorecommendedsincedisturbancefrombothindustrialactivitiesandnaturaldisturbancehavebeenlinkedtopopulationchange(Sorensonetal.2008).Undisturbedpatchsizedistributioncanbeusedtoassessthesizeandcompositionofareasbeyondtheindustrialdisturbancezone.Areaswithlarger,well‐connectedundisturbedpatchesprovidecaribouwithmoreopportunitiestodistancethemselvesfromdisturbancesandpotentialincreasedpredationrisk.ForBorealCaribou,wealsorecommendthepercentofundisturbedareasconsistingofverylowgradientslopes(0‐0.6°)asanindicatoroftheextentofpreferredhabitats(Cullingetal.2006)withinundisturbedpatches.Performancemeasuresforotherspeciesincludewolfdensity,moosedensityandwhite‐taileddeerrelativedensitysincetheinteractionbetweenindustrialdisturbance,numbersofotherungulatespeciessuchasmooseandwhite‐taileddeer,numbersandhuntingefficiencyofwolves,andwolfencounterrateswithcaribouisbelievedtobethedrivingforcebehindBorealCariboupopulationdeclines(McLoughlinetal.2003,Schneideretal.2010,Boutin2010,Festa‐Bianchetetal.2011).Althoughblackbearscontributetobothcaribouadultandcalfmortality,wedonotincludeblackbeardensityasaperformancemeasuresinceblackbearpredationratesoncaribouarenotnecessarilyrelatedtoblackbeardensity.WedidnotlistbeaverdensityasaperformancemeasurebutdorecommendassessingbeaverdensitiesaspartofongoingmonitoringsincebeaversareasignificantcomponentofthesummerdietofwolvesinBorealCaribouranges(Cullingetal.2006,Lathametal.2011b).


3 Boreal Caribou Resource Review Areas Performance Measures and Monitoring Plan

3.1 Performance Measures Indicators/performancemeasuresdiscussedinSection2canbeusedtoevaluateeffectivenessofRRAsincontributingtotheobjectivesandgoalsoftheBorealCaribouImplementationPlan.BecausetheroleofRRAsistoprovideconditionsthataremorefavourableforcariboupersistencethanconditionsthatexistoutsideRRAs,performancemeasureswillneedtoevaluateconditionsbothwithinandoutsideRRAs.ForBorealCaribou,effectivenessofRRAswillbeassessedat3levelsofspatialresolution:• RRA;• BorealCaribourange;and,• BorealCariboupopulationanddistribution.

BecauseastablepopulationisnotoneofthegoalsoftheImplementationPlan,wecannotuseaperformancemeasurebasedonrelationshipspreviouslydevelopedbetweenvitalratesandlevelsofdisturbanceandassociatedthresholdsforself‐sustainingpopulations(Sorensonetal.2008,EnvironmentCanada2008,2011c).Instead,webaseperformancemeasuresonthefollowingquestionsusedtoevaluateeffectivenessofRRAsatthreespatialscales.1. DotheRRAscontainappropriateconditionsforcaribou?2. ArecaribouinRRAsbetteroffthancaribououtsideofRRAs?3. ArecaribouinrangeswithRRAsbetteroffthancaribouinranges

withoutRRAs?PerformancemeasuresattheRRAlevelfocusonrangeconditions(habitatanddisturbance)whileperformancemeasuresattherangeandBorealCariboupopulationlevelsincludebothrangeconditions(disturbance,predatorabundance,alternatepreyabundance)andcariboupopulationcondition.AmonitoringprogramtoassessperformancemeasuresisprovidedinSection3.2.


3.1.1 Resource Review Area Level DotheRRAscontainappropriateconditionsforcaribou?AttheRRAlevel,availablebaselineinformation(seeTable2)indicatesthathighvalueBorealCaribouhabitat,definedasextremelylowslopegradients(0°to0.6°slope),isavailableinallfourRRAs.AlthoughtheChinchagaRRAdoesnotcontainanycorehabitats,designatedareas(WildlifeHabitatAreas,UngulateWinterRanges)orcariboulocations,presenceofextremelylowslopegradientssuggeststhattheRRAcontainssuitablecaribouhabitat.PerformancemeasuresattheRRAlevelforthenext3yearsfocusonnoincreaseintheindustrialdisturbancezonewithinRRAs(Table6).TheseperformancemeasuresaccountfortheinfluenceofactivitiesintheareasadjacenttotheRRAboundariesaswellaswithintheRRA.AlthoughnonewoilandgastenuresarepermittedwithintheRRAs,accesstoreachexistingtenuresembeddedwithintheRRAsmayneedtobeconsidered.Inthosesituations,usingexistingdisturbancefeaturesasmuchaspossible,andavoidingfragmentinglargerundisturbedpatcheswillhelpmeettargets.Table6. PerformancemeasuresforBorealCaribouRRAsattheRRA

level.PerformanceMeasure Target

%RRAwithin500mofindustrialactivities

Noincreasebetween2012and2015

%RRAinburnedarea<40years



Noincreaseinsmallerpatchsizesordecreaseinlargerpatchsizesbetween2012and2015


Nodecreasebetween2012and2015

%oflowgradientslope(0°to0.6°slope)intheundisturbedzone

Nodecreasebetween2012and2015

Thelackofradio‐collaredcariboulocationsintheChinchagaRRAandinportionsoftheCalendarRRAslikelyreflectsalackofanimalscollaredinthoseportionsofthoserangesandidentifiesanimportantknowledgegapthatneedstobefilled.Inadditiontotrackingperformance


measures,theproportionoflocationsinRRAsofeachcariboucollaredinanRRAshouldbetrackedtoassesshowmuchtimecaribouthatareknowntouseRRAs,spendtimeinthem.

3.1.2 Boreal Caribou Range Level ArecaribouinRRAsbetteroffthancaribououtsideRRAs?ToevaluateeffectivenessofRRAsattheBorealCaribourangelevel,asuiteofperformancemeasuresthataddresscariboupopulationtrends,disturbance,andotherspeciesneedtobeconsidered(Table7).Adultcariboumortalityrateandcalfrecruitmentratearecomponentsofthepopulationrateofincrease(λ),butarealsousefultoconsiderindependentlytoassistindetermininghoweachvitalratecontributestopopulationchanges. Table7. PerformancemeasuresforBorealCaribouRRAsattherange

level.PerformanceMeasure Target

CaribouPopulationrateofincrease(lambda,λ)1

λRRA>λOutsideRRA

Cariboumortalityrate1 MortalityrateRRA<MortalityrateOutsideRRA

Cariboucalfrecruitment1 CalfrecruitmentRRA>CalfreruitmentOutsideRRA

Wolfdensity WolfdensityRRA<WolfdensityOutsideRRA

Moosedensity MoosedensityRRA<MoosedensityOutsideRRA

White‐taileddeerrelativedensity

White‐taileddeerrelativedensityRRA<White‐taileddeerrelativedensityOutsideRRA

%areawithin500mofindustrialactivities

%disturbanceRRA<%disturbanceOutsideRRA

%areainburnedarea<40years

%burnedRRA<%burnedOutsideRRA


%oflargerundisturbedpatchesRRA>%oflargerundisturbedpatchesOutsideRRA


ConnectivityRRA>ConnectivityOutsideRRA

1thesemeasureswillbeusedifitcanbedeterminedthattheyarenotconfoundedbycaribouusingareasoutsideoftheintendedunit(e.g.insidevs.outsideRRA)


Althoughwolfpredationisaprimaryproximatelimitingfactorforcariboupopulations(Seip1992,Bergerud1996,McLoughlinetal.2003),wolfdensitiesareinfluencedbyanumberofspeciesincludingmooseandwhite‐taileddeer(Lathametal.2011b).InnortheasternBC,beaverisalsoanimportantcomponentofwolfsummerdiet(Cullingetal.2006).Increasesinbeaverandwhite‐taileddeerhavebothcontributedtoincreasedwolfdensitiesinnortheasternAlberta(Lathametal.2011b).Trackingwolfandalternatepreydensitieswillhelpidentifymechanismsofcariboupopulationchangeandwillultimatelycontributetomoreinformedmanagementefforts.Althoughbeaverdensityisnotlistedasaperformancemeasure,beaverdensityshouldalsobeassessedsincebeaverscontributesignificantlytothewolfsummerdiet.Performancemeasuresfordisturbancearebasedonlevelsofdisturbanceandsizeofundisturbedarea.TargetsforperformancemeasuresforRRAsattherangescalearebasedonperformancemeasurelevelsinRRAscomparedtolevelswithinthesamerangebutoutsidetheRRA.WhenassessingcariboupopulationperformancemeasuresinRRAsversusareasoutsideofRRAs,theamountoftimethatRRAcaribouspendoutsidetheRRAwillneedtobeaddressedtodetermineiftheirfatesareinfluencedbyconditionsoutsidetheRRAboundaries.Inadditiontoadultmortalityrates,causesofadultmortalityshouldalsobedeterminedtoassesstherelativecontributionofdifferentmortalityfactorstooverallcariboumortality.Also,theshapeofeachRRA(e.g.areastoperimeterratio)shouldbeassessed.

3.1.3 Boreal Caribou Population Level ArecaribouinrangeswithRRAsbetteroffthancaribouinrangeswithoutRRAs?ThesuiteofperformancemeasuresattherangelevelarealsorelevantattheBorealCaribouPopulationlevel(Table8).However,targetsarebasedonperformancemeasurelevelsinrangeswithRRAsversusrangeswithoutRRAs.Becauseperformancemeasuresaddressingwholerangeswillbeinfluencedbythedegreeofdisturbanceineachrange,eachperformancemeasuremustbeweightedbytheamountofdisturbanceintherange.


Table8. PerformancemeasuresforBorealCaribouRRAsattheBorealCaribouPopulationlevel.

PerformanceMeasure Target

CaribouPopulationrateofincrease(lambda,λ)(weightedbylevelofdisturbanceinrange)

λCalendar,λChinchaga,λProphet,>λParker,λMaxhamish,λSnake‐Sahtaneh

Cariboumortalityrate(weightedbylevelofdisturbanceinrange)

MortalityrateCalendar,MortalityrateChinchaga,MortalityrateProphet,<MortalityrateParker,MortalityrateMaxhamish,MortalityrateSnake‐Sahtaneh

Cariboucalfrecruitment(weightedbylevelofdisturbanceinrange)

CalfrecruitmentCalendar,CalfrecruitmentChinchaga,CalfrecruitmentProphet,>CalfrecruitmentParker,CalfrecruitmentMaxhamish,CalfrecruitmentSnake‐Sahtaneh,

Wolfdensity(weightedbylevelofdisturbanceinrange)

WolfdensityCalendar,WolfdensityChinchaga,WolfdensityProphet,<WolfdensityParker,WolfdensityMaxhamish,WolfdensitySnake‐Sahtaneh

Moosedensity(weightedbylevelofdisturbanceinrange)

MoosedensityCalendar,MoosedensityChinchaga,MoosedensityProphet,<MoosedensityParker,MoosedensityMaxhamish,MoosedensitySnake‐Sahtaneh

White‐taileddeerdensity(weightedbylevelofdisturbanceinrange)

White‐taileddeerdensityCalendar,White‐taileddeerdensityChinchaga,White‐taileddeerdensityProphet,<White‐taileddeerdensityParker,White‐taileddeerdensityMaxhamish,White‐taileddeerdensitySnake‐Sahtaneh

%rangewithin500mofindustrialactivities

%disturbedCalendar,%disturbedChinchaga,%disturbedProphet,<%disturbedParker,%disturbedMaxhamish,%disturbedSnake‐Sahtaneh

%rangeinburnedarea<40years

%burnedCalendar,%burnedChinchaga,%burnedProphet,<%burnedParker,%burnedMaxhamish,%burnedSnake‐Sahtaneh


%oflargerundisturbedpatchesCalendar,%oflargerundisturbedpatchesChinchaga,%oflargerundisturbedpatchesProphet,<%oflargerundisturbedpatchesParker,%oflargerundisturbedpatchesMaxhamish,%oflargerundisturbedpatchesSnake‐Sahtaneh


ConnectivityCalendar,ConnectivityChinchaga,ConnectivityProphet,>ConnectivityParker,ConnectivityMaxhamish,ConnectivitySnake‐Sahtaneh


3.2 Monitoring Program RRAswereestablishedinJune2010witha5yearwindowforevaluatingtheireffectiveness.Therefore,monitoringandanalysismustbecompletedinthenext3years.Table9summarizesthemonitoringprogramschedulefrom2012to2015.Table9. BorealCaribouRRAmonitoringplanactivityschedule.

April–March April–June

Activity 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015

BaselineGISwork

Collectdata

GIS/mapindicators

Collectdata Collectdata Analyze/assesseffectiveness

CaribouRadio‐collars1

Initialcaptures

Supplementasneeded

Supplementasneeded

Radio‐collars‐Habitatuse/movementsetc.

Collectdata–winter

Collectdata–allyear

Collectdata–allyear

Analyze/assesseffectiveness

Calfrecruitment

Collectdata Collectdata Collectdata Analyze/assesseffectiveness

Adultmortality Collectdata Collectdata Analyze/assesseffectiveness

Adultmortalitycauses

Collectdata Collectdata Analyze

Wolfdensity Collectdata Collectdata Collectdata Analyze/assesseffectiveness

Moosedensity;white‐taileddeerrelativedensity

Collectdata Collectdata Collectdata Analyze/assesseffectiveness

Beaverdensity Collectdata Collectdata Collectdata Analyze1 Planningfortheradio‐collaringprogramshouldstartassoonaspossible(orderingcollars,acquiringpermits,etc.)toavoiddelaystothe2012capturework.Orderstoradio‐collarmanufacturersshouldbeplacednolaterthanAugustandallrequiredpermitsshouldbeinplacebeforemidOctober.


GIS‐basedmonitoringofdisturbancescanbeginrightaway,whileaugmentingtheexistingsampleofradio‐collaredcariboucanstartinlatefall/earlywinter.Cariboupopulationrateofincreaseandadultmortalityratecanonlybeassessedfor2years(2013/14and2014/15)becausethenextopportunitytodeployradio‐collarsisnotuntillatefall2012/13.Calfrecruitmentratecanbeassessedduringallthreeyearssincecalfrecruitmentsurveysareconductedinlatewinter.EffectivenessofRRAswillbeassessedin2015.TheassessmentwillincluderecommendationsonthefuturestatusofeachRRAandpotentialboundaryadjustments.Themonitoringprogramincludesmaintainingasampleof20radio‐collaredcaribouineachofthefollowingmonitoringunits:RRAs(4);non‐RRAportionsofrangeswithRRAs(2);and,rangeswithoutRRAs(3)tosupportcollectionofcalfrecruitment,adultmortalityandpopulationrateofincreaseperformancemeasures.Atotalof9monitoringunitsarerecommended(Table10).Themaindifferencebetweenstrategiesinthe9unitsarethepresenceorabsenceofanRRA.TheBorealCaribouImplementationPlanalsocallsforrestorationactivitiesinsomeoftheunits,buttheeffectsofrestorationwillnotberealizeduntilafterthisinitialmonitoringperiodiscompleted.Table10.BorealCariboumonitoringunitsandassociatedplanstrategies,

andradio‐collarsrequired.#Radio‐collars

PlanStrategies1 Current

Range Unit RRA Restore VHF2 Iridium3 Target

RRA 20Chinchaga

Non‐RRAX X

2 20

Maxhamish Non‐RRA 10 9 20

RRA1 20

RRA2 20Calendar

Non‐RRA

X 1

20

Snake‐Sahtaneh

Non‐RRA X 5 4 20

Prophet RRA X X 6 20

Parker Non‐RRA X 5 201 Otherplanstrategiesareappliedacrossallrangesandincludemitigation(predatorcontrol,firesuppression)andmanagingthedevelopmentfootprint.

2 AflightshouldbeconductedtoreassessstatusofVHFradio‐collaredcaribou(alive,dead,collarmalfunction).

3 AllexistingIridiumcollarsarecurrentlyscheduledtoberemovedinJuly2013.


InrangeswithoutRRAs(Maxhamish,Snake‐Sahtaneh,Parker),samplingeffortshouldbefocusedincorehabitats,whichcontainthehighestcapabilityBorealCaribouhabitatinthoseranges.Radio‐collarsshouldbesatellitelinked(Iridium)totrackstatusofanimals(alive/dead)inrealtime,allowingaprecisedeterminationoftimingofmortalityandaquickresponsetimeforassessingmortalitycauses,andtoaugmentexistingtelemetrydatatosupportfuturerangeandcorehabitatrefinement.AllcurrentlydeployedIridiumcollarsarescheduledtoberemovedinJuly2013(CraigDeMars,pers.comm.)andthereforewillnotcontributetoafullyearofadultmortalityandcalfrecruitmentmonitoringin2013/14.Consequently,themonitoringprogramwillrequire180newcollarstobeplacedonBorealCaribouin2012.Ifpossible,thosecollarsshouldbeprogrammedtolastuntiltheendofMarch2015toavoidhavingtoreplacecollarsin2014/15.Additionalcollarsandcaptureworkwillberequiredin2013/14and2014/15toincreasetheradio‐collaredcaribousamplebackto20tocompensateformortalitiesandcollarmalfunctions.TheVHFcollarsampleshouldbeincludedincalfrecruitmentandadultmortalitymonitoringinadditiontotheIridiumsample.

3.3 Other Strategies RRAsareonlyonecomponentofasuiteofstrategiesrecommendedintheBorealCaribouImplementationPlan.PredatorreductionisoneoftheotherstrategiesproposedforimplementationacrossallsixBorealCaribouranges.AlthoughreductionofpredatorsistobeappliedconsistentlybetweenRRAsandareasoutsideofRRAsineachrange,andacrossallsixranges,itismorelikelytoresultinrelativelyinconsistentapplication.Therefore,toaidinassessingtheeffectivenessofRRAs,predatorreductioneffortswillneedtobetakenintoaccountasaco‐variant.

3.4 Future Conditions Themonitoringprogramrecommendedinthisreportisrestrictedtothethree‐yearwindowstillremainingbeforetheeffectivenessofRRAshastobeassessed.Becausethemonitoringprogramonlymeasurescurrentconditions,itdoesnotaddresseffectivenessoftheRRAsunderfutureconditions.Asmoreofthelandscapeisdisturbedbydevelopment,the


relativecontributionoftheRRAstosustainingBorealCaribouwilllikelyincreaseaslongasRRAscontainadequateconditionsforBorealCariboutopersist.WhenassessingtheeffectivenessofRRAsattheendofthe5yearevaluationperiod,thefutureeffectivenessofRRAsshouldalsobeconsidered.Informationcollectedduringtheinitial5yearmonitoringperiodshouldbeusedtopredicteffectivenessofRRAsinthefuturerelativetoareasoutsideofRRAs.


4 Burnt Pine Caribou Resource Review Area Performance Measures and Monitoring Plan

TheBurntPineCaribouHerdResourceReviewAreaislocatedinthewesternhalfoftheBurntPineCaribouRange.ThemostimportantwinteringareasfortheherdarelocatedathighelevationsintheMt.LeHudetteandMt.Stephensonareas,andkeycalvingandsummerrangesarelocatedinPine‐LeMorayPark(Jones2007,2008,D.Seip,pers.comm.,seealsoSection1.2).ThenorthernstripoftheRRAincludesaportionofthehighelevationrangeonMt.Stephenson,butalthoughmostoftherestoftheRRAshowssomeusebyBurntPinecaribou(seeFigure13),themajorityofuseinthesouthernpartoftheRRAisbytheKennedy‐Sidingcaribouherd(Jones2007,2008,SeipandJones2011).UnliketheBorealCaribousituationwherealackoflocationsinRRAsmayreflectalackofsamplingratherthanalackofuse,radio‐collaredcaribouintheBurntPineCaribouHerdhavebeenmonitoredsince2002(Jones2007,2008,SeipandJones2011)andimportanthighuseareashavebeenidentified.

4.1 Performance Measures AlthoughbothmanagementplanssetagoaltoincreasetheBurntPineCaribouHerdtomorethan50animals,in2011,only5caribouwereseenduringapopulationsurvey(SeipandJones2011).Furthermore,duringthemostrecentsurveyinMarch2012,onlyonecaribouwasseen(D.Seip,pers.comm.).DuetotheapparentlackofcaribouintheBurntPineCaribouHerd,wefocusedperformancemeasuresfortheBurntPineRRAonlyonhabitat/rangecondition(Table11).WerecommendassessingrangeconditionswithintheRRAandalsospecificallywithintheMt.StephensonportionoftheRRAwherethemajorityofusebytheBurntPineCaribouHerdhasoccurred.


Table11.PerformancemeasuresfortheBurntPineCaribouHerdRRA.PerformanceMeasure Target

%RRAwithin500mofindustrialactivities


UndisturbedpatchsizedistributionintheRRA



Nodecreaseinconnectivity

%RRAintheMt.Stephensonareawithin500mofindustrialactivities


UndisturbedpatchsizedistributionintheMt.StephensonportionoftheRRA


AlthoughthecurrentcontributionoftheRRAtothepopulationgoalfortheBurntPineCaribouHerdmaynotbepossibletoassessatthispointintime,thecontributionoftheRRAtothepopulationgoalfortheKennedy‐Sidingcaribouherdarepossibleandshouldbeconsidered.OnepotentialmechanismforrecoveringcaribouintheBurntPineareamaybetoprovideconditionsthatwillallowtheKennedy‐SidingherdtoincreaseandexpandintotheBurntPineCaribouRange(D.Seip,pers.comm.).Therefore,rangeconditionsinboththeKennedy‐SidingandBurntPinecaribouranges,andrangeusebyboththeKennedy‐SidingandBurntPinecariboupopulationsshouldbemonitored.OneportionoftheBurntPineRRAthatdoesnotcontaincaribouhabitatisthenorthwesternmostblockthatislocatedatlowelevationadjacenttoHighway97.ThatblockdoesnotappeartocontributeanycurrentvaluetoeithertheBurntPineorKennedy‐Sidingcaribouranges(DSeip,pers.comm.).

4.2 Monitoring Plan PerformancemeasuresforrangeconditionsidentifiedinTable11shouldbeassessedin2012andin2015.Inaddition,caribouthatusetheMt.StephensonareaandtherestoftheRRAshouldbemonitoredregardlessofwhichherdtheybelongto.


SurveysoftheRRA(andnon‐RRAportionoftheMt.Stephensonarea)shouldbeconductedmonthlyfromDecembertoMarcheachyearandcariboufoundintheRRAshouldberadio‐collared.Inearlywinter,Kennedy‐Sidingcaribouuselowelevationpineforestsintheirrange(Jones2007)soanycaribouusingtheMt.StephensonareaatthattimearelikelytobeBurntPinecaribou.Aswinterprogresses,Kennedy‐Sidingcariboumovetohigherelevations(Jones2007)socariboupresentintheMt.StephensonareaduringlatewintercouldbeeitherKennedy‐SidingorBurntPinecaribou.

4.3 Future Conditions AsrecoveryoftheBurntPineCaribouHerdprogresses,performancemeasuresforpopulationconditionsimilartothoserecommendedforBorealCaribouRRAsshouldbeincluded.


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