Alberta plans to restore caribou habitat disturbed by industrial use

The Alberta government is going ahead with its plan to restore habitat in two swaths of caribou rangeland that were previously disturbed by decades of industrial use.

The provincial government plans to work over the next five years with the oil and gas industry to restore 10,000 kilometres of land in the range of theLittle Smoky and A La Pechecaribou herdsthat hasbeen cleared for seismic lines.

There are more than 16,000 kilometres of seismic lines, cut by the energy industry through the forest, within the study area and habitat restoration will involve replanting trees.

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"We are moving forward on restoration efforts that encourage the recovery of Alberta's caribou population, while also providing jobs and strengthening the local economy," Oneil Carlier ofAlberta's minister of agriculture and forestrysaid in a release.

Caribou are currently considered a threatened species both federally and provincially. As part of the federal Species at Risk Act, the Alberta government is required to manage 65 per cent of the province's caribou habitat by October 2017. The initial efforts to help preserve the species include:

• $500,000 grant to restore 70 kilometres of seismic lines and evaluate them as a pilot;
• $200,000 contract to seed and grow trees on the pilot plot; and
• $800,000 contract to develop a plan to restore 3,900 kilometres of legacy seismic lines in the two ranges.

Contributing despite the downturn

The Alberta government highlighted its partnership with the oil and gas industry, which is putting in an unspecified amount of money but some experts worry the cost may be too much for the industry to handle, given the current state of the market.

To come up with the conservation plan, the government consulted with Eric Denhoff, an independent mediator. His recommendations were accepted by the government, but in his report, he notes effortsto help grow the caribou population in the province will be costly.

"The potential cost of restoration could be as high as $40 million or more," Denhoff wrote.

"Over a five-year period, the resulting cost to contributing energy companies would pose a significant impact to their cash flow, especially during the current economic downturn."

Denhoff recommended the Alberta government issue what's called a Green Bond this would allow "contributing energy companies to pay back the principal and interest on the bond over a 30-year timeline."

It's unclear how much industry will contribute to the projects a representative of the government's Agriculture and Forestry department could not immediately be reached for comment.

Facing criticism

The announcement comes after criticism of the government's plan to preservethe caribou population which included culling wolf populations. Back in July, 12 wildlife groups criticized the government's plan to control the wolf population, one of the main predators of caribou,and to allowmore industrial use on land that is caribou habitat.

Studies have shown killing wolves canstabilizethe caribou population, and doesn't necessarily help it grow. But scientist Stan Boutin said predator control is necessary for the caribou to survive.

"It may seem like it's not good enough," he said in July. "[But] if you don't do the predator control, we would not have a Little Smoky caribou herd at all right now." For Boutin, predator control alone acts as a temporary solution, and he expects the "very aggressive" restoration measures will help the caribou population over the next five years.

Tree planting for the pilot project is expected to start next spring.

Environment Minister Shannon Phillips praised the "made-in-Alberta" plan.

"We are pleased with the leadership role taken by the oil and gas industry in working to ensure we have a made-in-Alberta plan that provides economic certainty for industries and workers," she said in a release, reiterating the importance of protecting "this iconic animal."