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As we know, the caribou situation is critical in Quebec. Herds of caribou from the forests of Val-d’Or (7 individuals) and Charlevoix (17 individuals) are found in enclosures, under artificial respirators. The one in Pipmuakan, on the north coast, is estimated at about 225 individuals, in decline. The mountain caribou in Gaspé is in danger of extinction, with between 32 and 36 individuals remaining, according to a review published in December. The caribou of the tundra in northern Quebec, although much more abundant – about 170,000 animals – is also considered endangered, with a drop of 80% of the population in three generations.
The recommendations
However, the descent of the caribou has been on the radar for a long time. In 2003, the Quebec government, for example, released a report on the state of the forest caribou. This summary, written by officials of the defunct Quebec Wildlife and Parks Society, aimed to “identify the possible causes of the fall.” [de l’espèce] and help identify solutions ”.
Their findings involved logging. “Habitat fragmentation caused by human activities, especially logging, increases access to land, concentrates caribou in residual habitats and encourages the establishment of alternative dams, including high, thus causing an increase of predators and an intensification of predation and hunting. ”
Last February, biologist Martin-Hugues St-Laurent, a professor and specialist in adult wildlife at the Université du Québec à Rimouski, gave similar explanations in an interview with The press. “Even though caribou are declining, predators are not declining, because they have other abundant prey,” he said, highlighting the harmful impact of logging roads.
A review of the literature published in late 2021 and commissioned by the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP) draws the same conclusion. “The main threat to the maintenance and self-sufficiency of forest and mountain caribou populations [est] habitat alteration associated with anthropogenic disturbances, primarily caused by forest management in Quebec, ”the document says.
Ottawa had developed a recovery strategy for the species as early as 2012. A 2019 paper on the program stated, among other things, that:
“These habitat alterations promote a higher density of other prey (e.g. elk [Alces alces]deer [Odocoileus spp.]), thus creating an increase in predator populations (e.g., the wolf [Canis lupus]the bones [Ursus spp.) qui, à son tour, accroît le risque de prédation pour le caribou boréal. Cette menace peut être atténuée grâce à la planification coordonnée de l’utilisation des terres et des ressources, ainsi qu’à la restauration et à la gestion de l’habitat, en combinaison avec la gestion des prédateurs et des autres proies lorsque l’état de la population locale justifie de telles mesures. »
On tarde à agir
La publication d’une Stratégie de protection de l’habitat du caribou par le MFFP a été repoussée à deux reprises, en 2019 et en 2021. Elle est désormais annoncée pour 2024. Ces reports suscitent la colère de certains représentants des Premières nations, pour qui la disparition du caribou a déjà été comparée à un ethnocide. Les communautés innues d’Essipit et de Mashteuiatsh, sur la Côte-Nord, se sont d’ailleurs tournées vers les tribunaux en février pour dénoncer le fait qu’elles n’aient pas été suffisamment consultées. En mars, celle de Pessamit disait y songer.
L’Association des biologistes, dans un communiqué publié le 21 avril, réclame un arrêt complet des coupes forestières « dans les aires d’habitat des caribous forestiers et montagnards ».
En attendant, le ministère vient de mettre sur pied la Commission indépendante sur les caribous forestiers et montagnards. Deux scénarios sont avancés, dont l’un implique la disparition des hardes de caribous de Val-d’Or, de Charlevoix et du Pipmuakan. Les recommandations de la Commission, attendues vers la fin de l’été 2022, doivent prendre en considération, selon son mandat, à la fois la protection du caribou et les « impacts sur les retombées économiques » (emplois et exploitation forestière) de cette protection.
L’industrie forestière figure donc parmi les acteurs-clefs de ces consultations. Selon le MFFP. environ 60 000 Québécois vivent du secteur forestier, surtout dans les régions. La vitalité de cette industrie dépend des possibilités forestières, soit le volume maximum de récoltes annuelles qu’on peut prélever. C’est ce qui explique que l’industrie remette même en question l’apport des coupes forestières dans le déclin du caribou. « Le réchauffement climatique engendrera [des hausses considérables de température] in certain regions of the boreal forest ”, which could cause“ significant caribou disorders ”, for example, argued in December the leaders of the forest cooperative on the north coast of Boisaco.
The lack of progress on the record seemed to open the door to intervention by the federal government, which is also responsible for protecting endangered species. In theory, Ottawa could issue an emergency decree to stop the destruction of the caribou’s natural habitat, just as it did with the coral frog in 2021. This could mean an end to logging. , the closure of forest roads and the creation of protected areas in the affected areas. It has been suggested that a possible Ottawa “protection order” could cover approximately 35,000 square miles of Quebec from any disruption. It should be noted that Alberta had just announced a caribou rescue plan in early April, and that Ontario had announced a conservation agreement with the federal government a few months earlier.
On the subject of protected areas, the Innu Pessamit Council has been working for a few years on an aboriginal initiative project. The possible protected area of Pipmuakan, which covers 2,761 km2, is under study. A similar initiative created in eastern British Columbia seems to have yielded convincing results: thanks to it, the Klinse-Za caribou herd has grown from 38 individuals in 2013 to 101 in 2021.
Photo: Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks