Industrial Disturbance in the Ranges of Two Yukon Caribou Herds
When there are healthy populations of Woodland and Migratory Caribou, we know the land, their habitat is intact and healthy. We have been lucky in that most Yukon caribou herds are healthy, or recovering. YCS is drawing attention to places where we have permitted more development than Caribou can withstand.
Mining and Caribou
We can all understand that mining disturbance impacts where caribou live, but have you ever considered the areas near to disturbances that caribou avoid? This includes the roads leading to the mines. When we look at these factors, we realize that the areas where caribou don't go can be quite extensive, sometimes reaching up to 11km away from the mine!
At YCS, we're deeply concerned about how industrial sites in the Yukon affect caribou. That's why we've created a new report to examine how much of the caribou's habitat is actually affected by mining.
The 2024 Report on the Clear Creek and Klaza Caribou Herds focuses on the Clear Creek (between Dawson and Mayo) and Klaza (between Aishihik Lake and Yukon River) northern mountain woodland caribou herds. While there's still more research needed—there are 30 caribou herds in the Yukon—this report is a crucial step in understanding the situation.
Learn more about the different Caribou Herds in the Yukon by visiting YCS’ Caribou StoryMap.
Caribou are vital to the ecosystem; their well-being reflects the health of the environment as a whole. Take a look at the report to understand what's really happening to caribou habitat right in our backyard!
Habitat Disturbance
Scientific studies have shown that caribou actively avoid areas with increased human activity like roads, mining operations, and buildings. This avoidance could be due to reasons such as noise, lack of food, and perceived danger.
This report uses a concept called zones of influence (ZOI) to estimate how far caribou stay away from mine sites. ZOIs extend beyond the mine's footprint to show the distance where caribou behaviour change is observed. These zones are dynamic and influenced by various factors like mining phase and climate and even the life stage of caribou.
Another measure used is linear disturbance density (LDD), which calculates the impact of linear features like roads and pipelines on caribou habitat fragmentation. This fragmentation divides their habitat into smaller patches, affecting their ability to survive. Linear disturbances also allow predators such as wolves easier access to caribou, so caribou instinctively avoid linear disturbances.
YCS Research Insights
This report reveals that on average, from the perspective of caribou, 41% of the Clear Creek and Klaza herd ranges are affected by industrial activities like mining. This doesn't even account for other disturbances like wildfires and climate change, which further threaten these populations.
Currently, there's no recovery plan specifically for northern woodland caribou. However, a Canadian recovery plan for boreal woodland caribou suggests that at least 65% of their habitat must remain undisturbed for the population to remain stable.
Unless we consider ZOIs from mines, exploration sites and access roads, the impact of mining on caribou habitat is underestimated by a factor of 10!
The results also show that the density of linear disturbances is between 0.1 and 0.2 km/km2 for both herds. Road density has approached 0.3 km/km2 in some of the ranges. Research has shown that caribou density declines by 63% when road density reaches 0.3 km/km2.
YCS is really worried about how much disturbance is happening in the Clear Creek and Klaza caribou herd ranges. We're especially concerned that if mining grows and results in more disturbances, this situation could become even worse.
Last year, a blog post we shared outlined that there are three initiatives that we see as being able to help properly protect caribou herds in the Yukon. Along with other partners, YCS is working to champion the following solutions:
1 - Current population estimates and range maps (including key areas) for each herd are needed. Many of the herds have recent and regular information but this is required for all herds in order to make accurate conservation decisions.
2 - Herd ranges and/or key areas need legal protection. This is particularly important for herds of conservation concern. Currently, key area status does not grant any legal protection.
3 - Yukon needs its own Species at Risk Act to help address the conservation status of herds. This legislation would be beneficial to Yukon species other than caribou, including a range of endemic (or ‘only found in the Yukon’) species as well as species that are particularly threatened by changing landscapes from both industrial activity and ongoing climate change.
Both these herds are currently considered to be stable or slowly declining, but if we do not get a handle on the ever increasing levels of habitat disturbance, these herds could join their southern cousins in irrevocable decline.
Stay informed and have your say about proposed mining projects in the Yukon by commenting through YESAB.