A caribou population in northeastern B.C. has come back from the brink of local extinction thanks to a collaborative, holistic approach to wildlife management from two First Nations.
Researchers estimate caribou herds have declined about 40 per cent in recent decades, and in B.C.’s northeast, they’ve deteriorated 11 per cent per year.
“There used to be a sea of caribou,” researcher Tim Burkhart told The Early Edition host Stephen Quinn.
The Klinse-Za mountain caribou herd was down to 38 animals in 2013, but has now bounced back to 114, thanks to a collaboration between the Saulteau First Nation and West Moberly First Nation, in partnership with the University of British Columbia and the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.