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Cohorts in caribou conservation
The Eagle Valley Snowmobile Club is partnering with the government to help the endangered mountain caribou
Share and share alike: Sledders in the Eagle Valley Snowmobile Club—seen here at their Queest Mountain shelter—are sharing the area with mountain caribou. —KPI Media file photo
Mountain caribou populations have dropped dramatically over the past 15 years, falling from around 2,500 in the mid-’90s to a present population of about 1,900. Reasons for the decline vary from increased predation to habitat destruction to back-country recreation. Though many sledders feel that their activities have little to no impact on caribou populations, there have been several recent collaborations between the government and sledding clubs to help protect this endangered species.
One such club, the Eagle Valley Snowmobile Club, has signed a stewardship management agreement with the province. Eagle Valley’s principal sledding area, Queest Mountain, borders on prime caribou habitat. This resulted in closures that border active sledding areas, granting the club an opportunity to monitor caribou activity and ensure that sledders acknowledged the closures.
“The idea is that we would participate with the government in terms of compliance in closed areas,” said Bruce Moores, president of the Eagle Valley Snowmobile Club. “We would put up signs and do some monitoring. The government would do some fly overs, and if we see any violations, we’d be in contact with conservation officers.”
Keeping track
The club is also going to provide reports on caribou activity in the sledding areas, as they don’t have the authority to enter the closed areas.
“We’ll provide monitoring reports of caribou sightings, tracks, conditions—whatever info we can provide to the government, and also any predatory activity,” said Moores. “We also offered to do education, (such as) handing out brouchures and informing sledders on what to do if they see caribou—stop the machine and let them move on, and then leave the area.”
Moores feels that there’s opportunity for further collaboration between the government and the snowmobiling community.
“The sledders that are back there have a vested interest in using the area and keeping it open,” he said. “It’s to our advantage to provide that information and it’s as much a part of our enjoyment to go back there. There’s not many people who get an opportunity to see the caribou, so from our perspective, if that herd grew to 40 or 50 or 100 animals, and you saw them every time you went back there, it would add to the experience.”
Moores said that, despite club members feeling that caribou have become accustomed to snowmobiles in the 40 years that the club has used Queest Mountain, the club is happy to participate.
“There’s a general acceptance and a general willingness to do our part,” he said. “We’ve got our signatures on the agreement and we’ll do what we’ve signed on to do.”