Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
By now, Jasper National Park’s caribou breeding center was nearing completion, ready for pregnant cows to go to bed behind its fence, safe from predators and working to replenish the park’s dwindling herds.
Wildfire this summer had other ideas.
“We’re still looking at putting together a recovery plan,” said Jean-Francois Bisaillon, the park’s caribou specialist.
The fire not only destroyed homes in the town of Jasper and popular mountain landscapes, but also gutted plans for Canada’s first captive breeding center for Caribou.
Parks Canada is building a $40 million center that would permanently corral up to 40 women and five men in a controlled and heavily monitored area of ​​about one square kilometer surrounded by an electric fence. The agency suggests the captive breeding could produce enough calves each year to bring Jasper herds to sustainable levels in a decade.
An aerial view of the Parks Canada captive caribou breeding center in Jasper National Park, taken before this summer’s wildfires in this photo provided by Parks Canada. Although much of the center’s habitat has been burned and some construction damaged, officials say recovery is progressing well and pregnant cows may be welcomed as early as this winter. The aim of the center is to produce calves in a safe environment to replenish the park’s herds which have almost disappeared.
Parks Canada/The Canadian Press
One of the park’s three herds has already disappeared and a handful of animals are responsible for the others.
But before that work can resume, Parks Canada must deal with the effects of the wildfires, which were not brought under control until earlier this month.
Almost all the forest within the site that would have been used for caribou habitat was at least partially burnt. About a quarter of its fence posts were consumed, as well as a good chunk of the slatted fence. Almost all of the caribou feeders were burned and electrical infrastructure was damaged.
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Buildings such as the barn and office store were unscathed.
However, Bisaillon says the breeding center will still be finished by Christmas.
“We still plan to have the breeding center completed, with a few weeks delay,” he said.
The handling barn at the Caribou captive breeding center, as shown in this flyer image, in Jasper National Park was not damaged by the wildfires that swept through the park this summer. The barn, shown here before the fire, will handle up to 40 pregnant cows, providing a safe place to give birth to their calves and help replenish the park’s extinct herds.
Parks Canada/The Canadian Press
Bisaillon said the fact that many of the buildings suffered minimal damage spoke volumes for the planning and fire prevention that went into their design.
“The challenge we face now is to make sure that the habitat conditions are still suitable to welcome our first caribou this winter. We are working very hard to determine what can be done in terms of vegetation restoration.”
Food and water were always going to be provided for the animals, so they won’t have to rely on natural grazing.
Trees, from saplings to mature growth, are replanted to provide shade and shade. Seeds of native plants are sown to restore the ground cover.
“You don’t want caribou to be living in mud and dirt,” Bisaillon said.
The best news is that some of the vegetation is already returning.
“If we have a warm fall with a little rain, chances are a lot of vegetation will grow back before winter.”
Lessons have been learned. Exit routes are now being built into the center so that Caribou can escape if they are threatened by another fire.
Conservation biologists around the world are watching.
Conservation breeding has long been used for other species, especially birds. It is rarely used for caribou, which, due to their specific habitat needs and tendency to coexist with human disturbances such as forestry and energy development, are considered one of the most difficult conservation challenges on the continent.
“We’re getting a lot of interest in this program,” Bisaillon said. “It’s innovative.
“We are opening the way to a new tool that can be used for many species,” said Bisaillon. “If we want to be successful in recovering endangered species, we need to use a lot of tools.”
With a little luck, Bisaillon said the center could even meet its original schedule.
“We feel quite optimistic, even though we suffered some.”
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://globalnews.ca/news/10784199/jasper-caribou-breeding-program-wildfire/
