Forest to the relief of the caribou

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In 2012, 37 of the 51 herds of woodland caribou in Canada were regarded as ” non-self-sufficient “, according to Ottawa. If nothing is done, scientists estimate that 30% of individuals could disappear within 15 years.

Anne Caroline Desplanques

Saturday, October 7, 2017 08:00

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Saturday, October 7, 2017 08:00

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A forestry company based in Quebec is most effective way to protect the caribou in danger that the governments, according to experts.

“In northern Quebec and Ontario, Tembec is setting an example. It shows that there are compromise solutions between the industry and the protection of the species, ” said Anna Baggio of the body.

Wildlands League, the Society for nature and parks in Quebec.

Ms. Baggio has made this declaration on the occasion of a conference of experts from across the country and in the United States on the woodland caribou. All were accusing Ottawa and the provinces their inaction to protect the species.

Tembec, it did not wait for governments to act.

Five years ago, she decided that none of the 350 woodland caribou that live on the territories of cuts north of La Sarre, in the Abitibi region and Ontario does not disappear.

Jobs preserved

Five years later, neither Ottawa nor any of the ten provinces have filed with the conservation plan, as they had committed to do so.

“There is a panic in the regions and in the industry in the face of compromise, it is necessary to make,” said Olivier Kolmel, of Greenpeace.

Yet the herd of Tembec is healthy and the company has not sacrificed anything for the preserve, provides Michel Lessard, vice-president management of the forest resources of Tembec.

“Our partners have no interest in ensuring that our factories are closing down, and we, it has an interest to protect the environment in which we work because we are here for good,” he says.

Tembec has rights over 675 000 hectares of forest north of La Sarre, Quebec, and on 3 million hectares in northern Ontario, near Cochrane.

On the whole of the territory, the word is clear : “We are planning according to the habitat of the caribou,” says Mr. Lessard.

Photo courtesy

Michel Lessard, Tembec

Compromise

The company has divided the territory into zones on the basis of the expertise of scientists and traditional knowledge of First nations.

“Some places are protected, others are frozen, and we keep the connections between the mature forest to allow the caribou to move around,” says Mr. Lessard.

In harmony

If it is not unanimous, this method allows up to now Tembec, to cohabit harmoniously with the caribou, while maintaining its wood supply unchanged.

“This is not a perfect scenario for each of the groups, that’s for sure. It is necessary to make compromises, ” said Mr. Lessard. This is normal : it is not only in the forest, there are a bunch of users, it is an entire ecosystem. “

What they said

• “The decline of the woodland caribou is a long and terrible crescendo, and in which there is little case “

– Jim Schaefer, biology professor at Trent University, Ontario

• “The inaction of the provinces, and the absence of concrete action plans — and based on the science that flows from it — are disastrous for caribou, and a disgrace to Canada “

– Rachel Plotkin, David Suzuki Foundation

• “Canada is tarnishing its own reputation of forest products sustainable by failing to protect the habitat of the caribou “

– Anthony Swift, Natural Resources Defense Council.