VICTORIA -- More work is getting underway in British Columbia to restore caribou habitat that the province says has been degraded by forestry, mining, oil and gas exploration, and other human activities.
Seven projects approved by the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation will receive nearly $1.1 million in grants.
The provincial government says in a news release that habitat restoration includes planting trees to cover up old roads and seismic lines that were cleared for oil and gas exploration, which give predators clear lines of sight and access to caribou.
The province has allocated $8.5 million over three years to the conservation foundation and 11 projects received grants worth about $1.2 million last year.
The foundation will be accepting applications again between September and early November.
The B.C. government has committed $47 million over three years to build what it calls a comprehensive, science-based approach to preserve 54 caribou herds in the province.
Earlier this week, a study published in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation found flaws in a 2019 report that the province relied on while expanding its wolf culling program.
The study by researchers from Raincoast Conservation Foundation and the universities of Alberta, British Columbia and Victoria found killing wolves has had “no detectable effect” on reversing the decline of endangered caribou populations.
More than 460 wolves were culled last winter.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2020.
