Can we afford to save the mountain caribou? Caribou Patrol – an Indigenous-led stewardship program – says we can’t afford not to. One of Alberta’s – and Canada’s – best opportunities to save the endangered species is in the heart of the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation’s traditional territory, a land bisected by Highway 40. With caribou herds migrating across the well-travelled road corridor, it has become a morality sink – the deadliest Alberta highway for caribou. By monitoring the highway, Caribou Patrol works to help lower collisions, collect data and create awareness for how and why caribou should be saved. It’s citizen science meets traditional knowledge meets community building – and the program is having success. But some of the challenges they face are much bigger than the highway.
At the southern end of the Highway 40 caribou migration corridor, we met with Stephanie and Nikita from the Caribou Patrol team to learn why we all need to do more to save the caribou.
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What do you think?
- Caribou Patrol clearly still believes in a future that includes the caribou. Do you?
- Is the time, money and controversial strategies justified to keep alive a subspecies? What is the value of a subspecies?
- How much do we stand to lose if the caribou disappears, given how little we know about their unique role in sustaining unique ecosystems?
- Do we have a cultural and moral responsibility to save animals like the caribou, even if our resources are stretched thinly?
- Do we need more community-driven approaches, like Caribou Patrol, even if larger factors remain the bigger threat to caribou?
- How much responsibility should we all take for society’s problems and solutions?
More on Caribou Patrol
Learn more about the program: About the Caribou Patrol Program, Frequently Asked Questions
Favourite Programs: We are particularly proud of being able to partner with the fRI Research Caribou Program. On a few occasions, we have been able to give AWN community members the opportunity to work directly in the western science world and contribute to research projects. On the flip side, those at fRI have been able to learn more about the traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples and that experience and knowledge transfer has led to a deeper understanding and mutual respect between and among those involved.We also like the North American Caribou Workshop where people from all over the world gather every 2nd year to discuss conservation of this iconic species on a global scale.
