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Kootenai Tribe enters agreement with U.S. Fish
and Wildlife in developing caribou recovery plan |
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September 3, 2015 |
There was a time when a robust herd of caribou
roamed through the higher elevations of Boundary
County's west side mountains.
The remnants of that group of woodland caribou,
which has as its range southern British
Columbia, northeastern Washington, and Boundary
County, Idaho, is the southernmost population of
woodland caribou in the North American
continent. This local caribou population has
been listed as "Endangered" since 1984 under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973.
Efforts have been ongoing over the years, and
not without controversy, to stabilize and build
the diminishing population of this group of
caribou.
Boundary County's southern Selkirk Mountain
woodland caribou are considered to be one local
group of the larger, Southern Mountain Caribou,
which consists of 15 separate local caribou
populations. In 1995, the population of the
entire larger group of Southern Mountain Caribou
was estimated to be 2,554 individuals. By 2002
the population had fallen to an estimated 1,900.
The 2013 population estimate for the entire
larger group of Southern Mountain Caribou was
1,657 individual caribou.
It was estimated that the population of our
local southern Selkirk Mountain woodland caribou
was 27 individual caribou in 2012, and now down
to perhaps less than 20 individuals.
In 2014, the Service developed a proposed rule
to amend the caribou's endangered listing to
recognize the Southern Mountain Caribou Distinct
Population Segment of woodland caribou, which
includes the southern Selkirk Mountains
population.
A new chapter in the conservation efforts of
these caribou now opens, after a formal
agreement was struck between the Kootenai Tribe
of Idaho and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
to revise the recovery plan for the southern
Selkirk Mountains population of caribou.
The Kootenai Tribe will lead preparation of the
draft revised recovery plan, while the Fish and
Wildlife Service will participate in the
technical and policy review and provide
financial support for the undertaking.
Conservation partners such as, but not limited
to, the Kalispel Tribe; Ktunaxa Nation Council;
Idaho Department of Fish and Game; Idaho
Department of Lands; Montana Fish, Wildlife, and
Parks; Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife; US Forest Service; Bonner and Boundary
Counties; and the Province of British Columbia
will also contribute technical and policy
support.
"This is a good example of government
participation that saves costs and achieves
conservation more efficiently and effectively,”
said Gary Aitken, Jr., Chair of the Kootenai
Tribe.
Upon receiving the draft revisions to the plan
from the Tribe, the Fish and Wildlife Service
will make it available for public comment,
address comments received, and adopt and publish
a final revised plan; expected in 2016.
“This cooperative approach will ensure
stakeholder involvement, make the best use of
technical experts familiar with caribou
conservation, and will help all of us prepare a
plan for caribou recovery more efficiently,”
said Mike Carrier, state supervisor of the
Service’s Idaho Fish and Wildlife Office. “We
applaud the efforts of the Kootenai Tribe and
other federal, state, and tribal partners and
other participating stakeholders for their
contributions towards the recovery of this
imperiled species.”
For more information on southern Selkirk
Mountains caribou conservation, visit:
http://www.fws.gov/idaho/Caribou.html. |
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