Effects of a Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic on Tweedsmuir-Entiako Caribou Habitat Use

ABSTRACT

The current mountain pine beetle epidemic is one of the greatest threats to Northern Caribou populations in British Columbia. Northern Caribou in the Southern Mountains National Ecological Area (SMNEA) were recently designated as Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), and a recently completed Recovery Strategy for Northern Caribou in the SMNEA identifies research on the response of caribou to the mountain pine beetle epidemic as a priority. Currently, no information is available on the effects of the mountain pine beetle epidemic on caribou habitat use or population dynamics. The goal of this proposal is to investigate the effects of mountain pine beetles on seasonal range use, movements and habitat use of the Tweedsmuir-Entiako caribou population using radio-collared caribou and winter snow tracking. The Tweedsmuir-Entiako population is the first to experience the current mountain pine beetle outbreak; therefore, information collected will benefit all Northern Caribou populations where mountain pine beetle levels are currently increasing. The costs of not conducting this research will be the loss of the first opportunity to collect information on the response of caribou to a mountain pine beetle epidemic and to develop management strategies to deal with this issue.