Forty Mile Caribou - Ups and Downs and Somewhere in Between
Once numbering half a million animals in the early 1900s with an estimated range extending from Whitehorse to Anchorage, Forty Mile caribou are one of the north’s great migratory herds. As a result of factors related to climate change, including habitat degradation and hunting, herd numbers dropped to under 5000 animals by the early 1970s. A massive reduction in range size and migration distances coincided with shrinking numbers and migration into the Yukon stopped altogether.
In recent years successful steps have been taken to help with herd recovery. First Nations voluntarily limited harvest, licensed hunting restrictions were enacted, and predator control actions were taken via sterilization of mating wolf pairs (although there is limited evidence that wolves were actually part of the problem). Migration into the Yukon began happening again in the early 2000s. In 2014 much of the herd overwintered as far east as Tombstone Territorial Park, in parts of their historic range that hadn’t been used for decades. Yukon reopened limited licensed hunting opportunities as per minimum herd size thresholds defined in the management plan for Forty Mile caribou. In 2017 herd numbers were estimated at 80,000. The future for this herd looked bright.
Unfortunately, new evidence showing poor body condition in multiple years suggests nutritional deficiencies and other stressors present across their range. Processes such as shrubification, where shrubs move up in elevation and displace lichens and other tundra plants, are becoming more common as climate change increases temperatures. As shrubs take over, they replace the lichen that forms a critical part of these caribous’ diet. By 2022 the herd size had decreased to 40,000. Fewer calves were being born and calves that were born were dying more often.
The Forty Mile Caribou Herd is co-managed by First Nations and governments in Alaska and Yukon, and much like the situation for Chinook salmon management, this makes for complicated and challenging conservation jurisdiction. Almost all barren ground caribou herds across the north are shrinking. We were able to help the Forty Mile herd reverse a crash course once before so the question is: What can we do to help them again, and in doing so, help preserve this herd and this species?
Read MoreIn recent years successful steps have been taken to help with herd recovery. First Nations voluntarily limited harvest, licensed hunting restrictions were enacted, and predator control actions were taken via sterilization of mating wolf pairs (although there is limited evidence that wolves were actually part of the problem). Migration into the Yukon began happening again in the early 2000s. In 2014 much of the herd overwintered as far east as Tombstone Territorial Park, in parts of their historic range that hadn’t been used for decades. Yukon reopened limited licensed hunting opportunities as per minimum herd size thresholds defined in the management plan for Forty Mile caribou. In 2017 herd numbers were estimated at 80,000. The future for this herd looked bright.
Unfortunately, new evidence showing poor body condition in multiple years suggests nutritional deficiencies and other stressors present across their range. Processes such as shrubification, where shrubs move up in elevation and displace lichens and other tundra plants, are becoming more common as climate change increases temperatures. As shrubs take over, they replace the lichen that forms a critical part of these caribous’ diet. By 2022 the herd size had decreased to 40,000. Fewer calves were being born and calves that were born were dying more often.
The Forty Mile Caribou Herd is co-managed by First Nations and governments in Alaska and Yukon, and much like the situation for Chinook salmon management, this makes for complicated and challenging conservation jurisdiction. Almost all barren ground caribou herds across the north are shrinking. We were able to help the Forty Mile herd reverse a crash course once before so the question is: What can we do to help them again, and in doing so, help preserve this herd and this species?
