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For Immediate Release
Conservation Groups Call on Forest Service to Save Woodland Caribou
Selkirk Population Dwindles to Three as Agencies Promote Expanded Use of Snowmobiles in Vital Habitat
Washington, D.C. -- With the entire U.S. population of Woodland Caribou down to as few as three animals, a coalition of conservation groups led by Defenders of Wildlife filed suit today calling on the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to address the heavy and increasing snowmobile use that is destroying what little caribou habitat remains. The alliance of wildlife groups includes Defenders of Wildlife, Selkirk Conservation Alliance, Idaho Conservation League, Inland Empire Lands Council, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance.
"Over the past 5 years we have witnessed the near extinction of the woodland caribou in North America. Indeed, we’re down to only three animals in the U.S., largely due to the government’s mismanagement of snowmobile traffic in areas vital to the animal’s survival," said Defenders of Wildlife Executive Vice President, Jamie Rappaport Clark.
Annual surveys have identified only 3 caribou per year over the past 5 years. Caribou used to range throughout much of the northern tier of the U.S. but hunting and loss of habitat diminished them until only one herd of around 30 individuals remained in the U.S. The herd traditionally splits time between far northern Idaho, far northwestern Washington, and British Columbia. In recent years, however, only a few caribou have ventured south of the Canadian border. The rest of the herd has been effectively excluded from the U.S. portion of their habitat – which is over half of their entire range – by the failure of the U.S. Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service to properly manage the remaining caribou habitat, notably by allowing heavy and increasing snowmobile use to continue. The Forest Service in fact actively promotes more snowmobiling in caribou habitat.
"Snowmobiling in these areas has been shown to have adverse effects on the caribou’s diet and birth rates. It also forces the animals out of prime winter habitat throughout the lower half of their historic territory. We are filing suit in an effort to encourage the agencies to take their responsibility to recover the Selkirk Mountains population of the woodland caribou seriously," Clark added.
The conservation groups contend that the Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service’s mismanagement of the woodland caribou runs counter to the agencies’ own assessments of the caribou’s needs. In their analyses, the U.S. Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service identified the mounting threats to caribou from snowmobiles. Both agencies also recognize the threat has increased exponentially as snowmobiles have gotten faster, more powerful, and more popular, allowing access to the highest and most remote caribou corridors. The ever-expanding snowmobile routes result in scaring caribou from their critical range where they are trying to survive the winter on lichen growing on old growth trees. At the same time, the number of caribou in the U.S. has dropped from an average of two dozen in the 1990s to an average of 3 in the last several years.
The conservation groups challenged the Forest Service for failing to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service on its programs promoting snowmobiling in caribou habitat; failing to craft a required recreation plan to minimize impacts on caribou; and failing to ensure its activities will not jeopardize the caribou’s existence. The alliance also challenged the Fish and Wildlife Service’s conclusion that continued implementation of the Idaho Panhandle and Colville National Forest Plans will cause no harm to caribou, even though the Service’s own data shows implementation of these Plans is contributing to the species’ decline, especially with regard to increasing intrusions of snowmobiles into crucial caribou habitat. The Fish and Wildlife Service has also authorized unlimited loss of caribou resulting from implementation of these plans.
The alliance is represented by Advocates for the West, located in Boise, Idaho. The suit, Defenders of Wildlife v. Martin, et. al., is being filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, in Spokane.
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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading non-profit conservation organization recognized as one of the nation’s most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 475,000 members and supporters – 100,000 of which are in California – Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues. To stay current on hot topics in wildlife conservation, please visit www.defenders.org.
