Tools / Extension

NEW!  Brochures

News Bulletins

Much of the work conducted by Wildlife Infometrics Inc. is focused on recovery efforts for caribou herds in north-central BC.  For more information, read their latest newsletters:

• April 2008 News Bulletin
• June 2007 News Bulletin 
• December 2006 News Bulletin.

Caribou Habitat and Supply Estimator (CHASE)

The Caribou Habitat Assessment and Supply Estimator (CHASE) is a strategic and operational planning framework for use in the management of caribou populations and their habitat in the Mackenzie TSA.  This model links caribou and habitat information, predation risk factors, forest development planning, and forest management activities to forecast the distributions of caribou habitat and timber supply through time.

The framework used to predict the ecological value of northern caribou ranges and the follow-up adaptive management tests were developed through a series of consultative workshops involving industry, government and academia.  The range types considered were those most likely to be either limiting or important to caribou populations in the area. These included: 1) calving and summer range; 2) pine-lichen winter range; 3) high-elevation winter range; and 4) movement corridors. Each range type was influenced by the risk of predation by wolves, for which wolf density was estimated based on its relationship to moose density.

The effect of primary factors that influence each range type and predation risk were mapped using the program Netica.

The Mackenzie LRMP commits resource managers in the Mackenzie TSA to a "refined and adaptive caribou management direction" that will be modified over time to incorporate new information and improved practices.  The Omineca Northern Caribou Project, through development of CHASE, has enabled the LRMP commitment.  The Omineca Northern Caribou Project has further enabled that commitment through two adaptive management projects that are associated with CHASE: 

1. The first project tests terrestrial lichen responses to silvicultural regimes.  The supply of terrestrial forage lichens is a critical aspect of winter habitat for caribou.  Foresters and biologists are interested in the opportunities for maintaining or enhancing these lichens in managed forests. Ecologists have pointed out many uncertainties about lichen responses to forestry treatments, but there appears to be some potential to maintain quantities of forage lichens in logged areas under certain treatment conditions. These uncertainties will be explored through an active adaptive management program using a variety of timber harvesting and silviculture regimes. The following report is available for further information on this project: Adaptive Management of Forestry Practices in Pine-Lichen Woodlands in North-Central British Columbia [PDF- 560K].
   
2. The second project involves an adaptive approach to implementing the use of CHASE itself.  Under the direction of the Implementation and Monitoring Committees for the Mackenzie LRMP, CHASE will be continually updated with new policy scenarios and/or better analyses where these amendments are identified from results of monitoring.  With the completion of several additional steps in CHASE, this monitoring and amendment process could be conducted as an explicit adaptive management approach.

Wildlife Information Management System (WIMS)

All data collected as part of the Omineca Northern Caribou Project is entered into the Wildlife Information Management System database: Biodata®.  The database is located at the Wildlife Infometrics Inc. office, #3-220 Mackenzie Blvd., Mackenzie, B.C.

The datasets contained within Biodata include:

• Telemetry/Calving Surveys
• Habitat Site Investigations
• Caribou and Moose Censuses (Navigation, Count/Classification, Habitat)
• Capture and Radio-Collaring
• Mortality Site Investigations
• Snow Surveys

Poster Presentations

2008 MPB Effects on Caribou Winter Range This poster was presented at the FORREX Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) Workshop, and describes the "Potential Implications of Beetle-related Timber Salvage on the Integrity of Caribou Winter Range."	Click to View
2002 Wildlife Society Conference Poster This poster was displayed at the 9th Annual Wildlife Society Conference, held in Bismarck, North Dakota, Sept. 24-28, 2002. Data summaries are provided for animal captures, radio-telemetry locations, caribou and moose surveys, and habitat and mortality site investigations.	Click to View
2000 Inventory Results Poster This poster was displayed throughout the Mackenzie Region to provide an update on the data collected during year 3 (2000) of the Project.  This poster discusses estimates and tests for pine-lichen winter range preferences by northern caribou and evaluates the efficacy of current conservation policies in providing a sustainable supply of caribou seasonal ranges.	Click to View
1999 Wildlife Society Conference Poster This poster was presented at the sixth annual Wildlife Society Conference, held in Austin, Texas on September 7-11, 1999. The poster provides details about modeling the ecological factors affecting northern caribou in the Omineca Region.	Click to View