Forest fires and industry are devastating last remaining caribou habitat

By Natasha Bulowski  Local Journalism Initiative Reporter On June 15, Ottawa announced Quebec will be granted “limited additional time” to devise a caribou protection plan due to a wildfire season that has burned over one million hectares of forest so far. Ontario signed a similar agreement last year with the feds. In March, David Piccini, Ontario’s minister of environment, announced $29 million over five years to support habitat restoration, protection and monitoring of caribou. Protection is more important than ever. Cumulative impacts of forestry in Quebec and forestry and mining exploration in Ontario are exacerbating the steady decline of caribou populations, a designated federal species at risk, Dave Pearce, senior forest conservation manager at the conservation organization Wildlands League, said. Now, as wildland fire seasons lengthen and worsen in severity, the…

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