What's happening
Hydro One is planning to build a 430km transmission line from the Lake Nipigon area to Pickle Lake, alongside Wabakimi Provincial Park in northwestern Ontario (view map).
If this new line goes through, it is very likely to harm caribou and their intact Boreal forest home. CPAWS is asking Hydro One to propose alternative routes for the line — for example, along existing paved roads or railways — which would be better for the health of this beautiful wilderness area.
Read what scientists are saying.
Links and Resources
- A snapshot of caribou range condition in Ontario
2009 (PDF, 2.4 MB) - Backgrounder: Caribou in Ontario
- CPAWS Wildlands League
- Response to a MNR Discussion Paper on caribou
CPAWS Wildlands and colleagues submission, 2008 - Recovery Strategy for Forestdwelling Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Ontario
CPAWS Wildlands League's submission, 2006
April 2009: Critical habitat identified in Ontario
News release (PDF)
Backgrounder (PDF)
National Critical Habitat Report
Take action!
Boreal woodland caribou in Ontario are threatened.
Take action on the hydro line
Write a letter to Hydro OneScience shows that caribou are running out of space in Ontario. Please let the Minister of Natural Resources know that protecting the remaining intact habitat of caribou in the commercial forest is an immediate priority for you, and it should be for her government too.
Take action now
Local news
- Mining "free for all" threatens northern Ontario ecosystems
December 14, 2009 - Baring it all for Polar Bears
December 13, 2009 - More questions than answers for Ontario forestry announcement
November 30, 2009
How are caribou doing in Ontario?
A CPAWS Wildlands League study shows that 7 out of 9 caribou populations in Ontario are heading for collapse, due to high levels of industrial disturbance in their habitat.
"The situation is much worse for caribou than what was previously understood," says Trevor Hesselink, Director, Forests Program for the conservation group and author of the study called A Snapshot of Caribou Range Condition in Ontario. "The habitat for 7 threatened caribou populations is so highly disrupted and fragmented by clearcuts, roads and fire that it cannot sustain any further logging and industrial pressure in the remaining intact forest," Hesselink says.
Snapshot
Status: Threatened
Habitat protected:
Less than 8%
Original habitat remaining:
Original habitat remaining: Caribou in Ontario have lost 50% of their range in the last 50 years, and their habitat has disappeared at a rate of 35,000km2 per decade.
Provincial protection:
Ontario's Endangered Species Act requires the identification and protection of caribou habitat. The province is currently producing new rules on where caribou habitat is located, and on regulating industrial activities in allowed in that habitat. These are expected by Winter 2010.
In July 2008, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty made a globally significant committment to protect more than 225,000km2 of Boreal Forest (north of the 51st parallel) in a partnership with Aboriginal communities.
CPAWS Wildlands League is closely monitoring the legislation designed to implement the Premier's vision, and is working with Aboriginal communities, the public, industry and the Province to ensure this is a resounding success.
Threats:
Forestry, road building, mining exploration and other industrial development.