Tobias Romaniuk
June 27, 2012

A group of scientists is urging the provincial government to adopt the recommendations of the regional land use plan for the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area (LISA) in the hopes of conserving the calving grounds of Labrador's George River caribou herd.

The International Boreal Conservation Science Panel made the request in a letter to the Nunatsiavut and Newfoundland and Labrador governments.

"This land use plan deserves major praise as a global model that balances opportunities for resource development with protection of Inuit cultural values and key ecological areas including conserving the 14,000-square-kilometre calving ground of the George River caribou herd," states the letter.

The draft of the plan has been received by both governments, and the conservation group expects a response by the end of June. While both governments have the option to accept, reject or modify the draft, the Boreal Conservation group is hoping measures to conserve caribou calving grounds will be accepted.

The plan calls for the conservation of the current calving grounds, but stops short of deeming it a protected area.

The land use plan, if adopted, would make the region off-limits to industrial development, according to the conservation group.

"Protecting the herd's calving grounds may not guarantee the herd's recovery, but we believe a precautionary approach should be a cornerstone of managing this globally significant herd," states the letter.

If accepted, the proposed protected area will be the first for the George River herd.

The George River herd, like other herds, has seen an extreme population decline in recent years.

In the 1990s the herd numbered 800,000, and roamed across northern Quebec and Labrador. Since then the herd has declined to 50,000 animals.

While the cause of the decline is not known, the group of wildlife science professionals agree preserving intact caribou calving grounds is a good start to reversing the trend.

The herd migrates but tends to return to the same region for calving season, although the exact boundaries tend to shift from year to year.

Studies by wildlife biologists have shown migratory caribou are negatively affected by industrial activity, and will actively avoid areas of human activity such as roads, pipelines, buildings and industrial sites.

One study from the mid-1980s showed that caribou reduced the use of areas within five kilometres from infrastructure and human activity by 50-95 per cent for weeks, months and sometimes years.

Based on those and other studies, there is a need to protect the calving grounds, said Boreal Conservation group senior adviser Jeff Wells, a conservation ecologist.

Wells said further study of the caribou herd is required.

"There is absolutely a need to understand them more," he said.

Wells calls the LISA land use plan impressive, noting protecting caribou calving grounds from industrial development will give the herd the best chance for returning to a healthy population level.