Jasper National Park

Mountain caribou have greatly benefitted from the permanent habitat protection in Jasper NationalPark, but the stressors on the caribou have been overwhelming.  Unfortunately, historic park management decisions and ongoing habitat destruction outside the park have pushed these populations to dangerously low numbers where recovery becomes very challenging.

Habitat protection, while vital to caribou recovery, must be coupled with smart and timely management. Management decisions inside Jasper have not always prioritized caribou conservation. For example, Parks Canada reintroduced elk in 1920 in response to the high demand to see wildlife in the park. While elk brought more tourists to the park, they also allowed wolf populations to explode in the 1960s, after a decades-long wolf removal program ended. This created an unsustainable shift in the predator-prey system that meant caribou took the brunt of the management mistake and suffered huge losses.

Even winter recreational activities, like snowshoeing and skiing, can also negatively impact caribou that depend on mountainous areas to avoid predators. This is why winter access restrictions are critical in caribou habitat during the winter seasons, however, strong action is needed to make sure these protective measures are not too little, too late.

Land use decisions that happen outside the park are impactful to the biodiversity inside the park. Though Jasper National Park is permanently protected from different kinds of destructive activities, the park is surrounded by lands that are intensely developed. Along the eastern slopes, the pristine foothills have been replaced by industrial development in a matter of decades. These land use activities along the borders can have negative impacts that overflow into the park and significantly reduce the amount of intact habitat available to species that need lots of space to move.