Case commented on: Adam v Canada (Environment), 2011 FC 962
Woodland caribou are listed as threatened under the Species at Risk Act, SC 2002, c 29 (SARA). The species (and particular herds of the species) are threatened by the fragmentation of their habitat principally due to resource developments including coal mining (see West Moberly First Nation v British Columbia (Chief Inspector of Mines), 2011 BCCA 247), oil and gas exploration, oil sands projects (mining and in situ) and forestry projects, and by the linear land use disturbances often associated with these projects including seismic lines, roads, transmission lines and pipelines. The species is also negatively impacted by increased predation.
But what should we do about this? The answer of governments in Alberta, British Columbia and the federal government seems to be as little as possible and as slowly as possible – for fear that any real action to recover the various herds will be too disruptive of the governments’ shared resource development agendas.