Tory dismissal of findings angers scientists Via Treehugger:
By Margaret Munro, Canwest News Service Half of Canada’s boreal caribou herds are in decline and could die off unless their habitat is better protected, says a federal report that points to logging and energy production as big threats to the reclusive creatures. Environment Canada released the long-awaited report Thursday, more than six months after it was finalized by scientists. And the Conservative government took the extraordinary step of distancing itself from the report by slapping a preface on the 254-page document saying it is not detailed enough. “The information provided is inadequate to enable the identification of critical habitat,” says the one-page preface, which has left many incredulous. Scientists and conservation groups say the report is the most comprehensive ever on the caribou that live in Canada’s north. And they say it points to habitats that need immediate protection. “We stand behind the report and we think there is a wealth of very useful information in the report that can be put in place for caribou conservation now,” says biologist Fiona Schmiegelow, of the University of Alberta, who chaired the group of 18 experts that advised the Environment Canada team that wrote the report. She says the advisory group is “surprised” and “disappointed” by the tone of the government’s preface, and stresses the need for action. Conservation groups go even further, saying the report shows the boreal caribou are in more trouble than previously realized, and action cannot wait for the government to do more studies and consultation. The preface says the government is now aiming to release a “recovery strategy” in 2011. …
Study Says Canada’s Boreal Caribou Herds are Dying Off
