Vernon, British Columbia (May 2, 2014) – The Manitoba Government, working collaboratively with the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA) working group members, has created a new Woodland Caribou Recovery Strategy to ensure sustainability of this sensitive and important animal that will include special consideration of its boreal habitat.
This comprehensive 10-year plan, which exceeds federal standards, puts Manitoba at the forefront of caribou conservation in Canada by ensuring management decisions will balance the demand for boreal forest resources with boreal caribou conservation.
The CBFA, which was signed in May 2010, includes seven environmental organizations, the Forest Products Association of Canada, its 18 member companies, and Kruger Inc. It currently applies directly to more than 73 million hectares across the country. It is a globally significant precedent that seeks to conserve significant areas of Canada’s vast boreal forest, protect threatened woodland caribou, and sustain a healthy forest sector by laying a foundation for the future prosperity of the industry and communities that rely on it.
“Tolko Industries is committed to responsible and environmentally sustainable management of our forest tenures, much of which includes caribou habitat, and we’ve been involved in the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement right from the start,” said Bob Fleet, VP Forestry, Environment and Communications for Tolko Industries Ltd. “We welcome this strategy and the opportunity to work with the province on caribou recovery.”
