Post-operation Restoration of the Rochfort Maternity Pen
A maternity pen for caribou near Hudson’s Hope has been used for four years, and vegetation at the ~15-hectare site has been degraded by operations and caribou foraging in the pen.
The goal of this project is to plant native species within the pen and surrounding area to stimulate the restoration process and monitor the planted species for survival to determine if further restoration is needed.
Update: Restoring maternity pen for at-risk caribou
This project achieved most of its objectives to re-plant and restore a caribou maternity pen that has been an important part of herd recovery.
More work is needed to restore the pen site and will include planting green willow and translocating Cladonia lichen mats. It is still unknown if scrub birch—an important food source for caribou—can be planted successfully and further investigation is required.
Executive Summary
The Klinse-Za caribou herd was near extirpation in 2013 with only 16 animals remaining. At that time, the Nîkanêse Wah tzee Stewardship Society (hereafter, the Society) undertook emergency measures to avert extirpation of the population including the use of maternal penning to protect cows and newborn calves from predators. A maternal pen on Mt. Rochfort within the Klinse-Za herd area, now decommissioned, was used from 2018-2021 resulting in the in-situ vegetation being severely degraded from the pen operations and from the caribou foraging/trampling within the pen (~five months/year). The objectives of the Society with the work reported here were to: 1) expedite the return of native plant species within the maternal pen site with a focus on those species degraded through caribou foraging/trampling, 2) obstruct a motorized recreation trail leading to natural calving range above the pen site, and 3) assess success in achieving those objectives. With this work, the Society successfully addressed FWCP priority action S02.HB.04 “Restore functional winter caribou habitat” which aligns with the primary goal of encouraging the return of natural vegetation within the pen site. The restoration of caribou range also directly aligns with the caribou recovery strategy (Environment Canada 2014) which states “Habitat management that leads to restoration of forested landscapes will be necessary to recover the seasonal range conditions and predator densities necessary to maintain southern mountain caribou LPUs”.
During the first year of the project, a site visit was conducted to map broad ecosites within the pen area and to decide on a few species that would be of priority to restore. The decision was to focus restoration efforts on willow (Salix spp.), scrub birch (Betula glandulosa), and Cladonia lichen. In the alpine, subalpine, and fen areas of the maternal pen, 3,760 scrub birch seedlings were planted. Eight kgs of Cladonia lichen were translocated in the alpine and a trial of 20 willow cuttings were staked in one of the fens. The motorized vehicle trail leading to the alpine was visually and functionally obstructed by stacking woody debris in piles along the trail.
Initial success of the restoration work was assessed in this the second year of the project. Using a common classification system for assessing health of planted stems, it was determined that the green variety of willow fared better than the white variety and, despite the late-season plant, fared well enough to recommend continuing using that variety in the Rochfort maternal pen and other similar restoration programs. Unfortunately, the assessment of the scrub birch plant was insufficient to draw conclusive evidence about its success/failure. It is recommended that the assessment be redone using a different sampling design. The translocation of Cladonia lichen mats resulted in the mats adhering sufficiently to the most proximate substrate to warrant further efforts to restock the alpine area of the Rochfort maternal pen. The opportunistic use of coarse woody debris to construct blockage piles along the motorized recreation trail leading to calving range above the maternal pen was sufficient to judge it a success. The debris piles remained intact and the greatest use of the trail after blocking was by caribou and recreationists on foot. Compared to detections made by other cameras at a staging area and at the maternal pen cabin, there was comparatively less use of the trail by predators and by people using side-by-side off road vehicles.
Long-term solutions such as habitat restoration are critical to ensure the viability of the Klinse-Za herd. There is limited information available with regards to restoration in high alpine areas due to its harsh climate and short growing season. Therefore, this project has provided valuable information to address the knowledge gaps. This information can be used for future caribou maternity pen restoration projects as well as any alpine or caribou habitat restoration work. Furthermore, with this project I will address priority actions under the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program’s Uplands Action Plan; specifically, priority action S01.HB.02
“Implementing habitat-based actions” by enhancing the historically used, but now dismantled, Rochfort maternity pen site by encouraging the return of natural vegetation. To encourage the return of natural vegetation, I prioritized planting species that include Salix sp. (willow), Betula glandulosa (scrub birch), and Cladonia (reindeer lichen).
Recommendations that follow from this study are as follows:
1. Continue similar efforts to restore the focal vegetation species at the Rochfort maternal pen and use the same methods at the Bickford maternal pen after it is decommissioned. The efforts should be small scale until there are more robust results on survival rates by species and revegetation methods. Due to seasonal restriction on willow staking, chose transplant stakes of the green variety from donor sites as close the maternal pen as possible (i.e., donor plants will be in the most appropriate phenological condition).
2. Continue with the trial of scrub birch but establish sample plots at the time of the plant to allow for better identification of individual plant survival/mortality.
3. Continue with the trail of lichen mat transplants but use strategically placed stakes to be able to revisit the exact locations of the transplants. Results were favorable enough to expand the transplant program to much larger amounts.
Click the provincial database link below to read the full final report for this project.