Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) are an iconic Canadian species, even gracing the Canadian quarter. For Indigenous peoples they have been an essential part of their culture and seasonal round, although that role is under threat. Caribou are identified as needing special management actions across Canada due to declining populations, and BC Woodland Caribou are a Blue Listed species, considered to be “at risk.” Caribou represent many things; efforts towards caribou conservation must be equally diverse, and creative. West Moberly First Nations Chief Roland Willson and WMFN Elder Diane Desjarlais will discuss WMFN and Saulteau First Nations efforts to bring the Klinse-Za Caribou herd back from the edge of extinction, while creating new protected areas. Alice Henderson, biologist, suspense novelist, and author of A Ghost of Caribou (a suspense novel), will discuss using fiction to raise awareness of, and public interest in, caribou and their conservation. Finally Dr. Libby Ehlers, Director of Conservation Science for the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative will discuss the role of the ecologist in supporting conservation efforts.

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Zoom Webinar. Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation remotely.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.