The ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development provided

the following answer to The Narwhal on April 6, 2020, in response to questions about the
annual wolf cull in habitat for endangered southern mountain caribou.

Please attribute the following to a spokesperson with the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural
Resource Operations and Rural Development:

• Through our $47 million caribou recovery strategy we have been working in partnership
with community leaders, industry and First Nations to implement measures to recover
B.C.’s caribou population.
• Habitat is a key element for caribou recovery, however there are several other recovery
measures that are needed.
• The work of the provincial caribou recovery program is to apply the right recovery tools,
including: population monitoring, habitat protection, habitat restoration, predator
management, caribou health monitoring, supplemental feeding, maternity penning, and
tourism and recreation management.
• Our investments are mostly balanced across all of these tools with habitat restoration being
one of the largest areas of investment.
• As we continue to apply other recovery measures, predator reduction is an immediate
measure to stop caribou from dying in order to stabilize and recover identified herds in BC.
• Based on five years of research on wolf management in the central group, we know that
wolf populations can rebound quickly. It is imperative to implement a predator control plan
to ensure the last remaining caribou have a chance to survive.
• In the 2019/2020 predator management program, 463 wolves were removed at a cost of
$1,991,143 in the following herd areas:

Herd: wolves removed; cost

Hart Ranges: 91; $171,184
Itchas Ilgachuz: 94; $339,898
Tweesdsmuir: 54; $325,415
Quintette, Klinse-Za, Kennedy Siding: 80; $370,225
Narraway: 7; $70,324
Pink Mountain: 72; $249,999
Graham: 16; $174,777
Chinchaga: 19; $119,321
Columbia North: 10; $100,000
Central Selkirks: 20; $70,000