Human disturbance
The impact of human disturbance on caribou is one of the most contested issues in the study of caribou. By human disturbance, we mean things like industrial impacts (such as mining or oil and gas installations), the development of infrastructure such as roads, ports, and pipelines, and the presence of people generally, such as tourists.
A large scale 2018 study on two barren-ground caribou herds in Northern Quebec and Labrador found that caribou did avoid many types of disturbance. The effect was different for different types of disturbance. The avoidance stretched as far as 23 km for one herd avoiding a mine site. In the case of power lines, there was usually no apparent avoidance. Roads were found to pose a barrier on some occasions, but on others, were crossed by caribou. The study found that overall, human disturbance was affecting where caribou chose to go, but it could not conclude that this would have a negative effect on the herds.
Other studies have included information from Indigenous knowledge sources that also suggest that human disturbance, particularly industrial disturbance, is responsible for caribou avoiding certain areas. A report prepared for the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board in 2015 concluded, “ The impact of development on caribou is usually not due to single roads, mines, cut-blocks or seismic lines; rather, it is the cumulative effect of many habitat alterations including disturbances over time that affects caribou numbers and distribution.”
Related news
Caribou concerns dominate hearing on Nunavut mine extension
Final hearing on future of Meliadine gold mine begins in Rankin Inlet
Gwich'in celebrate cancellation of oil exploration leases in Alaska's Arctic refuge Social Sharing
Caribou butts and wolf cameos: How motion-activated cameras may reveal the secrets of a healthy Manitoba herd
Federal judge upholds pause on pre-development oil work in Arctic refuge
Nunavut Planning Commission submits territory-wide land use plan for approval
Feds say Agnico Eagle has failed to protect caribou at Nunavut gold mine as promised
Braiding Indigenous rights and endangered species law
Mining, climate change decimates the Bathurst caribou herd in N.W.T.
Nunavut flips stance on caribou protection again, now supports development ban on calving grounds
Guilbeault calls for decree to protect caribou in Quebec
Climate change seen as suspected factor in Western Arctic Caribou Herd decline
Valérie Courtois on what she hopes will come out of COP15: “to save the world”
What can caribou hear? Scientists work to understand impact of noise
GN calls for federal investigation into Agnico Eagle’s Meadowbank mine
Diamond mine proposal draws concerns for wildlife, environment
Critics get their time at Nunavut land use planning hearings
Habitat restoration shifts predator-prey dynamics of Alberta's caribou and wolves, study says
Commission releases new version of Dawson land use plan
ARE MIGRATING CARIBOU LOSING THE COLLECTIVE MEMORY THEY RELY ON TO SURVIVE?
Wildlife Defenders Slam Senate Dems’ Bill for Not Protecting Refuge in Alaska
Transplanting lichen to grow food for threatened caribou
Proposed Meliadine mine extension to be assessed
Kudz Ze Kayah approval is a ‘blatant disregard’ of First Nations rights: Ross River Dena Chief
Indigenous resource management guarantees cultural survival, with the benefits passed on to everyone
Once eager to drill, oil companies exit leases in Arctic refuge
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-makes-contentious-change-to-moose-caribou-hunt-in-northeast-1.6461683
Caribou protection called most problematic area of draft land-use plan
ENR debuts first of five regional plans designed to protect boreal caribou habitat
Tłı̨chǫ Gov't says caribou herds need 'balance' between conservation, harvesting, industry
The biggest land use plan in the world: how Nunavut is putting mining and conservation on the map
Boreal Caribou Range Management plan in development
The ‘new’ face of environmental racism in Quebec
Shrinking Western Arctic Caribou Herd prompts discussion about future hunting restrictions
Indigenous groups concerned about Point Lake’s impact on caribou
Arctic lays out environmental plan for Point Lake
Caribou populations are dwindling, and we’re in denial about it
Decades-long plan to protect caribou in Nunavut nearing completion
Yukon at a crossroads with Fortymile caribou herd
Caribou are vanishing at an alarming rate. Is it too late to save them?
Habitat restoration may be alternative to wolf cull, says study
How eight idle wells might determine the future of oil and gas in Yukon
Biden administration puts Arctic refuge leases on ice as it asks for new environmental reviews
What Human Rights Look Like: Border-Crossing Caribou and a Fight for Environmental Justice
The delicate art of stabilizing Yukon’s Fortymile caribou herd
Community plans to lead caribou conservation in Sahtú region
Canada’s environment minister concerned about Alaska seismic project impacts on Indigenous communities and trans-border wildlife
Quannah Chasinghorse Is Fighting to Save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
N.W.T., Nunavut advocates fight for more caribou calving ground protections
Gwich’in file lawsuit against Trump administration to save Arctic Refuge
'There's nowhere like it': Alaska's wildlife refuge fears death by drilling
troubled tundra
Agnico Eagle tries to ease caribou protection measures for Nunavut mine
Northern Indigenous leaders meet with banks to persuade them not to invest in Arctic energy development
N.W.T. releases plan to protect Bathurst caribou, but some fear it's too late
Porcupine Caribou and ANWR 2018
Canadian taxpayers on hook for $61 million for road to open up mining in Arctic
Nunavut’s biggest caribou herd still faces downward trend, warns report
Across Canada, caribou are on course for extinction, a prominent expert warns. What happens after that?
Related resources
Caribou as Forest Protectors
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
PorcupineBarren-groundManaging huntingRange managementClimate changeHuman disturbanceHuntingBQCMB - Draft Nunavut Land Use Plan - 2023
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: video
Beverly and QaminirjuaqBarren-groundHuman disturbanceWhy didn’t the caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) cross the winter road? The effect of industrial traffic on the road-crossing decisions of caribou
Evaluating the impact of caribou habitat restoration on predator and prey movement
Government of Canada invests $3.8 million to support barrenground caribou conservation in the Northwest Territories
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
Barren-groundRange managementClimate changeHuman disturbanceNatural factorsbibliography of sources for caribou and wind turbines
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: pdf
Barren-groundRange managementThreatsClimate changeHuman disturbanceCaribou and wind turbines (Kivalliq region) - an overview of available information
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: presentation
Beverly and QaminirjuaqBarren-groundRange managementClimate changeHuman disturbanceCaribou and Wind Turbines Annotated Bibliography
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: pdf
Barren-groundRange managementClimate changeHuman disturbanceThe Effect of Traffic Levels on the Distribution and Behaviour of Calving Caribou in an Arctic Oilfield
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
PorcupineBarren-groundRange managementHuman disturbanceUpdate on the global status of wild reindeer and caribou
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
PorcupineBarren-groundPearyGeorge RiverRange managementClimate changeHuman disturbanceNatural factorsEstimation of trends in zone of influence of mine sites on barren-ground caribou populations in the Northwest Territories, Canada, using new methods
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
Barren-groundBathurstRange managementHuman disturbanceA decision support tool for assessing cumulative effects on an Arctic migratory tundra caribou population
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
PorcupineBarren-groundRange managementHuman disturbanceNWT CONFERENCE OF MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES CONSENSUS AGREEMENT ON LISTING NORTHERN MOUNTAIN CARIBOU
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
Managing huntingRange managementClimate changeHuman disturbanceHunting“These Trees Have Stories to Tell”:Linking Dënesǫ́łıné Oral History of Caribou Use with Trample Scar Frequencyon Black Spruce Roots at Ɂedacho Kué
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
Beverly and QaminirjuaqBarren-groundBathurstHuman disturbanceCaribou and reindeer migrations in the changing Arctic
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
Barren-groundRange managementClimate changeHuman disturbanceNatural factorsTrophic consequences of terrestrial eutrophication for a threatened ungulate
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
Human disturbanceHistorical Landscape Use of Migratory Caribou: New Insights From Old Antlers
caribou and sea ice crossings near Gjoa Haven
Extirpation despite regulation? Environmental assessment and caribou
Boreal Caribou Can Coexist with Natural but Not Industrial Disturbances
Ice breakers in the Arctic: Let’s talk Inuit safety
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: web
PearyDolphin and UnionRange managementClimate changeHuman disturbanceVulnerability analysis of the Porcupine Caribou Herd to potential development of the 1002 lands in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
KEEYASK GENERATION PROJECT TERRESTRIAL EFFECTS MONITORING PLAN REPORT - CARIBOU WINTER ABUNDANCE ESTIMATE 2019
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: pdf
Beverly and QaminirjuaqCape ChurchillSouthern Hudson BayRange managementHuman disturbanceCaribou Use of Habitat Near Energy Development in Arctic Alaska
Does Dust from Arctic Mines Affect Caribou Forage?
Format: web
Human disturbanceTechnical Report on Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West and Bluenose-East Caribou Herds
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: pdf
Bluenose WestBluenose EastCape BathurstManaging huntingManaging predatorsRange managementClimate changeHuman disturbanceNatural factorsHuntingNWMB Workshop Report: “Protecting Caribou and their Habitat”
Format: pdf
Human disturbanceEngaging Bluenose Caribou Communities
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: pdf
Bluenose WestBluenose EastManaging huntingManaging predatorsRange managementClimate changeHuman disturbanceNatural factorsHuntingFINAL REPORT of the Panel for the Substituted Environmental Impact Review of the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, Town of Inuvik and GNWT - Proposal to Construct the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway
Working together for Baffin Island Caribou
Usage: Non-commercial with attribution Format: pdf
Barren-groundBaffin IslandManaging huntingManaging predatorsRange managementPeopleClimate changeHuman disturbanceNatural factorsHunting