Linear features, such as roads and seismic lines, often associated with forestry and mining, have also proven to be incredibly disruptive to caribou. Like spiderwebs weaving their way across the land, linear features mark the presence of humans like no other disturbance. Although beneficial to humans, roads, powerlines, and seismic lines have drastically altered how caribou, their competitors, and predators navigate the landscape. Linear features allow for easier access to areas that may have been difficult for predators, like wolves, to reach under natural conditions, leaving caribou more susceptible to predation. Additionally, the combination of clearcut forests and linear features transforms once unfavourable habitat for other prey species, like deer and moose, into high productivity forage areas. This influx of additional prey in caribou habitat inevitably attracts predators to areas that once would have only been accessible to the caribou (Neilson et al. 2022, Lamb et al. 2022).

Further contributing factors to the decline of caribou in B.C. include recreational activities and climate change. As humans learn to navigate the landscape more efficiently, gaining access to remote areas via helicopter, ATV, and snowmobile, we broaden our reach and impact on the ecosystems we find ourselves in. Recreational activities, including snowmobiling, heliskiing, and cat skiing foster incredible backcountry opportunities. However, they often coincide with critical caribou habitat, displacing herds from their preferred winter ranges and forcing them into more dangerous terrain, leaving them more susceptible to avalanches and other hazards (Comer 2018). Similarly, climate change can displace caribou by altering the depth of the snowpack, shifting the length and timing of each season, increasing the frequency of freeze-thaw events and the intensity of wildfires, and altering the availability of forage (Comer 2018, Nagy-Reis et al. 2020, DeMars et al. 2023).

The caribou populations in B.C. are at a critical tipping point. Achieving population recovery will take a coordinated, multi-faceted approach at local, regional, and provincial scales. Fortunately, there are fantastic organizations working diligently to find solutions. An incredible example of the work being done is that of the West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations in central British Columbia. An Indigenous-led partnership between these two nations, in collaboration with government and other groups, pairs short-term population recovery actions, predator reduction and maternal penning, with long-term habitat protection in a concerted effort to restore the Klinse-Za caribou herd. Maternal penning includes capturing a proportion of pregnant cows in late March and placing them in a monitored pen where they are safeguarded and fed until the calves are 2 months old. This drastically improves the chances of survival for young caribou. Since the start of the project in 2013, this herd has more than doubled from 38 to 101 animals (Lamb et al. 2022).