Banff 
Parks Canada is pursuing a first-in-Canada caribou breeding program in Jasper National Park to rebuild the dwindling southern mountain caribou.
©Parks Canada, Lalenia Neufeld. Caribou calf in the Tonquin Valley of Jasper National Park.
To implement the caribou conservation breeding program, Parks Canada will construct a breeding facility in Jasper National Park, establish collaboration agreements with Indigenous partners, continue discussions with federal and provincial partners to source additional caribou from other populations, and develop more detailed operational plans to ensure animal welfare.
According to the news release, comprehensive guidance from experts in caribou ecology and conservation breeding, discussions with provincial jurisdictions, feedback from Indigenous partners, stakeholder and public consultations, and a detailed impact assessment informed this decision by Parks Canada.
Budget 2021 has made over $24 million available through the Nature Legacy program for caribou conservation initiatives in Jasper National Park. This funding will support the conservation breeding program and other efforts to protect caribou and critical habitat for caribou in Jasper National Park.
Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, covering over 11,000 square kilometres. It is also part of UNESCO’s Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. The park is home to southern mountain caribou, a subgroup of woodland caribou that are endangered. Many southern mountain caribou herds are small and face multiple threats, including habitat loss and fragmentation, predation, and human disturbance.
There are currently three populations of southern mountain caribou in Jasper National Park: Tonquin, Brazeau, and À la Pêche. The Maligne population has not been seen since 2018.
The conservation breeding program aims to increase the size of these populations and ensure their long-term survival.
Terry Duguid, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, said in a statement, “The Government of Canada is committed to fighting biodiversity loss and without intervention, the Brazeau and Tonquin caribou will disappear. We can only achieve this goal by working together, and it’s why our government supports on-the-ground initiatives for species at risk protection across the country.”
Southern mountain caribou is one of six species identified by federal, provincial, and territorial governments as a priority for Pan-Canadian conservation action. This priority status is based on their ecological, social, and cultural value to Indigenous peoples and Canadians. Caribou recovery can significantly support other species at risk and overall biodiversity within the ecosystems they inhabit.
Conservation breeding programs are an essential tool for preventing animal species from becoming extinct and helping in their recovery. Conservation breeding involves capturing a small number of wild animals, breeding them in captivity, and releasing their offspring into the wild to increase endangered wildlife populations.
Per the news release, Parks Canada may begin bringing wild caribou into the new conservation breeding centre in Jasper National Park as early as 2025.
