Science‐informed policy decisions lead to the creation of a protected area for a wide‐ranging species at risk
Abstract Protected areas are needed to conserve nature and biodiversity worldwide. The province of Québec (Canada) recently established a large wilderness area affording significant habitat protection for boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), a wide‐ranging species at risk. We describ...
Published in: | Conservation Science and Practice |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9e63e5f6eb4f480dbd4714f790a1fef9 2023-05-15T18:04:16+02:00 Science‐informed policy decisions lead to the creation of a protected area for a wide‐ranging species at risk Mathieu Leblond Tyler Rudolph Dominic Boisjoly Christian Dussault Martin‐Hugues St‐Laurent 2022-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12833 https://doaj.org/article/9e63e5f6eb4f480dbd4714f790a1fef9 EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12833 https://doaj.org/toc/2578-4854 2578-4854 doi:10.1111/csp2.12833 https://doaj.org/article/9e63e5f6eb4f480dbd4714f790a1fef9 Conservation Science and Practice, Vol 4, Iss 12, Pp n/a-n/a (2022) connectivity habitat protection habitat suitability Rangifer tarandus wilderness areas woodland caribou Ecology QH540-549.5 General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12833 2022-12-30T21:05:42Z Abstract Protected areas are needed to conserve nature and biodiversity worldwide. The province of Québec (Canada) recently established a large wilderness area affording significant habitat protection for boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), a wide‐ranging species at risk. We describe a decision support framework combining ecological modeling with socioeconomic constraints that ultimately led to the creation of this protected area. Multiple criteria were used to identify candidate protected areas for boreal caribou. These had to be large in size (>10,000 km2) and located in regions where available high‐quality habitat was threatened by development pressures. Candidate areas also had to contribute substantively to the maintenance of functional habitat connectivity, be exempt from major industrial developments and recent fires, and required evidence of recent use by caribou. Five candidate protected areas emerged from this exercise. Key regional stakeholders were consulted, thereby strengthening advocacy for land designation, and boundaries were refined through their input, which helped further reduce socioeconomic conflicts. This process involved difficult compromises, but eventually led to the legal designation on March 4, 2021 of a new protected area for boreal caribou known as the Caribous‐Forestiers‐de‐Manouane‐Manicouagan. We show how our science‐informed decision support framework was instrumental in the success of this endeavor, and describe the obstacles overcame in the process, so that other jurisdictions may draw from this experience in their efforts to achieve similar conservation goals. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rangifer tarandus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada Conservation Science and Practice 4 12 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
connectivity habitat protection habitat suitability Rangifer tarandus wilderness areas woodland caribou Ecology QH540-549.5 General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
connectivity habitat protection habitat suitability Rangifer tarandus wilderness areas woodland caribou Ecology QH540-549.5 General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Mathieu Leblond Tyler Rudolph Dominic Boisjoly Christian Dussault Martin‐Hugues St‐Laurent Science‐informed policy decisions lead to the creation of a protected area for a wide‐ranging species at risk |
topic_facet |
connectivity habitat protection habitat suitability Rangifer tarandus wilderness areas woodland caribou Ecology QH540-549.5 General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
Abstract Protected areas are needed to conserve nature and biodiversity worldwide. The province of Québec (Canada) recently established a large wilderness area affording significant habitat protection for boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), a wide‐ranging species at risk. We describe a decision support framework combining ecological modeling with socioeconomic constraints that ultimately led to the creation of this protected area. Multiple criteria were used to identify candidate protected areas for boreal caribou. These had to be large in size (>10,000 km2) and located in regions where available high‐quality habitat was threatened by development pressures. Candidate areas also had to contribute substantively to the maintenance of functional habitat connectivity, be exempt from major industrial developments and recent fires, and required evidence of recent use by caribou. Five candidate protected areas emerged from this exercise. Key regional stakeholders were consulted, thereby strengthening advocacy for land designation, and boundaries were refined through their input, which helped further reduce socioeconomic conflicts. This process involved difficult compromises, but eventually led to the legal designation on March 4, 2021 of a new protected area for boreal caribou known as the Caribous‐Forestiers‐de‐Manouane‐Manicouagan. We show how our science‐informed decision support framework was instrumental in the success of this endeavor, and describe the obstacles overcame in the process, so that other jurisdictions may draw from this experience in their efforts to achieve similar conservation goals. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mathieu Leblond Tyler Rudolph Dominic Boisjoly Christian Dussault Martin‐Hugues St‐Laurent |
author_facet |
Mathieu Leblond Tyler Rudolph Dominic Boisjoly Christian Dussault Martin‐Hugues St‐Laurent |
author_sort |
Mathieu Leblond |
title |
Science‐informed policy decisions lead to the creation of a protected area for a wide‐ranging species at risk |
title_short |
Science‐informed policy decisions lead to the creation of a protected area for a wide‐ranging species at risk |
title_full |
Science‐informed policy decisions lead to the creation of a protected area for a wide‐ranging species at risk |
title_fullStr |
Science‐informed policy decisions lead to the creation of a protected area for a wide‐ranging species at risk |
title_full_unstemmed |
Science‐informed policy decisions lead to the creation of a protected area for a wide‐ranging species at risk |
title_sort |
science‐informed policy decisions lead to the creation of a protected area for a wide‐ranging species at risk |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12833 https://doaj.org/article/9e63e5f6eb4f480dbd4714f790a1fef9 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Rangifer tarandus |
genre_facet |
Rangifer tarandus |
op_source |
Conservation Science and Practice, Vol 4, Iss 12, Pp n/a-n/a (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12833 https://doaj.org/toc/2578-4854 2578-4854 doi:10.1111/csp2.12833 https://doaj.org/article/9e63e5f6eb4f480dbd4714f790a1fef9 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12833 |
container_title |
Conservation Science and Practice |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
12 |
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1766175595353341952 |