What’s That? A Deer? An Elk?… Woodland Caribou?

Why should you care about caribou? (Hint, it’s got nothing to do with the barista at Caribou Coffee.)

The Spokesman-Review reported recently that wildlife managers in northern Idaho are stepping up their efforts to protect one of the most critically endangered animals in the United States, woodland caribou. Additional safeguards are needed to prevent snowmobilers from illegally crossing through sensitive habitat in the caribou recovery area, where the animals forage for precious scraps of food.

Only one small herd of Woodland caribou remains in the U.S. Fewer than 50 survive in the border region between northern Idaho and British Columbia.

Only one tiny herd of these reindeer relatives remains in the lower 48–in the Selkirk Mountains that form the border between Idaho and British Columbia. Just 35 caribou survive in this last herd, nibbling on bits of nutritious lichen that dangle from fir trees during winter. As few as three (just 1-2-3) individual adults have been found south of the border.

Woodland caribou once numbered in the thousands and occupied much of the forested borderlands between the U.S. and Canada from Maine to Washington. But their slow reproductive rates meant that logging and hunting quickly wiped them out from large parts of their historic range.

Woodland caribou were protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1984 , when a core recovery area was designated. It proved insufficient, however, and Defenders has strengthened it through litigation that expanded and further protected this area. The Forest Service was also required to develop a winter recreation plan to accommodate both snowmobiles and the recovery of woodland caribou in this last sliver of habitat. We continue to work with colleagues to monitor the Selkirks for caribou and snowmobile violations and help protect key state land parcels.

But the recovery of the species in the United States will take more than just keeping the Selkirk herd alive. We’ve also pushed for the designation of a key wildlife corridor that would protect caribou as they venture down from Canada and allow for their slow expansion into surrounding areas. Next year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will decide whether to protect critical caribou habitat, which could set the stage for more meaningful restoration of this oft-forgotten species.

So next time you’re sipping a mint latte at your local coffee establishment, take a moment to remember the caribou in the wilds of northern Idaho, still hanging on for survival.