Management

Management Plans

Caribou Mountains Draft Resource Management Plan (1994)

The Caribou Mountains Draft Management Plan is divided into the following categories, each of which contains objectives and guidelines relevant to that category: access and structures, ecological resources, fish and wildlife resources, forest resources, historical resources, mineral resources, permafrost, recreation and tourism resources, water and watershed.

The Plan Purpose is articulated as follows: “The intent of the Caribou Mountains Resource Management Plan is to protect permafrost, slow-growing fish, as well as caribou and caribou habitat. The plan also recognizes other natural values such as landforms, vegetation, other wildlife and climatic features. Activities in the area must meet this intent.”

The Plan is to be updated every five years with a full public review. While any change to the intent of the plan requires public review, minor changes can be requested and are handled by the Peace River Regional Resource Management Committee.

The primary objectives of the Draft Management Plan

• to protect permafrost; slow-growing fish; mountain caribou and their habitat; water quality, quantity, and flow regime; and historical/cultural (especially aboriginal) resources
• to maintain the wilderness characteristics of the area, maintaining viable sustainable populations of fish and wildlife
• to maintain biodiversity and landscapes by protecting rare, endangered, or threatened species and unique features
• to keep the Bigfish Research Site for fire research and vegetation monitoring
• to manage wildfire to protect permafrost, caribou habitat, and forest productivity and to protect forests from unacceptable damage by insect and disease outbreaks
• to strive for sustained yield timber management; to enable mineral resource development a limited; to facilitate a range of recreation and tourism activities, such as fly-in commercial recreation, OHV use, canoeing, hunting, and ice-fishing; and to manage access and structures

Guidelines

• there will be no all-weather road access unless shown not to conflict with the Management Plan intent
• sharing of access routes will be encouraged to minimize impacts
• rare, endangered, or threatened species and their habitats, and unique sites will be identified and given protective notations, special operating conditions, or both
• mitigation will be encouraged as part of resource development and only native vegetation will be used for reclamation
• timber harvesting and reforestation methods that complement the maintenance of wildlife habitat will be practiced
• in collaboration with First Nations, significant historical sites will be located, mapped, and given protective notations, and limitations will apply to any proposed development or activity near a significant site
• government will ensure that industry is made aware of the special status of the area
• fire suppression that damages permafrost insulation will be used only if absolutely necessary, and damaged areas will be immediately reclaimed
• activities and developments will be low-impact
• instream flow needs of water bodies will be the highest management priority and buffer strips beside water bodies will be maintained