Science‐informed policy decisions lead to the creation of a protected area for a wide‐ranging species at risk. Issue 12 (11th November 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Leblond, Mathieu; Rudolph, Tyler; Boisjoly, Dominic; Dussault, Christian; St‐Laurent, Martin‐Hugues
• Is Part Of: Conservation science and practice. Volume 4:Issue 12(2022)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2022-11-11
• Subjects: connectivity -- habitat protection -- habitat suitability -- Rangifer tarandus -- wilderness areas -- woodland caribou; Biodiversity conservation -- Periodicals; Biodiversity conservation; Periodicals; 333.951605
• DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12833
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2578-4854

Abstract

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 km 2 ) 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. Abstract : We describe a decision support framework for the identification of protected areas. Our approach employs criteria pertaining to size, geographic location, habitat suitability, functional connectivity, and the feasibility of different scenarios considering multiple socioeconomic and geophysical constraints. We show how this framework led to the successful identification of a protected area for boreal woodland caribou, a wide‐ranging species at risk in Canada.