The federal government has announced $350,000 for a five-year study into Woodland caribou herds in northern Saskatchewan.
Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan are placing collars on 120 caribou and outfitting them with GPS tracking devices.
The data gathered will be used by mining and construction companies and the federal and provincial governments to prepare resource development plans.
The funding announcement was made Friday morning in La Ronge by Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River Conservative MP Rob Clarke.
He says it is important to establish accurate numbers.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there in regards to the Woodland caribou so we need to get exact numbers because if the exact numbers aren’t known, what can happen is the Species at Risk Act can take effect and basically shut down the whole industry in northern Saskatchewan which would really cripple all of Saskatchewan,” he says.
Phillip McLoughlin is an associate professor with the University of Saskatchewan’s Biology Department.
He says the study will have two phases.
“We’re looking at caribou population status, their trends, whether they are increasing or decreasing in the boreal field region and then also how the habitat is responding to disturbances, fire as an example,” he says.
Under Environment Canada’s Species at Risk Act, Canada’s Woodland caribou population is considered “threatened”.