Construction of two new roads spells trouble for the Broadback

The Quebec Ministry for Forests, Wildlife and Parks says it will try to better protect the habitat of the endangered woodland caribou after two new forest access roads were approved for construction near the Broadback River, creating concerns about the negative impacts they could have on the herds.

According to researchers, it takes 150 to 200 years for a mature forest to regrow after logging in this region, meaning generations-long impacts on wildlife. The approval for roads “H” and “I” further endanger the woodland caribou as it could further degrade their remaining habitat.

Pier-Olivier Boudreault, a project director with Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, says that caribou are sensitive to the presence of roads because they attract black bears and other animals that prey on calves. “Logging allows for the growth of berries, which attracts black bears,” he said. “They also attract moose, who, in turn, attract wolves.”

The Broadback River is part of the ancestral home of Waswanipi’s hunters and trappers, where they have traplines and camps used throughout the year to hunt, fish and trap. While locals say this project is better than the original plan, in which logging was going to hit the heart of the Broadback, it’s still unstable and could very well cause damage to the last herds of woodland caribou living in the area, which has been largely untouched by human activity.

Only about 6,500 to 8,000 caribou remain in Quebec. According to wildlife biologist Tyler D. Rudolph, who works for the Cree Nation Government, even a limited project of this scale has the potential to markedly weaken population recovery efforts.

“Populations of woodland caribou received a ‘threatened’ designation by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 2002, and were subsequently classified as ‘vulnerable’ by the Province of Quebec in 2005,” he stated in a letter to the COMEX committee members. “Considering the legacy of industrial forestry to the immediate south, it is reasonable to assume that the project in question will render the area affected by logging inhospitable to caribou indefinitely.”

In addition, the road construction would open up the Broadback for further development, effectively ending the Broadback’s status as one of Quebec’s last intact forests.

The decision to approve these two roads was issued April 28 and made public on May 4. The Quebec government limited it to two logging roads that reach deep into Cree territory, but left all of Waswanipi’s traplines untouched. The approval adds about 21 kilometres to an existing road that also connects these two new roads to a highway.

“Approval of the roads in question would not impact all of the Broadback Forest and it would not directly impact the area most frequented by woodland caribou north of the Broadback River,” explained Rudolph. “However, it is expected to compromise population viability via reductions in the amount of critical habitat at the population range level.”

Waswanipi Chief Marcel Happyjack stressed the need for studies to be done in the area to ensure the environmental impacts will remain low and keep the woodland caribou safe. But, he added, “I’m satisfied that the approval of these roads in the Broadback Forest will not encroach on [the Waswanipi] proposed protected area.”