Caribou and the North: A Shared Future.

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Here’s a work that really pulls out all the stops. Forty maps, 120 photos, four Bateman sketches, forewords by Robert Redford and Aboriginal leader Stephen Kakfwi, a bibliography, a resources list, website lists, an index, and lists of organizations. And, front and centre, an extensive, well-researched, and professionally written text. All this, plus blessings from the World Wildlife Fund and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Why the no-effort-spared approach over caribou? In the words of a Dene teen, “If the caribou die, then we die.”

The work makes a well-planned presentation on this iconic species, starting with biology, subspecies and types, herd size, ranges, diet, habitat, predators, and ecology. Impacts such as the encroachment of industrialization and agriculture, mineral exploration, logging, and oil and gas pipelines are examined. History is reviewed, as is the role of the caribou in northern culture. Various Aboriginal perspectives are detailed. Climate change, oil sands, and new recreational uses of the north are brought in to complete the picture of the human-caribou “fateful bond.” The vulnerability of the caribou parallels the vulnerability of the north and has become a symbol for the conservation of wild places. The authors discuss the path to species extinction: most caribou are now considered to be “at risk,” with one type (Peary) classified as endangered.

Having introduced the species and reviewed its history and present situation, the next step is conservation. Here the authors map out the specific actions needed—from leadership to research to habitat protection—and present an eloquent case for not confusing “process with progress” or plans with action: the caribou “will not be conserved by plans to do so.” The time to act is now, for conserving the caribou is “part of the larger challenge of saving life on Earth.” Powerful.