Implications: Restoring seismic lines in caribou ranges (i.e., plant trees across Alberta and BC) will take a huge amount of time, effort, and money. But our results show that restoration can’t take half-measures – The way seismic lines are restored matters: If only some of the seismic lines are restored in caribou ranges, the remaining ones might act as ‘predator highways’ that funnel wolves to caribou. Restoring seismic lines can help caribou populations recover, but the provincial government and industry need to make sure these efforts will actually limit access for wolves in caribou ranges. If this isn't done right, leftover seismic lines could increase encounters between wolves and caribou.
Main result: This study evaluated how wolves used areas near seismic lines in Alberta. We looked at different characteristics of seismic lines, like how overgrown they were, and in which kind of forest types they were, but specifically, we looked at places with low vs. high human development related to resource extraction (e.g., roads, harvest blocks, well sites, pipelines, and seismic lines). Essentially, our results show that where and how some seismic lines are restored can have direct influence for where and how wolves will use remaining un-restored seismic lines (or other straight paths like roads and pipelines). We found that wolves were near seismic lines with low vegetation more often in landscapes with low levels of human development. By knowing how wolves use seismic lines, and which ones, we can avoid potential pitfalls and have a better plan to restore them in a way that will help caribou the most.
Main result: This study evaluated how wolves used areas near seismic lines in Alberta. We looked at different characteristics of seismic lines, like how overgrown they were, and in which kind of forest types they were, but specifically, we looked at places with low vs. high human development related to resource extraction (e.g., roads, harvest blocks, well sites, pipelines, and seismic lines). Essentially, our results show that where and how some seismic lines are restored can have direct influence for where and how wolves will use remaining un-restored seismic lines (or other straight paths like roads and pipelines). We found that wolves were near seismic lines with low vegetation more often in landscapes with low levels of human development. By knowing how wolves use seismic lines, and which ones, we can avoid potential pitfalls and have a better plan to restore them in a way that will help caribou the most.
