A regulated protected area…

A regulated protected area process should not be linked to Caribou conservation through this agreement. Indigenous communities in the caribou zone have a right to economic, social and environmental well-being that includes economic initiatives such as forestry in the caribou zone. A protected area process will not be successful without extensive consultation with Indigenous persons and communities and economic investment to benefit Indigenous communities. Do not link this process with this agreement.
This agreement is about caribou, and should focus on understanding the current populations, and how to implement Other Effective Conservation Measures like the Caribou DCHS that considers forest succession and patterns over time. Leaving area in a park without this ends in disaster as we saw last year where 90% of a park in Ontario, meant to conserve caribou, burned. Managing age class and a healthy forest through forestry benefits economically, socially and environmentally.
The federal 35/65 disturbance threshold does not consider forest ecology, health of Indigenous communities and health of other communities in the north. It is based on science from Alberta's oil and gas areas. Science is supposed to be always learning and adapting to new information, it is not to be used as an absolute, as this 35/65 conclusion only represents a specific inference space at a specific time, considering specific variables. A blanket application is blatant poor science application. The federal caribou policy has mis-used science.
The hot science topic is climate change. Well, how does climate change affect caribou. It is time to update the range boundaries and the definition of the caribou zone, supporting science to understand climate effects will help with this. However, Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge is required, and substantial investment by government to learn from Indigenous persons is required. Spend your money on this rather than a protected area process.
This agreement will be good, if these things are considered.