The Arrow Lakes Caribou Society, the Trout Lake Recreation Club and the Arrow Lakes Ridge Riders follows a Stewardship Management Agreement (2021) which works to provide protection to caribou from snowmobile disturbance while allowing flexibility for snowmobile access by using GPS collar data from caribou to update in real time the areas that are open and closed for recreation in the Central Selkirk area.
This pilot project was developed in partnership with the Province of BC, the BC Snowmobile Federation.
“This is a pilot project to measure whether recreational disturbance to caribou can be mitigated with a rotating closure scenario. This project has allowed snowmobile access to continue in areas when the caribou are not currently using habitat. The project has the potential to be used in many other areas of the Province to allow snowmobiles back into areas that were previously closed when the habitat is not being used. Therefore, it is imperative that this project is successful for both the caribou and future management of snowmobiles. The success depends on every rider checking the maps daily and being compliant with closure boundaries.” (CSSMA Website, 2023).
For more information about how to view the moving closure map, how to recreate in the Central Selkirk area, and about this collaborative approach, visit the Central Selkirk Snowmobile Management Area website: www.snowmobileselkirks.ca/home-1
Arrow Lakes Caribou Society 