The Canadian province of Alberta on Wednesday began selling land critical to the survival of mountain caribou to the energy industry.
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The auction of leases, which continues until June 25, comes the same month the iconic mammals were characterized as endangered — facing imminent extirpation or extinction— by the federal Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
That assessment also noted that the mountain caribou’s population has declined by 60% over the past decade, that “even in protected areas they aren’t doing well,” and that industrial development was a factor in their plummeting numbers.
Over 1,700 hectares are part of the current auction, with the biggest chunk — 1,237 hecatres — coming from the area home to the Narraway herd and that has had over 25, 000 hectares auctioned off since 2012, according to the the Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA).
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