WCS Canada was a lead organizer of the 16th North American Caribou Workshop, held in Thunder Bay, Ontario in May 2016. The conference brought together scientists, indigenous people, resource managers and industry representatives to find ways to improve caribou conservation and was featured on the CBC Radio Idea’s series in a program titled What's on our quarter?

WCS Canada’s research summary on the potential and impacts of large hydro dams and related outreach work helped convince the Yukon Government to look at alternatives means of electricity generation

WCS Canada and the American Bison Society (ABS, a program of WCS) hosted the 5th Annual ABS Meeting in Banff, Alberta in September 2016. The meeting looked at the issue of bison restoration through both a science and storytelling lens and attracted a broad audience, from researchers and ranchers to indigenous community members leading bison restoration efforts and artists expressing the importance of bison to a wild landscape. It was also an occasion to celebrate the second anniversary of the Buffalo Treaty. The Buffalo Treaty ceremony brought together First Nations Chiefs and Councilors from 21 Nations to discuss bison conservation and restoration. The Chiefs and Councilors passed five important resolutions that conveyed a powerful message about the importance of bison to Indigenous people in Canada and the U.S.

WCS celebrated in the spring of 2016 when 88 plains bison calves were transferred from Elk Island National Park in Alberta to the reservation of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, having played a key role in planning for the big move. Now, Parks Canada is also moving bison back to Banff National Park, another step on the long road to recovery for North America bison populations.

Our ongoing W. Garfield Weston Graduate Fellowship program, now in its sixth year, has helped 49 students from 16 universities conduct important conservation field research and strengthen their conservation skill set. Some of their research projects, ranging from tracking nighthawks in the boreal forest to the impact of climate change on grasslands, are explained in these short videos.

WCS Canada drew together a group of leading researchers and conservationists in British Columbia to develop a pro-active Bat Action Plan designed to help the province prepare for the potential arrival of deadly white-nose syndrome after the disease was detected in nearby Washington State.

WCS Canada formed a research partnership with the Moose Cree First Nation in northern Ontario to compare the behaviour and survival of lake sturgeon in dammed and undammed rivers. This research will help us to understand what can be done to reduce the impacts of hydro power development on sturgeon and to identify critical areas of sturgeon habitat that should receive protection ahead of such developments. Sturgeon can live to be 100 years old and are a truly ancient species, but they need to be able to migrate within river systems to keep populations healthy.

WCS Canada's spatial science and conservation experts put together a visual storytelling map to explain the impacts of mining development on boreal caribou. The Caribou and Mining Story Map displays the increasing encroachment of mining exploration activities and roads on sensitive caribou habitat. To dig deeper into the story, we also put together a set of tools that makes it far easier to access information on mining permits issued in caribou country and to file comments through the Environmental Registry on mineral exploration proposals.