Props to the Kalispel and Kootenai Tribes for leading the way to caribou recovery in the south Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Idaho and Washington. This is the last remaining herd of mountain caribou to inhabit any portion of the lower 48 states.
The two tribes have invested a tremendous amount of energy and resources into the construction of a maternal pen in the recovery area. Pregnant cows will be captured soon and kept in the pen until they birth and rear their calves until the calves are old enough to survive in the wild without being preyed upon. This is an emergency measure to keep the herd from being entirely wiped out. At last count, there are only eleven caribou remaining in the herd.
The pen must be monitored around the clock by biologists and volunteers. To help pay for the costs associated with managing the maternal pen, the Kalispel Tribe is hosting a fundraiser at Northern Quest Casino in Spokane, WA, on Saturday, March 3, from 6 to 9 pm.
The fundraiser will feature a screening of the film Last Stand: The Vanishing Caribou Rainforest and producer David Moskowitz. Rich Landers, retired outdoors editor at The Spokesman Review, will MC the event.
Tickets may be purchased online.