British Columbia’s environment minister says the province is “trying everything we can” to save the South Mountain Caribou despite accusations of outside political influence.

Mary Polak told Metro there are “no political points” to be won and denied logging companies had a significant hand in developing a controversial plan for a wolf cull in the South Selkirk region of the province in a bid to save the endangered caribou species.

As of March, 14 South Mountain Caribou remain in the wild, down from 27 in 2012.

“When you look at the final decision, it reflects our intent of protecting the animals,” said Polak. “[The cull] is a last resort. It’s an emergency situation, otherwise it wouldn’t have come to this.”

The allegations of industry interference come from the Wilderness Committee, which obtained a series of Ministry of Environment meeting notes through Freedom of Information.

It shows government met with representatives for several logging interests (Coast Forest Products Association, Interior Lumber Manufacturer’s Associate, Council of Forest Industries and Tolko Industries) last year to discuss the “forest industry’s concerns about the application of the federal Species at Risk Act.”

According to the notes, government accepted federal recovery strategies for endangered species but “do not support implementation of additional legal habitat protection measures on non-federal land without evaluation of socio-economic implications and full consultation with directly affected parties.”

And the province’s draft five-year plan for species at risk was “tested with numerous high-level stakeholders, including the Council of Forest Industries” before being made public in March 2013.

Gwen Barlee, policy director for the Wilderness Committee, said logging contributes to the caribou’s loss of habitat and the industry’s involvement represents a “conflict.”

“What became clear to me is that instead of being a science-based document, it’s polluted with input from the logging industry,” said Barlee.

Predator culls have not proven to be an effective tool, she added.

Polak’s consultations with logging companies were part of a larger stakeholder process that also included many environmental organizations and experts, the minister said.

Government has also protected 2.2 million hectares of the caribou’s habitat, supports breeding programs and has banned disruptive snowmobiling through sensitive areas.

Polak acknowledges loss of habit is the driving force in the South Mountain Caribou’s demise but says their population is so low that simply protecting land won’t ensure their survival.

The cull is a step that is “not making anyone happy” (outspoken pop superstar Miley Cyrus being one of them) but is necessary, Polak contends.

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Photo Credit: Grey wolves (Ronnie MacDonald via Flickr)