EDMONTON — An ambitious three-year research project is using eyes in the sky to produce what may be the clearest picture yet of the impact of the energy and forestry industries on threatened wildlife in northern Alberta.
High-resolution satellite images together with information from industry will also yield the first data on what effects snowmobilers and off-roaders are having on caribou, grizzlies and wolves.
“We’re going to let the animals tell us when they’re no longer disturbed,” said biologist Gordon Stenhouse, who’s overseeing the research.
Stenhouse and his fellow scientists will start with data from energy and forestry companies that details all their activities, including disturbances such as cutblocks, seismic lines and lease roads. That information will be combined with wildlife tracking information from GPS-fitted collars.