Key omissions in caribou policy modelling: a reply to Yemshanov et al. (2025)

Yemshanov et al. (2025. Can. J. For. Res. 55: 1–24) modelled the effect of caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) conservation policies on Canada's timber supply and concluded that impacts would be nil to moderate, depending on jurisdiction. However, their analysis underestimated timber supply impacts by: 1) mischaracterizing Canada's habitat protection strategy for boreal caribou; 2) excluding impacts of policy requirements for southern mountain caribou; and, 3) underestimating the effects of regional constraints on provincial timber supplies. Collectively these modelling decisions and assumptions led to an unrealistically conservative analysis of the effects of caribou habitat protection policies on Canada's timber supply.