Caribou Conservation Breeding Centre

Parks Canada developed a first‑of‑its‑kind conservation breeding centre in Jasper National Park, AB, to help protect and repopulate endangered woodland caribou and support the surrounding ecosystem. The facility is designed to house and care for up to 120 caribou and is intended to operate for approximately 20 years, through to 2045. It supports Parks Canada’s commitments to recovering species at risk, in collaboration with Indigenous and science partners, as part of a federally backed program to rebuild herds in Jasper National Park. Drawing on generational knowledge and land-based practices, Indigenous partners lead a lichen collection program that sustainably harvests and supplies pellet feed and essential forage for the animals.

The building complex within the breeding centre consists of three primary buildings: a handling barn for safe animal care and movement; an administration building for staff operations and research support; and a storage garage for equipment. Together, these spaces provide day-to-day infrastructure for animal care, data collection, and coordination. The design, color, and material selections were chosen to be durable, low-maintenance, and visually integrated with the natural environment.

All buildings are net‑zero ready, with a high‑performance envelope and electrical infrastructure designed to accommodate future decarbonization technologies. These strategies balance program requirements, operational energy performance, long‑term cost considerations, and eventual decommissioning needs, so that the centre can evolve in alignment with Parks Canada’s broader sustainability and emissions‑reduction goals.

The centre forms part of a long‑term recovery approach that combines conservation breeding, herd augmentation, monitoring, and habitat management, with the goal of restoring self-sustaining caribou herds. Program milestones include relocating the first caribou into the centre in March 2025, the first seven calves born at the centre in Spring 2025, and the upcoming release of the first calves back into the wild.

Watch the Parks Canada video of this remarkable and meaningful journey: Caribou comeback: recovering Jasper’s herds | Parks Canada

Photo Credit: Parks Canada – Luuk Wijk