Nestled in a hard-to-reach, secret location, high in the alpine of British Columbia’s South Peace River region is what’s being called a last-ditch effort to save the local caribou herd because after decades of steep declines, they are on the brink of local extinction. Local industries like forestry and mining have taken their toll on the landscape and the caribou.

Feeling there was no time to waste two local First Nations took matters into their own hands. They built a massive 37-acre maternity pen to protect caribou mothers and their calves from predators. From the outside, it looks like an impenetrable fortress but inside the pen are open meadows, thick forest and a constant supply of food. Around the clock, caretakers from the West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations stand guard, keeping watch over the vulnerable animals.