Woodland caribou once inhabited forests from Maine to Washington and as far south as central Idaho, seeking out old-growth stands of low-elevation interior cedar-hemlock, subalpine fir, and Engelmann spruce, where lush arboreal lichens can be found. The most endangered large mammal in the Lower 48, the woodland caribou has been reduced to a population of less than 40 in the southern Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho, northeast Washington, and southeast British Columbia. Additions to the Salmo-Priest Wilderness Area in northeastern Washington, as well as protection of valuable habitat in the Upper Priest River and Upper Priest Lake areas, along the Selkirk Crest in Idaho, and the Yaak Valley in Montana, would give the woodland caribou a fighting chance to recover.

Federally endangered, state endangered.