The Canadian Government was required to revisit the decision not to issue an emergency order to protect woodland caribou, when a July 2011 Federal Court decision found refusal to make the order contradictory with the very same report relied upon to recommend against emergency protection.

The decision also gave the Canadian Government until September 1, 2011 to provide a draft recovery strategy for woodland caribou as required by Species At Risk Act (SARA).

The draft recovery strategy was released August 26, 2011 with a February 22, 2012 deadline for public comments. More than 14,000 submissions resulted.

Critics of this current draft recovery strategy say it relies too heavily on shooting wolves instead of preserving habitat. They worry the strategy only requires half of Canada's remaining boreal woodland caribou herds to be self-sustaining, and needs of industrial development, particularly in the Alberta oil sands, are coming before the need to protect woodland caribou habitat.