Number-crunchers in the territorial Department of Environment prevented a theft of camp equipment from cancelling the $300,000-Chisana caribou recovery program.

A Quonset hut on a territorial government forestry nursery was broken into and cleaned out of $9,332 worth of field camp equipment bought specifically for the caribou recovery program.

When program workers went to pick up the chainsaws, sleeping bags and generators, the theft left a 'very heart-sinking feeling,' department spokesman Dennis Senger said today.

Last week, department employees were working on the logistics of heading out to build a corral and round up caribou.

'The guys went out there (last) Thursday to get the gear to load into the trucks to take out into the field and voil‡ somebody got there first and helped themselves.'

The equipment was destined for the field camp south of Beaver Creek.

'There was a brief moment in time when the worst-case scenario set in,' said Senger.

The worry was that a lack of equipment in a critical period could lead to cancelling the recovery program for the year.

'That was a real concern,' said Senger.

Within the department, financial staff started to tinker, looking for the thousands of dollars needed to replace the extensive list of gear in time to get the program workers in the field.

By last Friday, department staff was buying new gear. Workers are currently in the field building a caribou corral.

In all, two days' time was lost, but that's probably not critical, said Senger, noting that amount of time could have been lost due to bad weather.

'It's not so much the money, it's what could have happened.'

According to Whitehorse RCMP, the break-in and theft occurred between Feb. 29 and last Thursday from the storage shed near the Takhini Hot Springs Road and the North Klondike Highway intersection.

The door was forced open and a vehicle was used to transport the stolen goods away, said spokesman Sgt. John Sutherland.

Police have no suspects so far.

Missing are a new Husqvarna 635 chainsaw, a new Husqvarna 51 chainsaw, four new sleeping bags worth $2,600 in total, three Coleman portable propane lanterns, four new deep-cycle marine batteries, a 300-watt power inverter, a new DeWalt rechargeable drill and skillsaw still in the case, three tool boxes with assorted tools, two heavy-duty plastic snowmobile skimmers, eight new energy-efficient light bulbs and a 1,400-watt Kawasaki portable generator.

If anyone has information about the theft, they're asked to contact the Whitehorse RCMP at 667-5555 or make an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.