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INUVIK - If you want to give input on a drafted plan for caribou herd management, now is your time.

The porcupine caribou management board has a drafted plan of how to sustain the regional herd and allow for continued hunting.

A group of hunters and officials discuss plans for the porcupine caribou herd at a workshop in 2006. Meetings were held this past summer to draft a herd management plan. - photo courtesy of Lawrence Norbert

Board member Marsha Branigan said the draft is out in the communities for public input.

To help spread the word and to answer any questions, the board held a battery of meetings over the past few months.

"We want to get input on what people think of this plan," said Branigan.

The draft was released in July 2008 and the deadline for comments or input is Oct. 31, 2008.

Branigan said the drafted plan can be found online or through local hunters and trappers offices.

To get the input and comments from the public, the board member said a questionnaire is also being circulated with the draft.

"There are specific questions about the plan in the questionnaire," said Branigan.

One of the main and most visual aspects of the plan is the colour-coded chart on hunting allowances.

Branigan said the colour chart is similar to the one used by Environment and Natural Resources for fire warnings.

"The chart goes from green to red," explained Branigan.

"If the herd is in the green zone, it's all good for harvest."

She explained yellow would be used to signify moderation and bulls are recommended for hunting.

"In yellow, we'd also ask that hunters take less caribou," she said.

"If it was orange, we would only allow bulls to be taken," she said.

If the sign were red, Branigan said there would be no hunting allowed at all.

"We'd put in the mandatory stop of hunting if it was red," she said.

Part of the challenge for the working group is this sort of regulation hasn't been done before.

Branigan said there are other concerns as well with the plan.

"There are also plans and concerns about hunting off the Dempster highway," she said.

A meeting was held in Inuvik last month to get public opinion on the plan.

Branigan said a similar meeting was recently held in Whitehorse.

"It's a tricky situation, because the herd is used by so many people," she said.

The NWT, Yukon and the State of Alaska all have lands in which the porcupine herd can roam.

The feedback so far has been positive and it looks like a lot of people are ready to come on board with the plan if it gets the approval of the eight governing bodies that have a vote in the Porcupine Caribou Management Board.

The eight groups that are signatory to the porcupine management agreement include the Inuvialuit Game Council, Gwich'In Tribal Council, the Vuntut Gwich'In Government, Tr'ondek Hwech'In, First Nation of NaCho Nyak Dun, the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and the federal government.

"The groups will have to find in their land claims how the plan could be implemented," said Branigan.

"People are recognizing the need to plan ahead," said Branigan.

"Feedback seems positive. We'll have to go through our minutes as well."

Local hunter Robert Charlie said he is happy to see a drafted plan being looked at.

"Something has to happen if the population continues to decline," said Charlie, adding that the drafted plan goes hand-in-hand with aboriginal land claims in the region.

"I think it's the basis of the land claims to provide resources and protect them for future generations," said Charlie.

He said it's better to plan ahead than be stuck in a bad place if the herds decline.

"We want to be proactive while we're still in a good situation," he said.

Charlie said he likes the idea of the colour-coding chart to alert hunters of current herd conditions.

"We need to put up some visual indicators so hunters know where we are with the herd numbers," he said. "It will give hunters a good status update. If they see green, it's good for hunting."

The working group will meet again on Oct. 31 to talk about the plan and what the people of the region think about it.

Branigan said the management board's goal is to have a revised version of the plan ready for the new year and another battery of meetings.

"When we have another version ready we'll bring it back to the communities," she said.

Meetings have been held in Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk, Mayo, Old Crow, Whitehorse and Inuvik.

According to standards specified in the draft plan, the herd is recommended for hunting.

"We're encouraging all hunters to only take bulls and to take less," she said.

The working group is also looking for caribou samples from hunters.

"We're handing out kits for people to bring on the land with them," she said.

The kits can be found in local hunters and trappers offices.