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Caribou numbers up, harvest same Surveys show herds are stabilizing but there is still a long way to go, minister saysLaura Busch Northern News Services Published Monday, November 12, 2012
Preliminary numbers for the recent barren ground caribou study show most herds' populations have increase since the 2009 survey, although slightly, Minister Michael Miltenberger revealed in the legislative assembly last week. The 2012 barren ground caribou surveys cost the GNWT about $1.8 million, said Miltenberger. It is an expensive program, but when it comes to understanding what is happening to the caribou, no expense should be spared, he said. "It's a significant investment, indicative of the importance of the herds," Miltenberger told News/North. "To be able to make the right management decisions, we need the best information possible. Because the herds are so absolutely critical to the North, to Northerners, to aboriginal people, it's an investment that's supported by everybody." Fly-over photos were taken during the calving season and these photos were later analyzed to count the number of animals present. This method was used to count the Cape Bathurst herd, the Tuk Peninsula herd, the Bluenose-West herd and the Bathurst herd. Surveys were also planned for the Bluenose-East and Porcupine herds but could not be completed due to poor weather conditions. Surveys of these two herds are planned for the summer of 2013. The Beverly/Ahiak herd summers in Nunavut, so the GNWT is awaiting numbers from the Government of Nunavut. Miltenberger said he expects to see those numbers by mid-November. The numbers show most herds have had a moderate increase in population since the last round of surveys was completed in 2009. However, the population of herds that used to have hundreds of thousands of members or more, such as the Bathurst herd, remains in the tens of thousands. Arguably, the best news came from the Bathurst caribou herd that tends to winter near the north shore of Great Slave Lake - the most populated region in the territory. After a consistent and dramatic decline in population from nearly half-a-million animals in the mid-1980s, down to less than 32,000 members in 2006, the most recent numbers show the population of the herd has stabilized and the population count is now up to 35,000 Miltenberger said. "While the halting of this decline is good news, we are not out of the woods yet," said Miltenberger. "The overall size of this herd remains very low. In addition, the number of breeding females has not increased and there has been poor calf recruitment for the past two years." For the Bathurst herd to really rebound, there needs to be an increase in breeding females, because one cow can birth roughly seven calves during its lifetime, said Miltenberger. After looking at these preliminary numbers on the Bathurst herd population, the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board recommended that current harvest practices remain in effect for the 2012-13 hunting season. Under the current model, Tlicho and Yellowknives Dene First Nation members are given 150 caribou tags each. "At this point, we're unable to say any more than that the harvest will remain where it is for the time being until there are new proposed management actions," Jody Snortland Pellissey, executive director of the board, said on Wednesday. The board is now awaiting a management proposal from the GNWT and the Tlicho Government that will likely replace the current management proposal on the Bathurst herd that runs out at the end of 2012. Once a proposal is provided, the board will make recommendations on the best way to move forward when it comes to managing the Bathurst herd. Many groups are often involved in decision making when it comes to caribou, said Miltenberger. Migrating caribou are not restricted by things such as man-made borders. The Bluenose-East herd, the largest barren-ground caribou herd, is one of the two whose survey could not be completed. Based on numbers from the 2010 calving season, this herd now numbers roughly 100,000 animals. Those numbers will allow discussions to begin to open unlimited aboriginal harvest on the herd, as well as look at issuing resident hunting tags for the Bluenose-East, said Miltenberger. "It's worth the discussion to consider if we can do both," said Miltenberger. "If there is enough for the aboriginal subsistence harvest to continue unimpeded." Bob Bromley, MLA for Weledeh, made a passionate plea on behalf of resident hunters in the legislative assembly on Nov. 6. He said it was unfair to consider an unlimited harvest of the herd before a single tag had been issued to resident hunters. All NWT residents should have the right to live off the land, Bromley later told News/North. There are many people who rely on wild meat, both aboriginal and non-aboriginal. He said the GNWT is perpetuating a rift between these two groups by banning one over the other. In response to Bromley's concerns, Miltenberger said both options merit consideration, however the aboriginal harvest must be considered first. "The implication is in some quarters that unrestricted means that the subsistence harvest means that aboriginal hunters are going to be going out all over the place and shooting every caribou that they see, and that's not what happens," he said. "Everybody agrees that the caribou need help." Fact file preliminary results of 2012 barren ground caribou surveys Cape Bathurst herd - 2,400 animals in 2012, up from 1,900 in 2009 Tuk Peninsula herd - Declined to 2,200 in 2012 from 2,700 in 2009 Bluenose-West herd* - 20,000 in 2012, up from 18,000 in 2009 Bathurst herd - 35,000 in 2012, up from 32,000 in 2009 Due to weather conditions, surveys could not be completed for the Bluenose-East or Porcupine herds. Surveys are planned for these herds during the summer of 2013. * Preliminary results from partial survey in the summer of 2012 Source: GNWT Department of Environment and Natural Resources
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