INUVIK
Concern about the threat posed by domesticated animals toward wildlife was one of the new issues that came out of a two-day workshop held in Fort Simpson earlier this month.

Samuel Gargan, right, of Fort Providence provides some feedback during the Dehcho Regional Wildlife Workshop in Fort Simpson while Victor Constant, also of Fort Providence, and Charlie Tale of Wrigley look on. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Deh Cho community representatives had the opportunity to critique existing wildlife programs and provide input on what they'd like to see for the next two years.

The seventh biennial Dehcho Regional Wildlife Workshop took place in Fort Simpson from Oct. 21 to 22. Seventeen delegates were on hand from eight Deh Cho communities to listen to presentations on wildlife studies being conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and other groups and provide feedback.

The department developed the workshops as a way to, "make sure everyone is one the same page," said Nic Larter, the department's manager of wildlife research and monitoring in the Deh Cho.

"We make a real concentrated effort that whatever information we find gets back and gets out."

Because communities are busy, the regional workshops are a good way to disseminate the information from ongoing and new studies, he said. Based on feedback from this workshop, the department will be looking to continue its major programs in the Deh Cho, particularly those related to moose and caribou, with few changes.

Delegates agreed that the caribou collaring program should continue. They also consented to the capture teams using a portable ultrasound device to measure how fat the caribou are when the collaring is done in February.

For moose, the delegates agreed that the department should prioritize finishing the ongoing contaminants study over doing a small-scale moose survey if not enough funding is available for both.

"People were fairly happy with what we are doing with the major programs," Larter said.

One new area the department is exploring is trail cameras. Last year two were deployed in different areas. The department now hopes to get one for each First Nation's traditional area in the Deh Cho and use them primarily to gather information on species, particularly new ones, in the area.

Although they are grouped in the department's South Slave region, the trail cameras are of interest to Terry Simba, one of the delegates from Kakisa. Simba would like to have a camera placed in the Cameron Hills area to monitor the species that are entering the region, especially cougars and deer.

This workshop was really important because it was an opportunity to provide feedback and input on studies that are taking place, she said. Deh Cho residents and leaders need to work together to save the land and wildlife for future generations.

"If there is no wildlife, how are we going to survive," Simba asked.

Leaders need to know about the ecosystems in the Deh Cho, what animals require to thrive and how resource developments could affect them so informed decisions can be made, she said.

All of the work that the department is doing, including caribou monitoring, informs communities about what is going on, said Melaine Simba, Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation's environmental co-ordinator.

Melaine said she'd like to see more youth at the workshops so they can learn about the studies and have their opinions heard.

"It's all about the youth. They are going to be taking over as leaders someday," she said.

Charlie Tale from Wrigley is also interested in the potential trail cameras have. He suggested putting the cameras on trails that people use frequently.

Tale, who's now been to two of the biennial workshops, said he enjoys them.

"The whole meeting is really good," he said.

The request to discuss the dangers of keeping domesticated animals, particularly sheep and goats, away from the habitat of their wild counterparts was based on a presentation by the workshop's guest speaker, Jeremy Ayotte, the provincial co-ordinator of the B.C. Sheep Separation Program.

Ayotte discussed the devastating effect domesticated sheep and goats could have on the 14,000 to 26,000 Dall sheep and the 1,200 to 1,500 wild goats in the Mackenzie Mountains. The domesticated animals carry a pneumonia bacteria that can cause the death of 50 to 100 per cent of a wild herd because of lack of immunity.

The deaths due to pneumonia have become a particular concern in the United States and B.C.

"It's completely catastrophic for wild sheep," Ayotte said.

The disease, however, is totally preventable if domesticated and wild sheep are kept separate. The Wild Sheep Foundation, an organization based out of Wyoming, has launched the No Contact in the North program, to draw attention to the problem and create solutions in the North before it is too late.

Because of the current lack of farming pressures in the NWT there would be little resistance to new legislation to keep domestic sheep and goats away from wild sheep and goats, particularly in the area between the Mackenzie River and the Yukon border, he said. Resolutions from First Nations or legislation could also set precedents for the south to follow, said Ayotte.

The threat is not far-fetched, said Larter.

There is currently a push for community-based agricultural programs in the NWT and while it is primarily limited to gardens, it could expand to small farms. If someone wanted to have a few sheep or goats right now in Nahanni Butte there is nothing to stop them, he said.

Darrell Betsaka, a representative from Nahanni Butte, said it's tough to say if people in the community would support a ban on some domestic animals. There are already chickens in the community.

It's an area that needs to be explored, said Samuel Gargan of Fort Providence. While approximately a third of the Dehcho Process deals with harvesting and the exercising of aboriginal and treaty rights there is nothing in the agreement about domesticated animals, he said.

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