Yellowknife (Feb 28/05) - Allen Kitigon hops on his snowmobile and gets ready to blast off home. February is a month of preparation for him - he's the owner of Allen's Outfitting in Cambridge Bay and there's less than a month before the booking agent, Ottawa-based Canada North, sends some 30 guests to the community in search of muskox.

Allen Kitigon, owner of Allen's Outfitting of Cambridge Bay, is anxious for March to arrive and along with it sport hunters from the U.S.

"I take out a lot of Americans for sport hunting," he said. "And in the summer, I'm a fishing guide with the High Arctic Lodge."

He may be more formal than most from a business standpoint - he's got business cards and everything - but even Kitigon still relies on the Ikaluktutiak Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO).

HTO manager Jacques Larabie describes himself as the voice of the hunters and trappers in the hamlet.

"I facilitate the guiding courses through Nunavut Arctic College, for example," he said. "We've run four in the last four years."

He's also a bit like a logistics manager for the registered guides in Cambridge Bay. When Canada North calls with bookings, it's Larabie who puts up the posters around the hamlet and then divvies up the work so everyone shares in the benefit.

Like all forms of tourism, the sport hunting business took a hit from the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. and the SARS outbreak in southern Canada.

"It's coming back, but there were big drops when people were afraid to travel," he said.

In fact, the sector is more than coming back. The 20 per cent decline in visiting hunters to Cambridge Bay that began in 2001 has been completely reversed and Larabie estimates this year will likely see a five per cent increase over historical highs.

Larabie and guide George Angohiatok Sr. went to Reno, Nev., to attend an outfitters' trade show put on by Sierra Club International as guests of Canada North. There to promote all of Nunavut and not just Cambridge Bay, Larabie said they were amazed by the reception they got.

"People were walking their friends up to us and saying, 'Here, these are the guys you want to deal with if you want an experience of a lifetime,'" he said. "The level of trust and confidence they have in us is great."