INUVIK - Aboriginal governments in the Beaufort Delta are suing the Yukon government over its recently imposed hunting restrictions on the Porcupine caribou herd.

Last fall, the Yukon government announced a ban for aboriginal and non-aboriginal hunters on harvesting cows from the herd, which also inhabits Gwich'in land near the Yukon-NWT border. The government imposed the rules on a temporary basis, estimating the population of the Porcupine herd is about 100,000, down from 123,000 in 2001, although no new surveys have been done recently.

In an affidavit put before the Yukon Supreme Court Jan. 29, the Gwich'in Tribal Council and the Inuvialuit Game Council allege the government did not properly consult with them before imposing the restrictions and is therefore breaching land claim settlements as well as agreements previously set in Porcupine Management Board meetings.

The restrictions limit all licensed hunters, whether or not they are Yukon residents, to kill only one bull and to register with the government through a tag system. There is no limit on the number of bulls aboriginal hunters can harvest.

The Gwich'in Tribal Council (GTC) agrees caribou preservation measures are necessary, president Richard Nerysoo said, but it takes issue with the way the Yukon government "unilaterally and without adequate consultation" implemented the restrictions.

"That, in our view, violates the existing agreements and the aboriginal treaty rights," Nerysoo said. "There's a whole series of agreements and constitutional documents that are being breached in this exercise.

"The Yukon government has made the decision to institute what they themselves have said are emergency measures, yet they have not declared the Porcupine caribou herd as a species in an emergency situation," he added.

Both the Gwich'in Tribal Council and the Inuvialuit are part of the Porcupine Management Board, along with First Nations and government representatives. The board was expected to release a conservation plan for the herd by the end of next month. Now, March 30 is the date set for the Supreme Court case management hearing in the suit.

Nerysoo said though the GTC hopes the court will find the government's restrictions non-binding, it is still committed to working on a conservation plan.

"From now on this isn't an exercise of unilateral decision making. We're all in this together and there needs to be a collaborative approach to managing the herd and making some firm decisions."