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Species at Risk Caribou, polar bear and a plant only found in the NWT are first proposals for protected species list
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Published Saturday, July 20, 2013
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The first four species are being proposed for the Northwest Territories List of Species at Risk, and one of them can only be found nowhere else on Earth than in the territory.
The hairy braya is found only in the Northwest Territories and nowhere else on Earth. The plant is being proposed for the new Northwest Territories List of Species at Risk. - photo courtesy of Jim Harris
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Joanna Wilson, a wildlife biologist with species at risk with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) said the department is looking for feedback on the first four species on the list: the hairy braya – a relative of the mustard plant, Peary and Boreal caribou herds and polar bears.
The first three were assessed by the NWT Species at Risk Committee and classified as threatened, Wilson said. Polar bears are classified as a species of special concern.
Wilson said if approved, they will be the first added to the list since the Northwest Territories Species Act came into effect in 2010.
“Putting it on the list of species at risk for the Northwest Territories means that a recovery strategy needs to be done,” she said. “That would be a plan for the Northwest Territories that recommends objectives for the conservation of the species and also has approaches on how to achieve that.”
Wildlife management boards and the government must develop recovery strategies for any species put on the list, Wilson said.
“They would be working together on a strategy and engaging with people in the communities in that area to learn about what their concerns are and get ideas on what should be done,” she said.
For the hairy braya, a tiny relative of the mustard plant, that means protecting the 250-square-kilometre piece of land where it grows.
The plant is a “glacial relic,” said Wilson. It grows only on Cape Bathurst peninsula and Baillie Islands, in an area that was part of Beringia. Due to its dry climate, it remained ice-free during the last ice age.
“It’s very unique. The Northwest Territories is the only place in the world where it is found,” she said. “Because there were no glaciers during the last ice age, there are often unique species found in those areas.”
There are roughly 15,000 to 20,000 plants growing in its small habitat, which is why protection is needed, Wilson said.
Erosion is the plant’s biggest threat.
“Many of the plants are found along coastal bluffs and those are eroding quite quickly and as sea levels rise in future, we expect that rate of erosion might actually increase,” Wilson said. “It’s got a very restricted range to begin with, which means it’s vulnerable to even one catastrophic event, like a storm surge or something like that.”
Wilson said the plant’s remote location is currently protecting it from human disturbance, as well as its proximity to the Bathurst caribou herd’s calving grounds.
“This is in an area that the Inuvialuit community conservation plans have already identified as a sensitive area,” she said.
However, Wilson said if the plant makes it onto the list, its recovery strategy could include a range of options.
“There are also possibilities of establishing a seed bank, in case down the road we do get into a situation where there aren’t very many left and we have to start looking at active recovery,” she said. “These are just ideas at this point, if the plant is listed, then a recovery strategy would be developed and that would be developed collaboratively and there could be lots of other ideas for what needs to be done.”
Caribou herds declining
The Peary caribou herd declined by 80 per cent within the past 50 years, according to ENR.
The herd lives on Banks Island, northwest Victoria Island and the Western Queen Elizabeth Islands.
Wilson said surveys done in the 1960s and 1980s counted approximately 36,000 animals. Surveys done in 2010 and 2012 found only 7,250.
Wilson said numbers have been stable over the past 20 years, but they remain very low.
Tough winters, over harvesting, and predation have been blamed for their decline.
“Sometimes in winter, you get a lot of ice on the snow and that makes it hard for the caribou to get at their food,” Wilson said.
The Boreal caribou herd has also weakened, as have all herds of woodland caribou in Canada, according to ENR.
The last survey counted 6,500 Boreal caribou in the territory, Wilson said.
As more seismic lines and roads are created in the territory, predators have better access to the animals, Wilson said.
Human activity, such as garbage dumps, also attracts predators to areas where Boral caribou live.
“The thing about Boreal caribou is they need large areas of intact habitat so that they can spread out to avoid predators,” Wilson said.
Polar bear populations vary
Polar bears are also being considered for the list, Wilson said. The bear’s population fluctuates throughout their area range.
“In some parts of the Northwest Territories, their number seem to be stable or increasing and in other parts they seem to be likely declining,” Wilson said.
There are between 1,500 to 2,000 bears in the territory.
Populations in the Northern Beaufort Sea and Viscount Melville Sound seem to be stable or increasing, while populations in the Southern Beaufort Sea are declining, Wilson said.
The bears are classified as a species of special concern in the NWT.
“I think one of the main reasons that polar bears have that status is because of climate change causing changes to sea ice and polar bears’ access to seals,” Wilson said.
Hunting quotas are not affected by placing any of the animals on the Northwest Territories List of Species at Risk, Wilson said.
“The listing doesn’t mean any changes for hunters,” she said. “Under our legislation there are not any automatic protections or prohibitions that happen upon listing. That means listing doesn’t change quotas or bylaws that are already in place.”
Residents are asked to submit feedback to ENR before Aug. 14 on the proposal to add the hairy braya, caribou herds and polar bears to the Northwest Territories List of Species at Risk, Wilson said.
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