There is not yet consensus on what emergency measures should be taken to preserve the populations of Bathurst and Bluenose-East caribou herds. A third one-day leadership meeting on the subject Nov. 28 again ran out of time. Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger now says decisions on harvesting limits for this year should be made by Dec. 15. - NNSL file photo |
No consensus on caribou
Third intergovernmental meeting concludes with no decision on emergency conservation measures for the Bathurst or Bluenose-East caribou herds
Laura Busch
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 1, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Consensus on what to do about the dwindling populations of the Bathurst and Bluenose-East caribou herds was not reached during a leadership meeting held in Yellowknife Nov. 28.
"Given the length of the discussion and the size of the group, we ran out of time," said Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger. "So, we're giving ourselves until (Dec.) 15 to conclude our discussions, which will now become more of a one-on-one than having a great assemblage of all the governments."
This was the third intergovernmental meeting called after 2013/14 departmental surveys of the Bathurst and Bluenose-East calving grounds suggested both herds were in dramatic decline.
The Bathurst herd, which was measured at an estimated 100,000 animals in 2006, could be as small as 15,000 animals by 2015, Miltenberger told News/North in September.
The calving ground survey also suggests the Bluenose-East herd has suffered a 30 per cent population decline since the 2013 survey estimated there were 68,000 animals remaining in the herd.
The three meetings - one held in late August, one on Nov. 7 and the other last Friday - cost the GNWT an estimated $300,000 to bring all interested parties to the table, said Miltenberger. He said it is not economically feasible for the department to continue hosting these meetings, and so continued discussions on emergency conservation measures will be held one-on-one or in smaller groups.
On Nov. 28, more than 50 people - about 30 of them actively involved in the negotiations - from every region of the territory, as well as Nunavut, gathered for the meeting. Leading up to that meeting, Miltenberger had said consensus would be reached by the end of the day.
However, when the meeting was closed at about 4:30 p.m., final decisions had not yet been made, said Miltenberger, who declined to say which way the majority of parties were leaning.
There are myriad factors that complicate decisions on caribou management, including the sheer number of groups invested in the future of barren-ground caribou, said Miltenberger.
"It's a fairly complicated political chessboard," he said.
"The one thing that's clear to me for sure in terms of planning is a one-day meeting is never enough."
However, he is still hopeful all parties will be able to reach consensus, although that is not guaranteed to be the case.
"That's what we strive for in this business and that's what we're working towards," he said.
"The foremost thing on our minds, on my mind, is that the Bathurst herd has dropped 97 per cent (since the 1980s).
"And there is no indication that it has bottomed out yet. So, there is a huge urgency to conclude these discussions and make the necessary decisions."
