Working together to protect herds
Nunavut Planning Commission takes Draft Land Use Plan hearings out of Nunavut
Beth Brown
Northern News Services
Thursday, November 3, 2016
NUNAVUT
The Nunavut Planning Commission is taking the discussion on caribou out of the territory, adding stops in Kuujjuaq, Quebec, and Thompson, Manitoba, to its regional Draft Nunavut Land Use Plan pre-hearing conferences in Iqaluit, Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet and Pond Inlet. The tour runs from Oct. 19 to Nov. 7.
Barren-ground caribou from the Porcupine Caribou Herd reach the shore after crossing the Firth River, Ivvavik National Park, Yukon. The Nunavut Planing Commission is hosting regional hearings on the Draft Nunavut Land Use Plan in Nunavut, Quebec and Manitoba, Oct. 19 though Nov. 7. - photo courtesy of WWF-Canada
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The move is to recognize that land use impacts migration patterns, and Nunavummiut are not the only stakeholders when it comes to caribou herds.
"Our main concern with the plan is that important habitats like the calving grounds, post calving areas, and water crossings are recognized and designated," said Ross Thompson, executive director of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board.
The board includes hunters, biologists and wildlife managers from Northern Canada who help manage its two title caribou herds that migrate across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
The Oct. 21 meeting in Manitoba was a first for the planning commission, Thompson said.
The regional hearings are being held to familiarize communities with the content of the Draft Nunavut Land Use Plan and encourage active participation of Inuit, Nunavummiut, owners and managers of Inuit-owned lands, government, and other stakeholders.
Thompson said now is the time to make sure caribou habitats are protected in the plan.
"We don't think once development occurs things can be mitigated. Caribou protection measures don't address habitat change or destruction. Measures are only as good as they can be enforced."
He said issuing exploration permits in areas deemed sacrosanct creates expectation and pressure to develop, should a private company discover below ground resources.
"The calving grounds and post-calving areas represent a small fraction of the land mass. What we keep pointing out is that up there, in northern Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan and all across the Arctic, caribou are the economy," he said. "The resource that we are trying to keep renewable annually is worth over $20-million in meat."
The hearings will be followed by regional community feedback sessions, to obtain oral input on the Draft Land Use Plan from government, designated Inuit organizations, municipalities, interested corporations and organizations, Inuit and other residents of Nunavut and the general public. Written comments are also welcomed and can be sent until mid-January.
WWF-Canada has been aiding communities like Baker Lake and Chesterfield Inlet with submissions to the plan. The organization is also calling for a moratorium on mineral exploration permits in Northern calving grounds, according to an Oct. 12 release.
"If you look across Nunavut the Northwest Territories, all of the major herds are in decline except for the Porcupine herd in the far west and the South Hampton Island herd," said Brandon Laforest, senior specialist for Arctic species and ecosystems with WWF-Canada.
"No one is saying that we need caribou to always be at their historic highs, but the last time caribou were at their historic lows the world was a much difference place than it is now."
These new environmental stressors are going to affect caribou population rebound, he said.
Warmers temperatures have increased spring rain, causing a freeze over the plants and lichen caribou feed on. Ice decline also impacts migration patterns and when populations are fluctuating so quickly, harvest management statistics become difficult to monitor.
A 2015 survey of the Bathurst herd estimated the population at 19,769, down from 186,000 since 2003, and 470,000 since 1986. The same study showed that breeding females have dropped by 50 per cent since 2013.
"On Baffin Island, the herd has declined over 95 per cent since 1991, with an estimated 5,000 individuals remaining," stated Laforest. "From what we've seen in talking to communities, it's not going to be a given that caribou recover at the same pace or at the same magnitude as you would expect them to naturally."
Following completion of the community hearings, a larger hearing will be held in Iqaluit and the Draft Land Use Plan is to be submitted in March of 2017.
