The KAA's submission is also available on the NWMB's Public Registry for the In-person Public Hearing to Consider the Government of Nunavut’s Proposal to Modify the Total Allowable Harvest of Bluenose East Caribou From 340 to 107 and to Establish a Male-Only Harvest Non-Quota Limitation. The NWMB Public Hearing is scheduled to take place in Kugluktuk on March 2-3, 2020 (with possible extension to March 4). The NWMB's December 13, 2019 invitation and proposal are also available on the Colville 2020 Public Registry.

• Modify the total allowable harvest (TAH) of Bluenose East caribou from 340 to 107and;
• To establish a male-only harvest non-quota limitation (NQL).

The NWMB is therefore inviting written, translated submissions and supporting documents for the in-person public hearing. The hearing will take place in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, on March 2 to 3, 2020, with evening meetings if necessary, at the Kugluktuk Community Hall. If necessary, the hearing will continue for the morning of March 4, 2020.

Organizations not already listed as Parties may submit a request for party status for the Board’s consideration by January 31, 2020. To be given party status, an applicant must show that they will be directly affected by an NWMB decision on Bluenose-East caribou. Non-hearing parties may submit information/evidence to the Board for consideration following the same February 14, 2020 deadline as hearing party submissions.

The NWMB has identified the following parties to this hearing:

• • The Government of Nunavut • Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated
• • The Kitikmeot Inuit Association
• • The Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board
• • The Kugluktuk Angoniatit Association
• • The Government of Canada
• • The Wek’èezhìı Renewable Resources Board
• • The Sahtu Renewable Resources Board
• • The Advisory Committee for Cooperation on Wildlife Management

The Sahtu Renewable Resources Board provided the following recommendations concerning a Total Allowable Harvest and Sahtu Needs Level for the Bluenose-West herd as well as additional recommendations about caribou management to the Department of Environment & Natural Resources:

1. A Total Allowable Harvest of 4% should be set for the Bluenose-West caribou herd.

2. The harvest of Bluenose-West caribou should be biased toward bulls.

3. A Sahtu Needs Level should be established and allocated to Sahtu communities based on their average share, since 2005, of total harvests of BNW caribou.

4. The Sahtu Needs Level should be enforced and monitored.

5. The current muskox quotas in the Sahtu Region should be increased.

6. There should be increased conservation education in the Sahtu communities.

7. Ensure caribou harvest data is obtained from the three communities in the Sahtu that harvest Bluenose-West caribou.

8. There should be increased management efforts on alternative game.

9. Every effort should be made to ensure community participation in management studies.

10. Barren-ground caribou hunting zones in the Sahtu should be modified to reflect herd specific management.

11. The most current population management techniques should be brought to bear in making management decisions on the Bluenose-West herd.

The Sahtu Renewable Resources Board provided the following recommendations about development, habitat, and caribou management to Indian & Northern Affairs Canada:

1. Conditions on land use and water licenses should reflect the need to minimize disturbance and protect caribou habitat.

2. Caribou protection measures must be updated and implemented where practical.

This technical report is one of two companion documents to Taking Care of Caribou: The Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West and Bluenose-East Caribou Herds Management Plan. The other companion report compiles comments made by community members during engagement meetings on the plan. Readers should refer to that document for a community perspective on the topics discussed in this report.

On April 12, 2017, the Northwest Territories (NWT) Species at Risk Committee (SARC) provided the assessment and status report for barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) to the Conference of Management Authorities (CMA) and recommended that barren-ground caribou be added to the NWT List of Species at Risk as a Threatened species. The Species at Risk (NWT) Act provides a 12-month period for the CMA to develop a consensus agreement on listing.

This Consensus Agreement was informed by the completed species status report, SARC's assessment and reasons for assessment, public input (solicited by the Management Authorities), and the results of consultation. No information was provided to SARC by the CMA or the Management Authorities under paragraph 31 ( 1 )( c) of the Species at Risk (NWT) Act.

Barren-Ground Caribou Assessment: Threatened in the Northwest Territories

Likely to become endangered in the Northwest Territories if nothing is done to reverse the factors leading to its extirpation or extinction.

Reasons for the assessment: Barren-ground caribou fit criterion (a) for Threatened.

(a) There is evidence that the population is declining in such a way that it could disappear from the Northwest Territories in our children‘s lifetime.

Main Factors:

• This means that there is a 10% chance that barren-ground caribou could disappear from the Northwest Territories within 75 years.
• Although about 530,000 barren-ground caribou still reside either entirely or partially within the NWT, overall, the numbers have declined by more than 85% for all herds where we have trend information, except the Qamanirjuaq herd, during the past three caribou generations (about 25 years).
• Overall trend demonstrates a continued population decline even though two herds (Cape Bathurst and Bluenose-West) appear to have recently stabilized at very low numbers.
• The main threats are:
  • Climate change may act as a continuing threat to barren-ground caribou through a complex mechanism involving shifts in timing of green-up, changes in summer forage quality, rain-on-snow and icing events on the winter range, longer fire seasons, melting permafrost and erosion, changes to freeze-up and thaw timing, and increasing shrub cover. Parasites and diseases are a potential and complex threat under a warmer climate.
  • Predation can affect survival and reproduction and therefore abundance, and there are reports of increasing predator populations in some areas.
  • Industrial development is considered to be one of the most significant factors affecting barren-ground caribou. It can disturb caribou and affect their behaviour, the quality of habitat and forage, and ultimately, the survivability of the species. It can also facilitate access for both humans and predators.
  • Forest fires represent the most visible factor driving habitat fragmentation and change, impacting forage availability and movement. This threat is particularly important in the winter range. Climate change may lead to even hotter and drier summers in the NWT, possibly increasing the frequency and intensity of fires.

Additional Factors:

• Barren-ground caribou populations undergo large fluctuations over several decades. The causes of these fluctuations in abundance are complex and likely driven by climate interacting with forage availability, predation, and parasites. Harvest and predation play a stronger role when barren-ground caribou are at low numbers.
• The threats mentioned above are acting in addition to these large fluctuations. The cumulative effects from multiple interacting threats are considered unprecedented.

In these SRRB final decisions and recommendations which reply to the Minister’s response, the SRRB groups its comments by themes. These themes capture the key areas where the Minister has suggested that the SRRB’s decisions and recommendations be varied:In these SRRB final decisions and recommendations which reply to the Minister’s response, the SRRB groups its comments by themes. These themes capture the key areas where the Minister has suggested that the SRRB’s decisions and recommendations be varied:

• Conservation Approach (including harvest rates and male/female ratio for harvesting) – related to SRRB Decisions 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33, 34, 37, 39
• Cross-Regional Coordination – related to SRRB decisions 22, 26, 36 primarily; also related to SRRB Decisions 15, 25, 30 and 33
• Herd Status – related to SRRB decisions 2, 4, 5
• Research Needs – related to SRRB decisions 1, 3, 6, 16, 20, 35
• Policy Reform – related to SRRB decisions 17, 19, 21, 22, 29, 31, 36, 38
• Funding – related to SRRB decision 12 as well as research and policy decisions
• Youth and Education – related to SRRB decisions 8, 9 13

Included with this document are a summary of actions (Appendix A) and a proposed workplan with timelines (Appendix B). The overall objective of the SRRB is to support the potential success of the Délı̨nę plan as a model for community conservation planning. The SRRB also, in these final decisions and recommendations, prioritizes the need for the inter-regional user dialogue needed in order to protect the institutional space for the Délı̨nę plan to be piloted.

A complete archive from the 2016 Public Hearing can be found here.

A complete archive from the 2016 Public Hearing can be found here.