Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı
Sahtú Renewable Resources Board

pdf 20-10-30 Colville 2020 Public Listening Report-Reasons for Decisions Popular

This document contains the Sahtú Ragóɂa (Hunting Law) and Approaches to Wildlife Harvesting, Colville 2020 Public Listening (Hearing) Session Final Report and Reasons for Decision. The report was submitted to the ENR Minister on October 30th, 2020.

The Decisions

The SRRB’s decisions and recommendations are based on a holistic and biocultural approach to caribou conservation.

● The SRRB determines that harvest regulation for all caribou populations must be subject to community conservation planning (CCP) measures;

● The SRRB will remove the total allowable harvest in Sahtú Barren-GroundCaribou Hunting Area S/BC/01 once Colville’s community conservation plan has been completed and approved. The SRRB will regularly review the conservation outcomes under the community conservation planning approach. The SRRBreserves the right to re-apply the total allowable harvest if required for effective conservation;

● Conditions are identified for the approval of Colville’s community conservation plan and Délı̨nę’s revised 2019-2021 Belare Wıĺ ́ e Gots'ę́ Ɂ ekwę́ (Caribou for AllTime) plan;

● The plan specifically defines a system for planning based on recognized community responsibilities for individual barren-ground caribou herds (see Table1, D1.2 );

● Youth will be invited to play meaningful roles in the entire process for future public listening sessions;

● The 2021 public listening session will include a full discussion of the role that residency requirements and hunter education play in fostering or inhibiting respect for Dene protocols in the Sahtú region;

● The SRRB identifies the need for capacity support and program funding for the CCP system, and commits to working with co-management partners to develop a feasible means of implementing the Sahtú CCP approach;

● In addition, 18 recommendations provide guidance for consideration by other co-management partners, including recommendations supporting interim measures to immediately implement the Colville and Délı̨nę plans.

For more information on the SRRB’s decisions and recommendations, see Table 1: KeyIssues, Decisions, and Recommendations in the report.

The Process

Given evidence regarding the threatened status of ɂekwę́ (Bluenose East barren-ground caribou), Colville Lake’s expressed concerns about ɂǝdǝ (barren-ground caribou) in their traditional territory, the threatened status of to?dzı (boreal caribou), and the consideration of shúhta goɂepę́ (mountain caribou) as a species of special concern in the NWT, the SRB concluded there was sufficient conservation concern to trigger a hearing. Undersection 13.8.21 of the Sahtú Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement(SDMCLCA), a hearing can be called when harvest restrictions are being considered or when the SRRB is satisfied that a hearing is desirable. The SRRB recognizes that this is the first time that a wildlife co-management board in the NWT has convened a hearing focused on a single “hot topic” and encompassing multiple herds and ecotypes. The SRRB carefully considered both Indigenous knowledge evidence and science-based evidence in making the decisions and recommendations included in this report. In addition to receiving Colville’s community conservation plan, the SRRB also received a submission from ENR and convened community conservation planning sessions that resulted in Sahtú community submissions. Moreover, the SRRB encouraged neighbouring wildlife management authorities, nations, and communities to register as parties and contribute submissions. All five Sahtú communities contributed to the public listening session, in addition to nine other registered parties. In addition, elders, Colville community members, and the broader public were encouraged to participate. The questions and presentation by theSahtú Youth Network were a special highlight of the proceeding.