caribou

Community, Environment, Events, Featured, News January 30, 2023

Fort McPherson Caribou Summit unites around the importance of responsible hunting

Harvesters from across the North unite for three days of workshops, discussion


Robert Alexie is retired now, but once upon a time he was a full-time harvester and a tour guide. He believes in doing things the traditional way: Without an ATV or Ski-Doo, and without leaving any lasting marks on the land. “Untouched,” he says. “That’s the most important word to…

Environment, Featured, News April 20, 2021

GNWT seeks input on Bathurst caribou management plan

The GNWT’s Bathurst Caribou Advisory Committee is looking for input on their management plan. A draft of the committee’s management plan is ready and the government wants communities and harvesters to act to ensure they have the best possible plan. With an end goal of curbing caribou numbers declining and…

Community, Featured, Life Style, News April 13, 2021

Listen: Monitoring the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road for illegal caribou harvesting

Nearly 150 caribou have been harvested illegally so far this winter.


There has been a push in recent years to educate harvesters in the traditional hunting ways. Despite this, there is illegal caribou harvesting every year. CKLB’s Francis Tessier-Burns recently had the chance to join Environment and Natural Resources officers as they monitored hunting near the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road….

Community, Featured, Life Style, News January 22, 2021

WRRB recommends no more helicopter wolf shootings, focus on traditional harvest

“(Aerial removals) didn't appear to get to the target levels that they were hoping to reach for the required program to be considered effective and successful,” says Jody Pellissey, the Wekʼèezhìi Renewable Resources Board's executive director.


The Wekʼèezhìi Renewable Resources Board has recommended stopping a controversial practice of shooting dìga (wolves) from the air. Instead, it proposes the Tłı̨chǫ and territorial governments put more resources into supporting ground harvesting to try and protect Ɂekwǫ ̀ (barren-ground caribou). This was one of 20 recommendations the board recently…

Community, Environment, Featured, Health, Life Style, News December 9, 2020

Délı̨nę to host second ‘listening’ session on caribou conservation in Sahtú

The second of five public listening sessions on caribou conservation in the Sahtú will be next spring in Délı̨nę. The session’s central question is “What should people’s role be in maintaining healthy relationships between caribou and other wildlife?” The first listening session was in Colville Lake in January. Last month,…

Community, Featured, Life Style, News November 17, 2020

SRRB decides community plans should lead caribou conservation in Sahtú region

The Sahtú Renewable Resources Board recently decided to replace the Total Allowable Harvest system with community conservation plans.


What is the most effective way to conserve caribou? According to a recent report from the Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı (Sahtú Renewable Resources Board), the answer is to let communities take the lead. The board decided to do away with Total Allowable Harvest (TAH) restrictions in favour of community conservation…

Community, Featured, Life Style, News September 3, 2020

Tłı̨chǫ Government, ENR say more training needed to meet proposed wolf reduction targets

If reduction targets are not met by traditional harvesters, then ENR will continue to hire a helicopter and marksman to cull wolves from the air.


Tłı̨chǫ and territorial government officials attribute the low wolf harvest numbers to difficulty accessing the animals over the past winter. With those low numbers, the department of Environment and Natural Resources hired a helicopter and marksman this spring to shoot wolves from the air to try and meet reduction goals….

Community, Environment, Featured, Health, Industry, Life Style, News, Tli Cho Yati July 14, 2020

Bathurst caribou herd ‘not repopulating itself’

The latest results from the Tłı̨chǫ Government's monitoring program show a continuing decline.


Despite two years of “perfect conditions” for caribou, Tłı̨chǫ monitors are still seeing a low calf-to-cow ratio in the Kokètì ekwǫ (Bathurst) herd. Petter Jacobsen is the principal investigator with the Tłı̨chǫ Government’s Ekwǫ̀ Nàxoède K’è (Boots on the Ground) monitoring program. “The bulls are growing large antlers early in…

Community, Environment, Featured, News May 20, 2020

Web-based project launched to study caribou

A conservation group launched a web-based project to study migratory caribou across northern Canada. The website, started by the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee (CARC) aims to showcase “the full picture of the challenges facing northern caribou and the people who rely on them,” a news release said. The project pulls…