N.W.T. board considering whether Tłı̨chǫ should be allowed to increase caribou harvest
CBC
The Wek'èezhìı Renewable Resources Board is being asked to decide whether people in the Tłı̨chǫ region should be able to hunt more Bluenose-East caribou.
In 2019 the total allowable harvest for that herd in the Tłı̨chǫ region was 193 caribou, but a proposed new co-management plan asks the board to increase that number to 395.
The proposed plan was put together by the territorial and Tłı̨chǫ governments.
Jody Pellissey, the board's executive director, said there's been a "significant increase" in the herd since 2023.
"In 2022, we were still seeing declines in the herd and, or you know, we weren't really seeing a recovery, which is ultimately what we're hoping to do with the management scheme that we're putting in place," Pellissey said.
In March, the Kugluktuk Hunters and Trappers Organization made a recommendation to the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board to increase the total allowable harvest of Bluenose-East caribou from 170 to 450 caribou.
That recommendation was approved and sent to the Nunavut government for a final decision.
Surveys conducted by the N.W.T. government in 2023 estimated the Bluenose-East herd population to be around 39,525 — higher than the 2021 population estimate of 23,200.
Pellissey said the board is conducting a Level 1 review, which is a review done by the board and staff and then a decision is made.
"What we're doing is we're seeking input from the public and as well as seeking anybody who wants to become a participant, a full participant in this proceeding," she said.
The board has also opened a public registry.
"We know that they've agreed on what is being put forth and one isn't trying to, you know, make a decision that the other isn't interested in," Pellissey said. "Co-management, in our opinion, is always having all of the interested parties work together."
The last time the total allowable harvest was increased in the Tłı̨chǫ region was in 2019.
Pellissey said even though caribou numbers are increasing, the board also has to consider how that factors into harvesting.
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