The management plan

The migratory Beverly and Qamanirjuaq barren-ground caribou are hunted by Inuit, Dene, Métis, Cree and non-aboriginal people. Over decades, herd size may increase and decrease, and may also undergo small or large-scale shifts in distribution. Such changes could result from natural events and human activities. Caribou habitat is especially vulnerable to the changes that accompany development and human access — a critical issue today given the fast-paced mining and road developments that are altering the face of the economy in northern Canada.

In the years immediately following the creation of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB) in 1982, discussion focused on the problems of caribou management, and possible solutions. The first management plan — published in 1987 — summed up those discussions and provided a logical framework within which the board could function. The plan took into account that details might change as knowledge grew and the environment changed.

In 1992, shortly after an independent evaluation deemed the board a success as it came to the end of its 10-year mandate, governments accepted a recommendation to renew the board's mandate for another decade, and a revised management plan, addressing the BQCMB's second 10-year term, was published in 1996.

In 2005, a third version of the plan was published, to guide the Board through to the end of its third 10-year mandate in 2012. This plan underlines that management actions must always ensure that caribou are accessible to people from the caribou-using communities, and that the chance to harvest caribou remains part of their future. Safeguarding the caribou is also to the benefit of other Canadians and people of other nations.

The board recognizes the value of traditional knowledge and will develop action plans to integrate this knowledge with scientific caribou management.

One of the major objectives of the current management plan is to bring aboriginal people in as full participants in the management of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq herds. To achieve this, aboriginal people must be equally as involved in the design and implementation of studies and programs. They must also receive support to make their full involvement possible, to take part in educational programs and in monitoring caribou, and to help find the best ways to exchange information.

The BQCMB continues to implement programs that reflect current needs, and are consistent with governmental direction and budgets. But they do not replace or duplicate programs normally the responsibility of governments. They are in addition to them.

The BQCMB has a crucial role to play over the remainder of its 2002–2012 term. It will co-ordinate efforts in caribou monitoring, increase the relevance of caribou management and involvement at the community level, and press for systematic and sound caribou population surveys and the collection of information about harvest levels. It will also monitor burgeoning levels of human activities on the caribou ranges, and urge governments to assess cumulative effects and minimize negative impacts resulting from these activities.

Our Goals

1. To manage the herds in a co-operative manner that involves the full participation of communities and governments, and brings together local and traditional knowledge and scientific knowledge in the management process.
2. To co-operate with other northern wildlife, land-use and resource management boards and committees.
3. To increase knowledge of caribou ecology.
4. To encourage the wise use of caribou.
5. To strengthen public support for the conservation of caribou.
6. To encourage governments to monitor population status and trend to identify the appropriate management strategy for each herd.
7. To recommend management action to conserve the caribou populations within the parameters of normal and natural population fluctuations.
8. To encourage governments to identify caribou seasonal ranges and assess range conditions.
9. To recommend management action to ensure maintenance of sufficient high-quality habitat to support healthy caribou herds.
10. To encourage governments to manage human land-use activities in a manner that protects caribou and caribou range, particularly in key habitats such as calving and post-calving areas.

The Management Plan and Action Plans

You can view the complete text of the management plan on our web site. Please note that you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. (This software is free for downloading at the Adobe web site.) Click here to download the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Management Plan 2005 — 2012. Action plans for the BQCMB's newest management plan are currently under development.

The BQCMB's previous management plan, Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Plan 1996 — 2002, is also available on this web site, as are that plan's action plans.