Current projects

Satellite collars deployed, surveys the next goal

A total of 40 break-away satellite collars were deployed on the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds by the governments of the Northwest Territories, Manitoba and Nunavut in March 2006. With that critical prerequisite for conducting calving ground surveys in place, the BQCMB has stepped up its lobbying for censuses of both herds in June 2007 (see "Surveys the priority with collaring underway," Caribou News in Brief, July 2006).
Governments haven't done population counts of the herds since 1994. Mineral exploration has exploded on the caribou ranges since that time, new roads in Saskatchewan and Manitoba have paved the way for southern hunters, and growing caribou-range communities are adding to the harvesting pressure on the herds. The Beverly herd is thought to be close to its sustainable harvest limit now, according to the BQCMB's harvest calculation formula.
While the process of deploying satellite collars went smoothly this past spring, government staff discovered the 20 caribou cows they thought were all Beverly animals in fact came from a mix of herds, something that became evident as the caribou headed to their traditional calving grounds. The Bathurst, Ahiak and Qamanirjuaq caribou herd ranges overlap with the Beverly herd's winter range. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada will buy more satellite collars to bring the Beverly collared sample up to 20.

Calling for the protection of caribou and caribou habitat

An increasing flurry of development activities, including mineral exploration and mining, road construction, and hydroelectric power expansion, is poised to threaten the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou. Growing communities and an influx of southern hunters arriving via new roads are likely straining herd populations as well. Action is urgently needed to protect the caribou herds and their habitat, but because there's not enough recent data about the herds and how caribou are using their ranges, it's uncertain whether wise management decisions are being made.

In September 2004, the BQCMB released Protecting Calving Grounds, Post-Calving Areas and Other Important Habitats for Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou, a position paper that makes many recommendations for improving the protection of caribou and caribou habitat. With the increasing levels of human-caused disturbance on the caribou ranges – particularly in Nunavut's Kivalliq region where most of the calving grounds are located – government policies aren't adequate to safeguard the herds' traditional calving grounds and other important habitats.

The BQCMB wants to work closely with communities, governments, industry and conservation agencies in order to acquire much-needed information about the caribou herds and their ranges, and to prescribe measures for caribou protection. Consultation with communities and other stakeholders is taking place first to see what northerners think of the BQCMB's recommendations, and for that reason, the BQCMB is distributing a plain language summary of its position paper in English, Inuktitut and Dene to communities and others.

Caribou Monitoring Project

Using a season-oriented questionnaire designed by Manitoba community member Albert Thorassie, elders in Lac Brochet will be asked about their observations of caribou while out on the land, adding to interviews done with Arviat and Baker Lake elders as part of the BQCMB's Nunavut community-based caribou monitoring pilot project, which began in 2000. Eighty hunters from the two Nunavut communities were also queried for their insights about the effects of changing weather on caribou. For more information about the BQCMB's caribou monitoring project, check out past issues of Caribou News in Brief.

Caribou News in Brief

The BQCMB's new smaller newsletter, Caribou News in Brief, has been well received since it began publication in October 1997. Caribou News in Brief publishes twice annually, complementing updated information given through this web site.