PROTECTING BEVERLY AND QAMANIRJUAQ CARIBOU
AND CARIBOU RANGE

About this project

The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB) has compiled information on past distribution and movements of Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou from government files and reports.

• A computerized geographic information system (GIS) was used to produce maps showing range (geographic areas) used by these caribou herds over many years.
• A year in the life of caribou was divided into seven life cycle periods (for example, spring migration, early winter), and past distribution and movements of caribou were mapped for each of these periods.
• Caribou-range sensitivity ratings were developed to provide a general guide for assessing potential negative impacts of land use activities on caribou and caribou range at particular times of the year.
• A rating system was developed for evaluating the importance of water and ice crossings to caribou.

Purpose of the Project

The BQCMB undertook this project primarily to make a large amount of previously inaccessible information available to groups such as government agencies, aboriginal resource management boards and land use planning boards, industry, and the public. By making this information accessible and useable, the Board hopes to improve decision-making and ensure that the range of Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou is managed wisely.

The information provided in the report and on this CD-ROM (see details provided below) is intended for use in resource management planning (such as land use planning and protected areas planning) and impact assessment work on the range of Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou.

The information provided in these publications can be used to help people decide:

• which activities can be permitted on caribou range without harming the caribou herds or their habitat
• which activities should be modified to ensure the caribou and habitats are protected
• which major developments should be excluded from caribou range.

It will be necessary to assess the possible negative impacts of development projects within the ranges of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq herds on a case-by-case basis.

Much additional information, including local knowledge, must be incorporated into land use decisions. The cumulative (accumulating) effects of all land use projects must also be assessed.

Publications

CD-ROM - This CD is Part 2 of a series of reference materials the BQCMB is publishing, which consists primarily of a map atlas containing maps of past caribou distribution and movements, and documentation for the data files used to produce the maps. The CD contains approximately 150 "pages", including about 65 pages of text and photographs, and about 75 pages of maps (one map per page).

The Map Atlas contains three indices that each list and provide links to all of the maps on the CD. The indices organize the maps in different ways to help people determine which maps are available, and to identify maps that they are interested in viewing.

The Documentation section contains information about the data sources that were used to create the maps in the Map Atlas. It does not, however, contain the data on which the maps are based. Contact information for data requests is provided in the Documentation (Data Sources) section of this CD.

Part 1 - Background Information is a report that was published in hardcopy (paper) format by the BQCMB in January 1999.

The report contains:

• background information about the BQCMB and the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds
• information about range use patterns of the caribou herds
• characteristics of caribou and caribou range that affect their sensitivity to land use activities
• relative sensitivity ratings for caribou and habitat to land use activities during life cycle periods.
• 13 generalized black-and-white maps, which summarize all information compiled to date on the past distribution of the two caribou herds.

The digital version of this report, including background information and black-and-white maps and photographs, is also included on this CD.

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