The NWT outfitters have come together with this site, might dispell some of the rumors on the caribou situation. More info at [URL=www.wrrb.ca]www.wrrb.ca

The thought of there being no caribou hunting allowed in the NWT is a travesty. I have been many places and been on quite a few great hunts, but the week I spent on the Barrens in 1993 was the best hunt I've ever been on. I really hope that you guys get your hunt back. As hunters here in the states, what can we do to help out?

WHY, is a ban by the N.W.T. government for conservation purposes a ...travesty...???

This does not make sense to me as indications are that Caribou herds have declined substantially in recent years and the sooner action is taken to arrest this, the greater likelihood that some hunting may be restored.

As to hunters in the US taking action to ...help out..., perhaps, you may want to remember that the "Territories" are an integral part of a sovereign nation and interference in such matters is not welcomed by we Canadians.

My thoughts are that this has a LOT to do with another controversial resource issue and it will become "worse before it gets better".

It's all about getting the natives to back off on shooting pregnant cows. Out of the 7-11,000 caribou they take, about 65% are cows. In order to get the natives to the table, all other hunting must be stopped as they're at the top of the totem pole. Resident hunters took 50 animals in 2008/2009 and outfitters took 223 last season. So it's obvious where the problem lies. But the bottom line is that there are still 450,000 caribou in the barrenlands, just not all are "Bathurst". We'll find out the results for this coming season when the WRRB board meets at the end of the month and makes their decision on what the future holds. Wish us luck!!

I do, very strongly, wish you and the other Canadians involved in hunting the Yukon, N.W.T. and Nunvut luck and lots of it. However, I have been involved with similar issues in B.C. and Alberta, both while a member of provincial resource management agencies and as a res. hunter and member of the BC Wildlife Federation.

I strongly doubt that ANY provincial, territorial or even the federal government really "has the sack" to confront the reality of aboriginal greed, resource waste and the frequent threats of "war" as I wish they would.

The resident hunter is the lowest on the priority list and we, here in BC, are being screwed badly by gutless government, the BCGA...not all GOs are members and some GOs are good people and the lazy, parasites called aboriginal. So, many of us are really pissed and there could be some rumbles coming.

These situations, from that "Caledonia" disgrace in Ontario to the aboriginal blockades in nothern BC of legally drawn resident Moose hunters to what seems to be catering to aboriginals in the "Territories", are just like the "cave-in" to the Franco-phone minority during the "Trudeau years" and it gets worse as time passes..........

My feeling about all of this is from the Vietnam War days....."Shoot'em all and let God sort 'em out"!

Dewey,
It's a travesty for the very reasons quoted by Barry: there are 450,000 caribou in the NWT. Residents took what, 50 caribou last year, outfitters, less than 300, and natives, how many? This decision smacks of politics, and as a hunter, it's natural to want to help. I don't look at it as interference any more than spending my money to come up there and hunt back in 1993 was interference. This is not about conservation, it's about aboriginal rights trumping common sense.

Gracedog - You will learn in a hurry, Dewey is simply ANTI-AMERICAN, and against all AMERICANS coming to his beloved Canada to hunt! Pay him not attention, as he deserves none.

Arctic kindly provides the necessary info you seek, and both of you seem to be concerned for the same reasons. I for one agree with you, I hope the native hunting is brought under control, and those that benefit from continued Caribou hunting throughout the effected areas, are once again restored to "the way it was".

Good luck to all those effected, including the Caribou.

GD, well, no, it is about far more than most here are familiar with and we should not forget that ...politics... are what determines all hunting access, just about anywhere one might want to go.

First, the aborigines in Canada, as defined by our Constitution and subsequent SCOC and provincial courts, have a constitutionally protected RIGHT to hunt, fish and so forth and this supercedes the rights of native Canadians, like me. There are NO "rights" to hunt that accrue to anyone not a Canadian citizen and even ours are pretty precarious.

Very simply, this is not about ANYTHING except what the aboriginals want and the territorial administration will accept and implement. It certainly WOULD BE an intrusion for a foreign national or group(s) thereof to attempt to influence these decisions in any respect and, IMO, most Canadians today would strongly resent this.

Here in BC, last season, many hunters drove north to hunt "draw" Moose and, the local aborigines decided to blockade a road built by "whitey" and prevent these LEGAL hunters from gaining access to the Moose. The RCMP were in attendance and some hunters were bluntly told, that, IF, you attempt to force the blockade, YOU, not the Indians will be arrested....and, that WAS that!

Oh, yeah, the local Guide-Outfitter WAS allowed to bring his foreign clients in to shoot the supposedly disappearing Moose....mind you, he IS an Indian........

I can go on with pages of incidents which I witnessed while working in northern BC, for the BCFS and in Alberta for the AFS. I started in 1972 and spend months alone in the remote wilderness there and I SAW slaughter...we were told to ignore it.......

So, my feeling is that public comments made by non-Canadians, that support foreign access to these Caribou will almost certainly "backfire" as so many urban VOTERS believe the drivel about "stewards of the land", etc. that the radical aborigines and their "white" supporters constantly whine about. I cannot say WHAT will assist with the NWT situation as I have not been there for some 44 years, but, I do suggest that an approach to "helping" be VERY carefully thought out and cautiously applied.

You should see the mess here in BC, it would make any decent person puke and, it WILL get a LOT worse, as there are other bigger resource issues being deliberately masked by these various hunting brouhahas. Think about this and I imagine you will see what I mean.

Anyway, you might also watch the CBC site as there are periodic reports on this with Canada-wide comments from many Canucks and this is indicative of the public opinion at this time.

quote:

Originally posted by Dewey:
I do, very strongly, wish you and the other Canadians involved in hunting the Yukon, N.W.T. and Nunvut luck and lots of it. However, I have been involved with similar issues in B.C. and Alberta, both while a member of provincial resource management agencies and as a res. hunter and member of the BC Wildlife Federation.

I strongly doubt that ANY provincial, territorial or even the federal government really "has the sack" to confront the reality of aboriginal greed, resource waste and the frequent threats of "war" as I wish they would.

The resident hunter is the lowest on the priority list and we, here in BC, are being screwed badly by gutless government, the BCGA...not all GOs are members and some GOs are good people and the lazy, parasites called aboriginal. So, many of us are really pissed and there could be some rumbles coming.

These situations, from that "Caledonia" disgrace in Ontario to the aboriginal blockades in nothern BC of legally drawn resident Moose hunters to what seems to be catering to aboriginals in the "Territories", are just like the "cave-in" to the Franco-phone minority during the "Trudeau years" and it gets worse as time passes..........

My feeling about all of this is from the Vietnam War days....."Shoot'em all and let God sort 'em out"!

On that same note, I remember reading a few days ago how Manitoba closed a few areas to LICENSED moose hunters. The provincial government says they "may" try to come up with a plan for a quota system or similar with the Indians. Seeing as they have an NDP government there, I'd say the moose have little chance of a surge in numbers.

Game management will never work anywhere in Canada unless the First Nations hunting rights are changed. End of story.