I just recieved this email, I dont know the accuracy of it, but I hope it aint so.

I sure am glad I went up & had a wicked hunt last year.

Barry(Arctic) whats the scoop?



Declining caribou herds lead to total hunting ban in big section of N.W.T.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

YELLOWKNIFE - Declining caribou herds have led the Northwest Territories to ban all hunting in a large section of the North, the largest ban yet for aboriginals who depend on the harvest for a large part of their diet.

"We have determined the most reasonable conservation method is to limit the harvest of caribou from the Bathurst herd," N.W.T. Environment Minister Michael Miltenberger said in a release.

The new restrictions, which take effect Jan. 1, ban all hunting in the Bathurst herd's winter range. The no-hunting zone includes most of the central part of the territory from the north shore of Great Slave Lake to the boundary with Nunavut.

Hunting by non-aboriginals will also be banned over a larger area.

Concern over the herd's decline has been building for years. But last summer, survey results carried a distinct whiff of impending catastrophe.

N.W.T. biologists estimated the Bathurst herd of the central barrens had fallen to 32,000 from more than 120,000 animals in 2006 - a 75 per cent implosion representing the loss of nearly 90,000 caribou in only three years.

The Bathurst herd is not the only one whose numbers falling. Scientists suggest nine of Canada's 11 barren-ground caribou herds are in decline.

Researchers suspect one herd, the adjacent Beverly herd, has virtually disappeared despite numbering 280,000 animals only 15 years ago.

Aboriginal hunters in the N.W.T. have gotten used to hunting restrictions over the last few years.

Three self-government bodies responsible for huge swaths of tundra have either implemented or are considering quotas on an animal that many consider a walking grocery store.

For some communities, the quotas halve the number of caribou they are allowed to take - real hardship in a society where caribou is often on the table three or four times weekly.

One group has banned all hunting in a small section of the territory's northwest corner.

An N.W.T. spokesman said the ban will remain in place until the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board, the aboriginal co-management board for the area, comes up with a recovery plan of its own.

Caribou herds have always fluctuated wildly. But scientists fear that this time, new factors such as climate change and industrial development will block their ability to bounce back.

Some hunters and aboriginal elders doubt that the herds are down at all, and suggest scientists are simply looking for them in the wrong place.

I've heard of many caribou herds declining,except Quebec/Labrador.

There are several games being played here with the population estimates. The only bright spot in in the ban is that they have realised that the Native offtake in the winter is having a detrimental effect on the herd as they majority of the winter offtake is female caribou which is very hard on herd vs taking only males. But still there is some funny science at work here by NWT gov't biologists. This years hunt was poor mainly because there was no cold weather up north to start to drive the herd south to their winter range. Heck it was 20C in Norman Wells in mid sept.


Bathurst Herd story

Caribou herd estimates full of booboos: critics
By THE CANADIAN PRESS

Last Updated: 7th November 2009, 4:59am
YELLOWKNIFE -- Caribou herds aren't shrinking; scientists are just looking in the wrong place.

That's the opinion of some aboriginal elders and at least one outfitter determined to expose what he calls a fraud.

"This is a deliberate hoax, not good science," writes John Andre, owner of Montana-based Shoshone Wilderness Adventures, which operates commercial hunts in the Lac de Gras area of the Northwest Territories, northeast of Yellowknife.

Andre has maintained for years that official estimates of caribou populations have been manipulated. Government biologists, he says, have deliberately created the impression of declines by reassigning caribou from established herds to newly created herds.

Andre points to the Bathurst herd, which he says was divided in two in 1996. Animals calving on the east side of Bathurst Inlet were allocated to the so-called Ahiak herd, for which no population count exists.

That created an apparent drop in the Bathurst herd, Andre suggests.

"If you had five herds in 1986 and nine herds in the same geographic area 20 years later, you can't compare one herd with another over that same time ... without re-combining the herds you have split," he writes a in paper entitled The Great Crashing Caribou Hoax.

He maintains a large part of the Bathurst herd simply shifted its calving ground east. "The Ahiak herd are Bathurst caribou and they must be counted as such."

Some aboriginal elders also wonder if caribou haven't simply evaded researchers, said Fred Sangris, who heads the caribou committee for the Dene Nation.

"They're still trying to determine if those numbers are true," he said.

"If there's 100,000 caribou missing in a herd, then where are they? There's no evidence of caribou carcasses or anything on the land."

I found the power point presentation that is mentioned in the above article. It can be found here:Caribou numbers game

When you are employed by government in Canada, you have a VERY simple choice; it is to either promote the policies that the administration in power advocates, or, lose your job. This has, IME, ALWAYS been the case and is not likely to change in the forseeable future.

A MINORITY of courageous and knowledgable professionals will "kick against the pricks" on environmental issues, but, most have families, mortgages and normal lifestyles. WTF do you do at 51, with three kids in university, seven years left on your mortgage and WHO will hire a Phd. in limnology, for example, if you have been fired by the government for which you worked for nearly 20 years?

I could go into detail, but, won't as I think the point is made. As to the ...aboriginal... favouritism, well, that is the "flavour of the month" in contemporary Canada, and will change in due course, when the political powerbrokers find another distraction for the electorate........

If true, this really surprises me.
I was just up there for a dall hunt and literally saw hundreds of them. Some would come up within 10 yards just to check us out.
Made me think of what they say about duikers in Africa - God's gift to the lions. Well, caribou must have been God's gift to the indians.

Rod,

It's getting interesting here the last few months.

About 4 years ago we discovered the Bathurst herd had been now split into 5 herds, with 4 new names. The group left as "Bathurst" were apparently going down in numbers.

Now, back in the early 80's the original "Bathurst" herd moved it's calving ground from the east side of Bathurst Inlet to the west. We were told this was a traditional happening, and that they'd stay there for a few years, moving westerly each year, and then they'd return to the east side. A few thousand had remained on the east side.

Now, we claim that's just what is happening but we're slapped with, "No, the east side is now named "Ahaik" caribou and they won't mingle. ......Bullshit, the "Ahaik" went from 4,000 to about 80,000 in 2 years!! ..not from natural breeding!!

For the last 8 years myself and 3 other outfitters have been primarily getting "Bluenose East" animals and the Gov't agrees. Then why pick on us? "Well, no one can tell one from the other!" is the reply. Hell, I can, based on the antler genetics, .....something they know nothing about!

There are still 400,000 caribou north of Yellowknife on the barrens. Even the gov't acknowledges this, "But we have to protect the Bathurst!"

This past season saw 4 outfitters each report over 35,000 animals in their areas, and a month ago over 75,000 walked through the diamond mine area.

We did not hunt "hard" for animals this season and a few hundred were seen each day by our clients.It wasn't like the 80's, but it was better than when you were here, and lots made the book, in fact the majority made it, and they were in good shape! My standard comment recently is that "biologist" must be an ancient word for someone that can't hunt and find game, ......cause all the hunters can!!

This fall the gov't asked the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board to make recomendations on harvest and suggested stopping all outfitting and local sports hunting. The natives were asked to consider self-imposed quotas and "bulls only". They turned these suggestions down but wanted all non-native hunting stopped.

One has to wonder on this, as outfitters harvested 223 caribou this past fall with the meat going to the Food Bank and bands. Local sport hunters harvested only 50 caribou the past season. The natives bands, that do not report kills, are estimated to take 7,000 to 11,000, with about 60% females (the embryos are considered a delicacy).

The Wek'eezhii Board is going into hearings and there are lots of intervenors, ....all the outfitters, the City of Yellowknife, Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Mines, The NRA, the NWT Wildlife Federation, and you name it. It didn't look good for the gov't with threats of it going to Supreme Court, so now the Minister has overridden the politics and imposed an "Emergency Order" that effectively stops all caribou hunting by anyone until the Board makes a decision in March or maybe when the Supreme Court allows it.

It's getting really hot here despite the -40 weather, ......95% percent of the townsfolk are calling "bullshit" on the gov't. Stories abound of the pilots flying for 20-30 minutes over herds of caribou. John Andre's CD does a good job of explaining the poor work put into this decision, but, as Dewey says, "There's lots at stake for the bureaucrats!"

For myself, I can't honestly give much credence to the gov't theories. They're asking us to stop outfitting for a few years and then jump back in. Without compensation that isn't being offered, this could kill the biggest source of tourism dollars we have. Polar bear hunting is now dead, the MacKenzie Mountain outfitters have 6 years to get out of the new expanded Nahanni Park, and now it could be us.

I'm still booking for this year with small deposits until we know where we stand for sure. If we don't book we're dead, and if they cancel our tags, we return deposits. All bookings are being cautioned not to book their flights. etc., until we know for sure. It doesn't make for a "Merry" Christmas.

'Nuff said,

Barry Taylor
Arctic Safaris

quote:

Originally posted by sprayandpray:
I've heard of many caribou herds declining,except Quebec/Labrador.

They're declinig here too,IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:

quote:

Originally posted by sprayandpray:
I've heard of many caribou herds declining,except Quebec/Labrador.

They're declinig here too,IMO.

In Montreal???

There weren't many caribou on Ste Catherines Blvd when we lived in the Montreal region in the 60's and 70's!

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

I love montreal.The Quebec-Labrador caribou herds or the leaf river and george river herds combined made up about 60000 head during the 50's and 60's then reached about 2 million in the early 90's.