N.W.T. board considering whether Tch should be allowed to increase caribou harvest

The Wek'ezh Renewable Resources Board is being asked to decide whether people in the Tchregion should be able to hunt more Bluenose-East caribou.

In 2019 the total allowable harvest for that herd in the Tchregionwas193 caribou, but a proposed new co-management plan asks the board to increase that number to 395.

The proposed plan was put together by the territorialand Tchgovernments.

Jody Pellissey, the board's executive director, said there's been a "significant increase" in the herd since 2023.

"In 2022, we were still seeing declines in the herd and, or you know, we weren't really seeing a recovery, which is ultimately what we're hoping to do with the management scheme that we're putting in place," Pellissey said.

In March, the KugluktukHunters and Trappers Organization made a recommendation to the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board to increase the total allowable harvest of Bluenose-East caribou from 170 to 450 caribou.

That recommendation was approved and sent to the Nunavut government for a final decision.

Surveys conducted by the N.W.T. government in 2023estimated the Bluenose-East herd population to be around 39,525 higher than the 2021 population estimate of 23,200.

Pellissey said the board is conducting a Level 1review, which is a review done by the board and staff and then a decision is made.

"What we're doing is we're seeking input from the public and as well as seeking anybody who wants to become a participant, a full participant in this proceeding," she said.

Theboard has also opened a public registry.

"We knowthat they've agreed on what is being put forth and one isn't trying to, you know, makea decisionthat the other isn't interested in," Pellissey said. "Co-management, in our opinion, is always having all of the interested parties work together."

The last time the total allowable harvest was increased in theTch region wasin 2019.

Pellissey said even though caribou numbers are increasing, the board also has to consider how that factors into harvesting.

"Do we need to have some caution because this is the first real increase we're seeing in the herd in a number of years? Is it really a recovery? Should the board be increasing it?" she said.

"There's lots of moving pieces and determining whether or not this harvest increase should be considered or not, or whether we should be cautious,that's sort of the main question that the board is considering."

Pellissey also noted that declines and recoveries in caribou populations are based on "more than just one thing."

"If we knew what was causing the declines in caribou herds, we would all yell, 'Hurray' and maybe we could fix the situation," she said."It's all cumulative effects and the impacts of many things. The biology of the herd, predators, harvest, development, climate change, of course."

Public comments on the proposed plan close on Monday.

The Trailbreaker9:17Asking for an increase to the harvest of the Bluenose East caribou.

Jody Pellissey is the director for the Wek'eezhii Renewable Resources Board. She joined Shannon Scott in our studio to talk about a request for an increase to the harvest of the Bluenose East caribou.