New Regulations for NWT Wildlife Act

At its September meeting, the Board met with Rob Gau, Manager, Biodiversity Conservation in GNWT’s Wildlife Division, on regulation amendments for the new NWT Wildlife Act.  The NWT Wildlife Act was passed in October, 2013.  In order to bring it into force by November 28, 2014, regulation amendments were required. The GNWT sought formal approval from each renewable resources board, including the WRRB, for the amended regulations.

The Board held a special meeting on November 18, 2014 with the support of legal counsel, to review the proposed regulations that Rob described in his presentation, along with the Wildlife Act Working Group (WAWG) recommendations. 

Earlier this fall, the Chair and Executive Director for the WRRB attended a final meeting of the WAWG on October 28-31, 2014 to ensure that the regulation amendments are consistent with and respect the decision-making frameworks established by the land claim agreements. 

Fact Box:

• The new NWT Wildlife Act replaces the former Act last updated in 1998.
• The WRRB is a member of the Wildlife Act Working Group, which includes co-management boards and government.  The working group worked on developing the new NWT Wildlife Act and drafting specific regulations for wildlife management.
• The new Act is intended to focus on conservation of wildlife for future generations, the importance of ecosystems, and the integration of scientific and traditional knowledge.
• For more information on the NWT Wildlife Act, and a plain language summary of the Act, visit http://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/programs/wildlife/new-wildlife-act