SRRB and WRRB Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Collaborative Management of Bluenose-East Caribou

Representatives of the Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı/Sahtú Renewable Resources Board (SRRB) and the WRRB recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Collaborative Efforts for the Management of the Bluenose-East Caribou Herd (MOU) .  Michael Neyelle, SRRB Chair, and Grant Pryznyk, WRRB Special Representative, are pictured signing the MOU on October 27, 2015. 

The Bluenose-East (BNE) caribou herd’s range falls within Sahtú and Wek’èezhìı, and both the SRRB and the WRRB have responsibilities for managing the herd.  In June 2015, Environment and Natural Resources, GNWT conducted a calving ground photo survey, as well as an aerial reconnaissance survey and a composition survey for the Bluenose-East caribou herd. Results indicate that the herd has continued to decline in population. 

The SRRB and WRRB anticipate the receipt of a management proposal for the BNE caribou herd in December 2015. While each Board will conduct its own proceeding, including a public hearing in both the Sahtú and Wek’èezhìı, the SRRB and WRRB have developed a cooperative framework and approach to public hearings that will minimize duplication, increase consistency and ensure that management of the Bluenose-East caribou herd is as effective as possible.

Under this arrangement, each Board would attend hearings held by the other Board, and in this way, “hear” the same “evidence” and be in a better position to share information, as well as have greater access to public views and “evidence” across the herd’s range area.  This collaboration will allow for consistency in the Boards’ respective decision-making processes.

Both Boards are looking forward to coordinating efforts for the effective management of the Bluenose-East caribou herd. 

Fact Box:

• Both the Sahtú Dene and Métis Land Claim Agreement and the Tłı̨chǫ Agreement say that the SRRB and WRRB must hold a public hearing when the Board considers establishing a Total Allow Harvest (TAH) for a wildlife population that has not had a TAH within the past two years.
• A Total Allowable Harvest means the total harvest that is allowed within an allocation period. 
• The “Taking Care of Caribou: The Cape Bathurst, Bluenose West and Bluenose East Barren-ground Caribou Herds Management Plan” was submitted to governments for implementation in November 2014. Currently, Action Plans for the three herds are being developed with the intent to submit to governments by the end of March 2016.