Draft Management Plan for the Bluenose Caribou Herds Update
In 2010, a Bluenose Caribou Management Plan Working Group was formed to develop a plan for the management of the Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West and Bluenose-East Caribou herds and their habitats. That plan has now been drafted and forwarded to the Advisory Committee for the Cooperation on Wildlife Management (ACCWM) for review.
The Bluenose Caribou herds are an important shared resource for the Inuvialuit, Gwich'in, Sahtú, Tłı̨chǫ and Deh Cho regions of the NWT and the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. In developing the plan, each member organization of the Working Group consulted the many communities who harvest the herd for their experience and advice.
The draft plan, "Taking Care of Caribou", describes principles and goals for managing the three herds, current population estimates and trends, information needed to effectively manage the herds, and guidelines for determining what management actions should be taken for defined population level thresholds. Two companion documents, a Science Report detailing the current state of knowledge of the herds and a Community Report on information recorded during community meetings, have also been submitted to the ACCWM for review. The WRRB will also review the draft plan at its upcoming Board meeting in Wekweètì in July.
Fact Box
The Advisory Committee for Cooperation on Wildlife Management (ACCWM) was created to share information and coordinate wildlife management boards and agencies with respect to shared species, with a particular focus on the management of trans-boundary caribou herds.
The ACCWM consists of representatives of:
- Gwich'in Renewable Resources Board
- Kitikmeot Regional Wildlife Board
- Nunavut Wildlife Management Board
- Sahtú Renewable Resources Board
- Tuktut Nogait National Park Management Board
- Wek’èezhìı Renewable Resources Board
- Wildlife Management Advisory Council (NWT)