PR (Wolf 2020): 082 - Wolf (dìga) Management Programs in Northwest Territories, Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, and Alberta: A Review of Options for Management on the Bathurst Caribou Herd Range in the Northwest Territories.

Various jurisdictions in Canada and the United States have implemented programs to manage wolves, often in response to concerns for declining ungulate populations. Lethal and/or non-lethal methods have been used in Northwest Territories (NWT), Yukon, Alaska, British Columbia, and Alberta with varying results. Historically, trapping and ground shooting of wolves was encouraged through incentive programs, some of which included use of poisons. Current, on-going wolf management programs often integrate harvest-based techniques with more intensive approaches, such as aerial shooting. For programs that have included monitoring initiatives, results suggest that without continued, targeted wolf removals in the area of concern, any positive responses by the ungulate population(s) of concern are typically not sustained. In an effort to support recovery of the Bathurst caribou herd and contribute to an informed response, this report provides information on options for management of wolves using examples from jurisdictions surrounding NWT, including the effectiveness, cost, and humaneness of control methods, local and First Nations involvement in programs, and plans used to guide wolf management. A significant challenge to wolf management on the range of the Bathurst caribou herd is the migratory nature of this predator-prey system resulting in a potential need to consider management actions on wolves more broadly.