PR (Wolf 2020): 135 - Preliminary analysis of winter range overlaps between the Bluenose East, Bathurst and Beverly/Ahiak migratory tundra caribou herds

The Bathurst herd’s winter range in some years overlaps the winter ranges of its neighboring herds (Bluenose East, and Beverly/Ahiak herds). The overlapping winter distribution between the herds has complicated monitoring, assigning harvests and possibly affects potential switches of cows between calving grounds. In the 2019 Reasons for Decision report for the Bluenose East caribou herd, the Wek’èezhìı Renewable Resource Board (WRRB) noted that the lack of analyses for winter distribution which contributed to the WRRB’s uncertainty about the reliability of harvest information (WRRB 2019b).
To increase understanding of the overlapping winter ranges, the WRRB initiated analyses of the caribou distribution using the Government of the Northwest Territories collared caribou. We have measured the extent of overlap at the herd and individual caribou scales which will be useful in the context of, for example, harvest and predator management and also land-use management such Caribou Mobile Measures.