Oct. 19, 2003. 03:36 PM
Arctic caribou numbers plummeting
Researchers baffled by drop in herd size
CANADIAN PRESS
YELLOWKNIFE - One of the largest caribou herds in the Arctic is in steep decline and researchers are at a loss to explain why.
The size of the Bathurst herd, a crucial economic and cultural resource in
the central tundra of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, has been cut
in half over the last decade. A new survey released this week suggests the
size of the herd, which ranges over Canada's diamond development area, has
fallen to 186,000 animals from about 350,000 in the last 10 years.
The decline continues a long-term trend from the herd's peak of 450,000 animals
in the mid-1980s. And with calf survival rates dropping 15 per cent over
the same period, that decline looks likely to continue.
Some fluctuation in the size of caribou herds is natural, says Doug Stewart
of the N.W.T.'s department of resources, wildlife and economic development.
"The numbers that we're seeing are within the normal range of the ebb and flow of caribou herds over time," he says.
"The government does not see this as a crisis."
Still, he says the mysterious decline is cause for concern.
"As a herd is declining, you want to have a much better understanding of
what factors are affecting it," he said. "If you don't address those factors,
it may not follow its normal curve and climb up again. It may continue to
fall off."
Because the reasons for the decline are still mysterious, industrial development
in that part of the North should be slowed down, said Shelagh Montgomery
of the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee.
Over the 10 years the survey was done, two diamond mines have opened and
a third is on the way. Others may follow. As well, a deep-water port and
an all-weather road have been proposed and are now in the environmental assessment
process.
"The flag that this raises is that the herd is in a vulnerable position," Montgomery said.
"We've got a herd that's at a low in its population. Regardless of how it
got to that low, it's vulnerable right now and there's no sign in sight that
the pace of development is slowing.
"These new results will hopefully spur some recognition there needs to be some sort of balance."
Although caribou are tolerant of industrial development on migration routes,
studies have shown that their calving grounds are easily disrupted. The appearance
of cows and calves, for example, has fallen off around the site of the Ekati
diamond mine, Montgomery said.
The results are already making a difference in resource planning for the area, said Stewart.
The Bathurst Caribou Management Planning Committee, composed of government
and aboriginal representatives, has been working on a management plan for
the herd for the last three years. Those plans will have to be reviewed in
light of the new survey.
"We'll want them to reconsider their recommendations for the management plan," Stewart said.
It would hard to overestimate the herd's importance to area aboriginals.
So-called country food provides a healthy and affordable source of fresh
meat in an area where it's often hard to get. Caribou is both a dietary staple
and a link to the cultural past of Dene and the Inuit.
The herd itself is one of nature's wonders, says Stewart.
"It's quite something to get amongst them," he says. "It's a treasure of this area."