Map Atlas

[heading_horizontal type=”h6″ margin_top=”20px” margin_bottom=”20px”]About this Project[/heading_horizontal]

Project Background

In 1996, the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board took steps to research and map the most important habitats of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq ranges, in light of growing mineral exploration and other industrial developments in Canada’s North. The result was the report and CD:

• Protecting Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou and Caribou Range, published in January 1999
• CD-ROM, Protecting Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou and Caribou Range – Part 2: Map Atlas and Documentation, released in 2000.

The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB) compiled information on past distribution and movements of Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou from government files and reports. The primary elements of the project are described below.

• A geographic information system (GIS) was used to produce maps showing (geographic areas) used by these caribou herds over many years.
• A year in the life of caribou was divided into seven life cycle periods (for example, spring migration, early winter), and past distribution and movements of caribou were mapped for each of these periods.
• Caribou-range sensitivity ratings were developed to provide a general guide for assessing potential negative impacts of land use activities on caribou and caribou range at particular times of the year.
• A rating system was developed for evaluating the importance of water and ice crossings to caribou.

[heading_horizontal type=”h6″ margin_top=”20px” margin_bottom=”20px”]Purpose of the Project[/heading_horizontal]

Making Information Available and Accessible

The BQCMB undertook this project primarily to make a large amount of previously inaccessible information available to groups such as government agencies, aboriginal resource management boards and land use planning boards, industry, and the public. By making this information accessible and useable, the Board hoped to improve decision-making and ensure that the range of Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou is managed wisely.

The information is intended for use in resource management planning (such as land use planning and protected areas planning) and impact assessment work on the range of Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou.

The information provided in these publications can be used to help people decide:

• which activities can be permitted on caribou range without harming the caribou herds or their habitat
• which activities should be modified to ensure the caribou and habitats are protected
• which major developments should be excluded from caribou range.

It will be necessary to assess the possible negative impacts of development projects within the ranges of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq herds on a case-by-case basis.

Much additional information, including local knowledge, must be incorporated into land use decisions. The cumulative (accumulating) effects of all land use projects must also be assessed.

[heading_horizontal type=”h6″ margin_top=”20px” margin_bottom=”20px”]Products[/heading_horizontal]

BQCMB 1999. Protecting Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou and Caribou Range – Part 1: Background Information.

Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board, Ottawa, Ontario.

The report contains:

• background information about the BQCMB and the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds
• information about range use patterns of the caribou herds between the 1940s and 1990s
• characteristics of caribou and caribou range that affect their sensitivity to land use activities
• relative sensitivity ratings for caribou and habitat to land use activities during life cycle periods.
• 13 generalized black-and-white maps, which summarize all information compiled to date on the past distribution of the two caribou herds.

Report: (complete report pdf) 12.55 MB [tt_vector icon=”fa-arrow-circle-down” size=”fa-1.5x” border=”false” pull=”” color=””] VIEW

BQCMB 2000. Protecting Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou and Caribou Range – Part 2: Map Atlas and Documentation.

CD-ROM created for the BQCMB by Leslie A. Wakelyn and David E. C. Taylor, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Data compilation and mapping by Leslie A. Wakelyn. Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board, Ottawa, Ontario.

Map Atlas

The main components of the map atlas are:

More than 75 colour maps showing distribution and range use patterns of Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou during seven life cycle periods. These maps are based primarily on information obtained during government surveys (1940 – 1995), and by monitoring movements of caribou using satellite collars (1993-1997).

Note: The maps in the atlas are based on the same information as the maps in the report (Part The map atlas, however, contains colour maps that provide more detailed and accurate information than the generalized black-and-white maps that were published in the report.

Three indices that each list and provide links to all of the maps on the CD. Each index organizes the maps in a different way (by caribou life cycle period, herd, or type of data) to help people determine which maps are available, and to identify maps that they are interested in viewing.

Information about water and ice crossings used by Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou and their protective status, and about the BQCMB’s system for evaluating the importance of water crossings to caribou.

Maps by Caribou Herd

This list of maps provided in the map atlas on the CD-ROM is organized first by caribou herd, second by type of information, and then by caribou life cycle period.

Map Atlas: List of Maps by Caribou Herd

[heading_horizontal type=”h6″ margin_top=”20px” margin_bottom=”20px”]Background Information[/heading_horizontal]

 

Documentation (Information About Data Sources):

Information about the hundreds of data files used to produce the maps (such as data sources, details of surveys and relative density of caribou observed), and the limitations of available data are provided in the documentation section of the CD-ROM.

It does not, however, contain the data on which the maps are based. Requests for data should be made to the BQCMB.

The production of the original CD-ROM was made possible thanks to:

• the financial assistance of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board
• in-kind support provided by the Department of Resources, Wildlife, and Economic Development (currently Environment and Natural Resources), Government of the Northwest Territories.

Types of Information Used for Mapping

Three types of scientific information were used to map Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou distribution and movements:

• Government survey data,
• Locations of satellite-monitored caribou, and
• Data on sites used by caribou to cross water bodies (water and ice crossings).

These information sources are described briefly below.

Government Survey Data

Maps were based on information collected during government surveys of caribou distribution and abundance from 1940 to 1995. A variety of survey types produced different types of information that vary in terms of accuracy, detail, and other characteristics.

The amount of survey data used for mapping varied between caribou herds and among life cycle periods. The greatest number and highest frequency of surveys occurred for calving grounds, and information about caribou distribution during late winter and spring migration was also collected relatively frequently. The least amount of information from surveys was available for late summer and fall migration/rut periods.

Locations of Satellite-monitored Caribou

Approximately 1800 locations of 13 satellite-monitored caribou were used to produce maps of caribou movements between March 1993 and May 1997. Between 3 and 8 female adult caribou were monitored at any particular time during this period. Monitoring periods for individual caribou varied from 4.5 months to more than 2 years.

Data on Water and Ice Crossings

One hundred-and-twenty (120) sites used by Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou to cross water bodies were identified and mapped, including 43 sites previously documented in publications.