December 1, 2014 – The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB) held its fall 2014 meeting in Winnipeg from November 18-20th. The concern that dominated meeting discussion was that pressure on the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq barren-ground caribou herds continues to increase.
The concern that dominated meeting discussion was that pressure on the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq barren-ground caribou herds continues to increase. A major ongoing issue for the BQCMB is that important habitats like calving grounds and post-calving areas lack permanent protection from exploration and development. The BQCMB congratulated the Government of Nunavut for its position that no industrial activities should be permitted on any core calving areas and key access corridors in Nunavut. “This is an important step” said Chair Earl Evans. “We just hope that the Nunavut Planning Commission (NPC) will take heed and do the right thing in its Land Use Plan.”
The BQCMB has urged NPC to include provisions for long-term protection of calving and post-calving areas in the land use plan, which will apply across Nunavut. The current Draft Land Use Plan proposes protected area designation only for calving and post-calving areas that “have not been identified for high mineral potential”, which means that much of the Qamanirjuaq herd’s calving and post-calving areas would not be protected. “This would be totally inadequate.” said Chair Evans. “Already there has been too much disturbance and permitting for exploration in these key areas. If it keeps up, we can kiss the caribou good-bye!” The Board also discussed Mobile Caribou Protection Measures, which have been proposed as mitigation to protect other caribou herds on their calving grounds. The many biologists and community members on the Board strongly stated that these are not a viable option for Beverly and Qamanirjuaq calving grounds, as they would not provide complete long term protection to caribou and habitat from all the negative effects of exploration and development.
The BQCMB is also concerned that recent news of further decline in the Bathurst and Bluenose-East caribou herds to the west will result in increased harvest pressure on the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq herds. For this reason, the BQCMB will continue to recommend the Government of NWT and others not promote or support the use of aircraft to access Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou for the purpose of community hunts. A highlight of the first day of the meeting was a visit by Manitoba Minister of Conservation and Water Stewardship, the Honourable Gord Mackintosh. After recognizing long-time board member Albert Thorassie of Tadoule Lake, MB for his 23 years of service to the BQCMB, the Minister called the Board “a fine example of how co-management can work, truly a Canadian miracle.” He also acknowledged the Board’s work “will get tougher with pressures for changes leading to more developments in the north.”
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The BQCMB is a co-management advisory board that helps manage the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds, which migrate across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The majority of board members represent Aboriginal communities and all board members live in northern Canada. View Backgrounder on: – The BQCMB’s position on protecting barren-ground caribou calving grounds and post-calving areas – Supporting comments – About the BQCMB
