Caribou in the NWT

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Caribou in the Northwest Territories

Caribou are central to the way of life of Indigenous northerners and have sustained people in the NWT for many generations.

There are five types of caribou in the Northwest Territories (NWT). Risks and management actions for each type are very different, due to their different seasonal movements, distribution and ecology.

Peary caribou  live in the northernmost part of the territory, on the Arctic islands.

Dolphin and Union caribou must cross the sea ice twice a year, migrating to Victoria Island for the summer and the mainland for the winter.

Barren-ground caribou make long-distance migrations from wintering areas to summering areas north of the treeline. They are the most abundant and widespread type of caribou in the NWT and are managed by herd based upon calving grounds.

Boreal caribou live in the boreal and taiga forest. They move less than barren-ground and do not migrate seasonally. Unlike other types of caribou, they have no distinct calving grounds. Females prefer to spread throughout the forest to calve.

Northern mountain caribou live in the Mackenzie Mountains. They make seasonal migrations between higher ground and forested areas in lower altitudes.

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Management

All caribou in the NWT are managed with co-management partners, including Indigenous governments and organizations, renewable resource boards and communities.

All protection and herd management efforts are supported by ongoing monitoring and research, including Indigenous knowledge and community-based caribou research and monitoring programs.

Conservation tools to protect caribou in the NWT fall broadly into two categories: tools for protecting caribou and tools for protecting caribou habitat.

Tools to protect caribou

Tools to protect caribou include harvest management, reporting of caribou harvest and promoting responsible harvesting practices through hunter education programs.

There are also tools for managing sensory disturbance to caribou during sensitive periods, and tools for managing caribou mortality from vehicle collisions on roads or due to other physical hazards, including open pits and trenches and entanglement in fences.

Tools to protect caribou habitat

Tools to protect caribou habitat include conservation of key habitats and managing land use through land use planning and associated conformity requirements, by potentially setting thresholds for cumulative habitat disturbance, and by encouraging or requiring best industry practices through environmental assessments. Habitat protection could also include fire protection for key caribou winter ranges. The tools include range plans and management plans.

For some types of caribou, these plans will help guide decision-makers who need to consider how new development could affect the caribou. For other types, such as boreal caribou, range plans demonstrate how we will protect and maintain critical habitat using a combination of enforceable legal instruments and policy.

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Species at Risk Status

Species at risk legislation governs the protection of wildlife species in the NWT: the federal Species at Risk Act and the Species at Risk (NWT) Act. Each has its own process for assessing the status of a species and a legal listing process that can trigger the development of management plans, recovery plans or other actions to protect species at risk.

Boreal caribou, northern mountain caribou, barren-ground caribou, Peary caribou, and Dolphin and Union caribou are all listed as species at risk under federal and/or territorial species at risk legislation. Management actions for these species are developed through management plans and recovery strategies.

In the NWT, specific actions are required for boreal caribou habitat protection, based on their status under federal species at risk legislation. This includes the development of range plans.

There are also conservation actions and management obligations under the Wildlife Act, the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act and under land and self-government agreements.

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Resources

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