Project Description:

The Gwich’in Renewable Resources Board (GRRB) and the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute (GSCI) collaborated on a study to gather and report on Gwich’in Traditional Knowledge of Boreal Woodland Caribou.  There is a stable population of woodland caribou in the Gwich’in Settlement Area and surrounding regions.  However, the Canadian population is classified as threatened under the federal Species at Risk Act.  Environment Canada supported the project in order to integrate Traditional Knowledge in the recovery planning process for boreal woodland caribou.

The GSCI and the GRRB conducted 20 interviews with holders of Gwich’in traditional knowledge and searched the digital archives of GSCI for relevant primary and secondary data to obtain TK about general observations, special significance, physical description, distribution, habitat, population size and trend, limiting factors and threats, and health of the woodland caribou. Gwich’in hunters have in-depth knowledge about boreal woodland caribou which they generously shared in the interviews. 

Project Outcomes or Intended Outcomes:

The purpose of this study was to gather and collate Gwich’in traditional knowledge for use in the Federal Species at Risk Boreal Caribou recovery planning process.  It was also used for the NWT Species at Risk Boreal Caribou status report and assessment, and subsequent Recovery Strategy.

Project Description:

Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN) is working with all levels of government across two provinces, industry, National Defence, and research groups to develop and implement caribou conservation measures. The specific focus of these efforts is the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR).  CLFN was evicted from the CLAWR in 1952 and regained access in 2001 after a long legal process. CLFN has been concerned for many years about how the CLAWR is managed and what the long term impacts to its homelands will be. This project focuses on aligning conservation measures with CLFN Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and implementing them in a complex regulatory environment. The centerpiece of this effort to date is a Section 11 Agreement with Canada that provides common ground for parties to collaborate.

Project Outcomes or Intended Outcomes:

• Implementation of provincial (Species at Risk Act compliant) range plans and the associated actions inside a National Defence facility in collaboration with provinces.
• Creation of a multi year restoration plan for the CLAWR
• Conservation of critical caribou habitat
• Alternate Prey Management 
• Monitoring of ungulates 
• Implementation of restoration activities that integrate IK
• Development and application of Dene Law to CLFN's actions on the land
• Moving towards reconciliation with Canada over the historical legacy of CLFN's eviction from the CLAWR and the subsequent decades of irreparable social harm.

Project Description:

The programme de suivi des population de caribou au Québec vise le suivi de 12 indicateurs biologiques, regroupés sous 6 thématique / The monitoring program of caribou populations in Québec targets 12 biological indicators grouped into 6 themes:

• Population status
  • Abundance (Population size and density) : aerial surveys
  • Population structure : classifications (determination of sex and age class of caribou observed during aerial surveys)
• Demography - Survival
  • Survival rate : telemetry monitoring
  • Contribution of different mortality causes : visit of mortality sites
• Demography – Recruitment and productivity
  • Recruitment : classifications (determination of sex and age class of caribou observed during aerial surveys)
  • Female productivity : feces collection
• Population trend
  • Demographic trend
• Health condition
  • Body condition: Measurements during capture
  • Parasites and diseases: Exams and collection of samples during capture
• Space use
  • Definition of habitat selection, seasonal areas and critical habitats : telemetry monitoring

Project Outcomes or Intended Outcomes:

• Mettre à jour l’abondance de caribou forestier dans les populations et à travers sa distribution provinciale / Update the abundance of boreal caribou within the populations and across the provincial range
• Préciser la répartition du caribou forestier de part et d’autre de la limite nordique d’attribution des forêts / Clarify the distribution of boreal caribou on both site of the northern limit of commercial forest allocation
• Déterminer la tendance démographique des populations/Determine the demographic trend of populations;
• Évaluer la productivité des populations / Assess the productivity of populations
• Évaluer l’état de santé des populations et l’influence de la condition corporelle sur les indicateurs démographiques / Assess the health status of populations and the influence of body condition on demographic indicators
• Évaluer l’état de référence des maladies et parasites présents et évaluer la présence de certains parasites potentiellement délétères dans les populations / Assess the baseline conditions in diseases and parasites and and assess the presence of deleterious parasites in the populations
• Évaluer la contribution des différentes causes de mortalités / Assess the contribution of different mortality causes
• Définir les populations en termes d’unités territoriales de gestion / Define population as management units

Wood was awarded a contract in 2008 to undertake baseline wildlife assessments in the study area and develop and conduct a long-term mammals monitoring program (focused on caribou, moose and wolves). The monitoring program measures wildlife responses to mine redevelopment locally as well as more regionally within the Kesagami range and informs mitigation and compensation components of provincial Species at Risk approvals. Monitoring objectives are focused on identifying important seasonal habitat areas that have the potential to be directly or indirectly impacted by the mine or any future expansion. The focus of the monitoring program is on delineating more detailed baseline information on spatio-temporal parameters of woodland caribou including annual and seasonal range use, fidelity to core use and/or seasonal ranges that may directly inform impact assessments as well as compensation and mitigation strategies to be implemented. A road network habitat restoration project is in the initial consultation/planning phase. Caribou monitoring methods undertaken at the range scale include satellite telemetry (n=20 collars and mortality investigations), systematic aerial surveys of ungulate-wolf occurrence and caribou herd composition. The caribou surveys include group classification (age, sex) and calf recruitment to support population modelling of state and vital rates.

Research completed by the University of Saskatchewan in collaboration with a consortium of industry and government partners. Research included a multi-faceted program on the population dynamics and critical habitat of woodland (boreal) caribou in the SK1 administrative unit.

The program was designed to address information gaps about caribou habitat and population dynamics closely aligned with information required by Environment and Climate Change Canada as part of the 2012 federal Recovery Strategy.

The Bipole III Transmission Project is a 1,388 km high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission project traversing several ecozones.  The project starts at the Keewatinohk converter station near Gillam in northern Manitoba and ends at the Riel Converter Station in the RM of Springfield. On behalf of Manitoba Hydro, Wood Canada Ltd. developed and implemented a long-term Mammals Monitoring Program compliant with the project license conditions and approved Biophysical Monitoring Plan to monitor project effects during the construction (Jan 2015-June 2018) and early operation (July 2018-ongoing) phases.  Monitored mammal VECs include Woodland Caribou, Moose, Coastal and Barren-ground Caribou, White-tailed Deer, Elk, Gray Wolf, Black Bear, and Furbearer species.  The multi-year study design involves systematic monitoring conducted at multiple spatial and temporal scales and integration of rigorous systematic sampling methods using combinations of non-invasive genetic sampling/ genotyping, aerial surveys, satellite telemetry, trail camera studies, winter ground tracking, and harvest monitoring, depending on mammal VEC.  Caribou monitoring methods undertaken at the range scale include satellite telemetry in 4 woodland caribou local population ranges (n=20 collars/range and mortality investigations), systematic aerial surveys of ungulate-wolf occurrence and caribou herd composition.  Non-invasive genetic sampling (NGS) methods integrated with capture-recapture (CR) estimation and population modelling of state and vital rates for the 4 boreal caribou populations.