Northern trappers began their annual meeting in Prince Albert on Thursday.
Dr. Rose Roberts of Stanley Mission is one of the keynote speakers at the two-day event.
Organizers say she will talk about some of the work being done at the Indigenous People’s Research Centre.
Studies on water quality, air quality and the earth will be some of the topics raised.
Organizer Leonard Hardlotte says industry’s affects on the land are also a key concern of harvesters from the Far North.
Hardlotte also says gold mines are fast becoming a key issue for trappers in the south.
He adds problems with satellite phones will also be raised with some trappers complaining they are too expensive and unreliable.
How trapping licenses are awarded is another issue that is also being discussed.
Hardlotte adds trappers also believe the government wants to take their cabins away from them once the 21-year leases they were forced to sign expires.
He believes it’s all aimed at making sure there are less and less trappers out there to get in the way of mineral exploration.
Hardlotte also says buyers from Asia are fueling resurgence in the trapping industry.
Leonard Hardlotte says four years ago the number of trappers stood at less then eleven hundred.
However he says due to new markets in China and other countries that number currently sits at around three thousand.
The conference wraps up on Friday.