The barren ground caribou is a way of life and a way of survival for many people in the province’s far north. The herd is not yet endangered. but it is being stressed by factors both man-made and natural.
One of the longest serving caribou management boards is meeting in Regina, doing what it can to preserve, protect and maintain the herd.
The barren ground caribou inhabits the far north. It is a migratory animal that traverses great parts of Canada, including the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
It is a delicate creature whose life cycle can be dramatically impacted by logging, mining and temperature change.
To protect that species, the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board has been in place for 32 years.
The chair of the board, Evan Marsh, says once numbers drop it is difficult for the herd to rebuild:
“In the last 15 or 20 years, the caribou can’t rebound like they have in the past because of all of the new challenges they are now facing.”
The board is wrapping up four days of meetings in Regina. Representatives from governments, environmentalists, biology experts and local Aboriginal groups are all represented. George Tsannie is a board member from Wollaston Lake in northern Saskatchewan:
“The caribou is really important for us, you know. That is our livelihood because we live off the caribou.”
There are four different caribou herds in Canada. The woodland caribou, which is not migratory lives in the boreal forests and is considered a species at risk. The barren ground caribou, or Arctic caribou, is in better shape — but its numbers have also been declining as industry moves further north and the impact of climate change is being felt in Arctic regions.