Someone reported poaching on a winter road, but the dispatcher didn't know what a winter road was

Over the weekend, a frustrated N.W.T. mine employee said he tried reporting what appeared to be poachers to a government hotline, but the dispatcher seemed unaware of the territory's basic geography and as a result nothing could be done.

The mine employee said when he tried reporting the apparent poaching on the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road — in a no-hunting zone — the person who answered the call for the territorial government's hotline was unfamiliar with what a winter road was.

The Mobile Core Bathurst Caribou Management Zone is an area around the winter road where it is illegal to hunt caribou due to the Bathurst herd being at a critically low number. According to the Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) website, as of 2021 there were only 6,240 animals left. In 2003, that number was 186,000.

There can be confusion around this zone as it moves with the herd and hunters can sometimes find themselves in an area they were unaware was off-limits. 

The mine worker requested anonymity due to possible employment ramifications, which CBC granted. 

Call centre

The mine employee believes the dispatcher on the hotline wasn't even in the N.W.T. and there was no system in place to intervene.

CBC News asked ENR where the dispatchers for the hotline are located.

Mike Westwick, a spokesperson for the department, said in an email the poacher line goes to a call centre operated by "an NWT-based business contracted to serve as a 24/7 dispatch service."

He added there were reports from the weekend of someone having issues accessing services through that line and that the department is investigating. 

There are no contracts for call centres listed on OpenNWT, a website that aggregates public information on government contracts and tenders. The only registered call centre in the N.W.T. CBC News could find is in Inuvik, called Mackenzie-Delta, which is described on its website as a northern technology support team. CBC News attempted to call Mackenzie-Delta, but the number was not in service.  

The mine employee said he has the contact information for an ENR officer who he can reach directly on weekdays to report poaching in the area. 

However, he was unable to get a hold of the officer on the weekend and as a result contacted the toll-free number.

The mine employee said when he made the call, the hunters were still at the location, which is not often the case with reporting poaching — usually it's just the carcasses that are left behind.

A false alarm, but an ongoing issue

The weekend incident proved to be a false alarm, as on Monday the mine employee told CBC News that, after following-up with ENR, he was informed the people hunting on the winter road matched the description of a company conducting a licensed wolf hunt.

The mine employee said even though what he saw may not have been poaching, the problem is constant and issues around reporting poaching can exacerbate the problem.

Westwick said ENR did investigate a reported poaching incident that matched this description, and no violations were found. But Westwick added there were two other separate investigations launched over the weekend, including into illegal harvesting in a no-hunting zone.

Westwick said as the winter road season comes to an end, there are 42 investigations into caribou being illegally harvested. 

That's around the same number as last year when ENR investigated over 50 incidents, a sharp increase from under 10, two years ago.

'They can't afford to lose much more'

Earl Evans, chair of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB), said every caribou that is killed in the no-hunting zone is devastating for the Bathurst herd. 

"Any number is high and they can't afford to lose much more," he said. "That herd is right on the brink of no longer being in existence."

Evans said the devastation of the loss would extend beyond food at the table. It would be a loss of culture for many. 

"The cultural aspect of taking your family in the bush, taking younger people out there and showing them the skills that they need to possess," he said. "There's no way to replace that."

Evans gives ENR credit for the work done to keep the Bathurst caribou alive, saying they might not be around if not for the no-hunting zone.

"They're doing a good job out there," he said. "It's a hard job to manage this herd at a critical time like this."

Evans said the responsibility falls on the individual harvesters who are hunting illegally. 

"We're going to have to make sacrifices," he said.