Dolphin and Union caribou first species labelled endangered by N.W.T. legislation

In Ulukhaktok, N.W.T., the local hunters and trappers committee is leading efforts to save the Dolphin and Union Caribou herd, which became the first population designated as endangered under N.W.T. legislation last week. 

About five years ago, the community put in place a voluntary hunting ban on Dolphin and Union caribou each year during calving season, from April 15 to July 15.

Joshua Oliktuak is the mayor of Ulukhaktok, and the head of the Olokhaktomiut Hunters and Trappers Committee.

"I think it's making a real difference," he said of the ban, adding that hunters in the community have reported seeing many more calves with the herd over the last couple of years.

The Dolphin and Union herd migrates between Victoria Island and Bathurst Inlet in mainland Nunavut, and is an important food source for communities including Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk in Nunavut and Ulukhaktok, in the N.W.T. 

The herd has declined by about 90 per cent in around three generations, from about 30,000 caribou in 1997 to 3,800 in 2020.

The Conference of Management Authorities (CMA), which includes all Northwest Territories wildlife co-management boards and governments, officially changed the designation for the herd from "special concern" to "endangered" on Aug. 1.

That means the herd is "facing imminent extinction," said Rob Gau, manager of biodiversity conservation for the N.W.T. department of Environment and Climate Change.

Many of the factors thought to be contributing to the herd's decline are linked to climate change.

Warmer temperatures and more shipping traffic is creating unstable sea ice on the herd's migration route, and researchers believe some caribou are drowning during the twice-annual journey. Oliktuak said he and other hunters are also seeing this.

"I believe it's getting harder and harder for ice to remain for caribou crossing," he said. 

Oliktuak also said that an increase in freezing rain on the lower part of the island is creating a layer of ice on the ground and making it harder for caribou to access grasses and other foods in the winter.

There has also been an increase in habitat overlap between Dolphin and Union caribou and grizzly bears as temperatures warm, increasing the risk members of the herd will be lost to predation.

Gau said that with the change in designation, there is a requirement that N.W.T. Wildlife management boards collaborate to develop a co-ordinated recovery strategy for the herd, with input from partners in Nunavut and the federal government. The deadline to finalize this strategy will be Aug. 1, 2027.

Oliktuak said he supports the change in status for the Dolphin and Union caribou herd.

"It's a good thing," he said.

The Olokhaktomiut Hunters and Trappers Committee collaborates with its counterparts in Nunavut on caribou management, but because travel in the area is so expensive, they rarely get to meet in person. He is hoping there might be funding for in-person meetings as part of the consultation for the recovery strategy.

But ultimately, he said he was hopeful about the future of the herd.

"They continue to do their part and we do our part, and I believe that's really making a difference." 

Gau also said he was hopeful about the recovery strategy.

"We're all working together to help manage the threats for Dolphin and Union caribou the best we can," he said.

"The Inuvialuit communities are true leaders in conservation."