Status Report and Reassessment of Polar Bear in the NWT (2021)
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Species Status Report Polar Bear Ursus maritimus Nanuq (Siglit/Uummarmiut) Chehzhìi’ (Teetł’it Gwich’in) Chehzhyèe’ (Gwichya Gwich’in) Sahcho degoo (Tłı̨ch ) ǫ IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES RE-ASSESSMENT – SPECIAL CONCERN April 2021 Status of Polar Bear in the NWT 1 Species at Risk Committee status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of species suspected of being at risk in the Northwest Territories (NWT). Suggested citation: Species at Risk Committee. 2021. Species Status Report for Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) in the Northwest Territories. Species at Risk Committee, Yellowknife, NT. © Government of the Northwest Territories on behalf of the Species at Risk Committee ISBN: 978-0-7708-0273-8/ 0-7708-0273-7 Production note: The drafts of this report were prepared by Dan Slavik (Indigenous and community knowledge component) and Dr. Philip McLoughlin (scientific knowledge component), under contract with the Government of the Northwest Territories, and edited by Claire Singer, Species at Risk Implementation Supervisor, Species at Risk Secretariat. For additional copies contact: Species at Risk Secretariat c/o SC6, Department of Environment and Natural Resources P.O. Box 1320 Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9 Tel.: (855) 783-4301 (toll free) Fax.: (867) 873-0293 E-mail: [email protected] www.nwtspeciesatrisk.ca ABOUT THE SPECIES AT RISK COMMITTEE The Species at Risk Committee was established under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act. It is an independent committee of experts responsible for assessing the biological status of species at risk in the NWT. The Committee uses the assessments to make recommendations on the listing of species at risk. The Committee uses objective biological criteria in its assessments and does not consider socio-economic factors. Assessments are based on species status reports that include the best available Indigenous knowledge, community knowledge, and scientific knowledge of the species. The status report is approved by the Committee before a species is assessed. ABOUT THIS REPORT This species status report is a comprehensive report that compiles and analyzes the best available information on the biological status of polar bear in the NWT, as well as existing and potential threats and positive influences. Full guidelines for the preparation of species status reports, including a description of the review process, may be found at www.nwtspeciesatrisk.ca. Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, provides full administrative and financial support to the Species at Risk Committee. Cover illustration photo credit: ENR Status of Polar Bear in the NWT 2 RE-ASSESSMENT OF POLAR BEAR The Northwest Territories Species at Risk met on April 15-16, 2021 and assessed the biological status of polar bear in the Northwest Territories. The assessment was based on this approved status report. The assessment process and objective biological criteria used by the Species at Risk Committee are based on Indigenous and Community Knowledge (ICK) and Scientific Knowledge (SK) and are available at: www.nwtspeciesatrisk.ca. Assessment: Special Concern in the Northwest Territories Special Concern – May become Threatened or Endangered in the Northwest Territories because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats. Reasons for the assessment: Polar bear fit criterion ICK (a) and SK (b) for Special Concern. Criterion Special Concern ICK(a) Knowledge holders are observing changes in abundance, habitat quality/quantity, movements, or range, but these changes are not yet large enough to qualify the species for Threatened AND knowledge holders express concern that the species is being adversely impacted by one or more natural or human-caused threats. SK(b) The species may become Threatened if factors suspected of negatively influencing the persistence of the species are neither reversed nor managed with demonstrable effectiveness. Main factors (ICK): • Polar bears are solitary, live at very low densities, cover large ranges and constantly move to find ideal ice conditions and seals. Polar bear abundance changes from year to year and from region to region. • Knowledge holders have observed that polar bears are not as big as they used to be, but there is not consensus on population-wide changes in body condition. Polar bears are observed to more often consuming the entire seal (as opposed to the blubber only), which suggests that these bears may be facing nutritional stress. • Climate change has had an intensifying effect on polar bears and their habitat. There is broad concern that climatic conditions may alter denning habitat or render previously important habitats unsuitable, and influence polar bear condition, reproduction and prey availability. Status of Polar Bear in the NWT 3 • Knowledge holders suggest that polar bears may be adjusting their range further north and further out on the multi-year ice. Some polar bears have also recently been observed travelling further inland than in the past. • Although ice conditions have always been highly variable (between and within seasons), knowledge holders have observed declines in multi-year ice and changes in sea ice from multi-year to annual ice pack. Annual pack ice may yield better ice conditions for polar bears. • The combined effects of climate change with rapidly increasing development and activity, such as oil and gas exploration and marine traffic, in the Arctic are cause for high uncertainty and concern about cumulative impacts on polar bears and their habitat. • Despite concern about the threats listed above, knowledge holders are not observing declines in polar bear populations at this time and they know polar bears are highly intelligent animals that can adapt to climate change. Main factors (SK): • NWT polar bears are from four subpopulations that are shared with Alaska, Yukon and Nunavut. Therefore, estimating the NWT-only polar bear population is challenging. The current best estimate is about 1,000 mature polar bears, but this leaves an unknown number of polar bears from the Arctic Basin subpopulation. • The NWT population of polar bears is more likely to decline than to increase over the next three generations of polar bears. • Scientific observations indicate a climate change-driven decline in summer extent of sea ice and ice thickness throughout much of the Arctic since 1970. Changes are ongoing, with winter Arctic sea ice extent continuing to decline. Most recent models predict that by 2050, the Arctic will be ice-free in September. • Climate change related losses in sea ice in the range of the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation is of particular concern and has been associated with declines in survival and reproduction in the Alaskan portion of its range. Most research on links between climate change and polar bears has not specifically targeted NWT polar bears, however evidence suggests that declines in sea ice habitat are occurring in the NWT range, and this is likely having an impact on polar bears in the NWT. • In some areas, changes in ice conditions are linked to declining body condition of seals, the main food source of polar bear. Recent data show that polar bear body condition changes in response to shifts in food resources, which are linked to seasonal changes in sea ice. Status of Polar Bear in the NWT 4 Additional factors: • People in communities have expressed concerns about invasive research techniques impacting polar bear health. Harvesters and elders from numerous communities have discussed how chasing and immobilizing polar bears with helicopters so that they can be tagged can “spook” bears. • Other threats to polar bear include pollution, potential offshore development of hydrocarbon reserves, increased ship traffic, transportation and service corridors, increase pathogens, changes in foraging ecology and other cumulative effects. Positive influences to polar bear and their habitat: • Inuvialuit have been managing their interactions with polar bears since time immemorial and have codes of conduct, traditional practices, and bylaws in place to ensure harvesting practices are sustainable. The precautionary principle is applied to quota decisions to ensure that wildlife populations will not be negatively affected by the harvest. • Landmark agreements like the 1988 Inuvialuit-Inupiat Agreement and the 2006 Kitikmeot-Inuvialuit Polar Bear Management Agreement promote transboundary management and knowledge sharing. • In 2017, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region Polar Bear Joint Management Plan was completed. This plan was developed to meet the requirements of a management plan under the territorial Species at Risk (NWT) Act and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Yukon and NWT) regional component of the national management plan under the federal Species at Risk Act while respecting the joint management process legislated by the Inuvialuit Final Agreement (IFA). • Community conservation plans have been developed and recently updated for all six Inuvialuit Settlement Region communities. These plans identify critical habitat, community uses, and conservation objectives, to inform future decision making. • In recent years in the NWT, researchers have been exploring less invasive research techniques, including biopsy mark-recapture methods which are currently underway in the NWT. Status of Polar Bear in the NWT 5 Recommendations: • Encourage and support ongoing ICK research to provide critical long term on-the- ground observations that will help understand annual changes and be useful for species