Southern Lakes Wildlife Coordinating Committee

Recommendations regarding the Management of Caribou in the Southern Lakes Area November 17, 2008

Introduction

Elders recall when the mountains of the Southern Lakes area moved with caribou and “Caribou Crossing”, now Carcross, was a traditional hunting camp. Archaeological findings indicate that caribou ranged in large numbers throughout the entire Southern Lakes area. These caribou were the primary source of meat for local First Nations and for the miners travelling to the Klondike goldfields. Today only small remnant herds are left as a reminder of this once abundant caribou population, and their range has been bisected by roads, residential and agricultural developments.

Caribou are an integral part of the Yukon landscape and play an important role in a healthy ecosystem. They represent a guild of species associated with old growth forests. Caribou are sensitive to habitat alterations and human activities on their range. Many caribou herds across Canada are in decline due to changing landscapes from both human and natural factors. For these reasons, woodland caribou across Canada are listed under the federal Species at Risk Act, and the Northern Mountain population, which includes the Southern Lakes herds, was listed as a species of “Special Concern” in 2002. This means that if conditions do not change, these caribou will decline further towards extinction. Factors such as development, variable weather, increases in recreation and hunting activities, and changing predator-prey relationships have contributed to Southern Lakes caribou being at risk.

In 1992, community concern over declining caribou numbers in the Southern Lakes area resulted in the formation of the Southern Lakes Caribou Steering Committee and its community-based approach to managing caribou. Hunting in the area was stopped through a season closure for licensed hunters and a voluntary harvest ban by First Nations. Caribou habitat has since been documented and mapped to enable its protection in development assessments. Ongoing community information and education has been delivered in local schools and by game guardians who patrol the land.

The original Caribou Steering Committee has been replaced through the Kwanlin Dun and Carcross/Tagish Final Agreements, by the Southern Lakes Wildlife Coordinating Committee (the “SLWCC”). The SLWCC represents a government-to-government approach to the transboundary management of wildlife in the Southern Lakes area. Members of the SLWCC include Kwanlin Dun First Nation, Carcross/Tagish First Nations, Ta’an Kwäch’än Council, Teslin Tlingit Council, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, Taku River Tlingit First Nation (TRTFN), and the governments of Yukon, British Columbia, and Canada. The members of the SLWCC and their respective governments (the “Parties”) have a strong interest: maintaining the current caribou range, increasing the numbers of caribou to maintain healthy ecosystems, maintaining First

of 6 1 Nations traditional use of the land, enhancing wildlife viewing experiences, and enabling sustainable harvest opportunities in the future.

The Southern Lakes Caribou Steering Committee dedicated many years to the recovery of these caribou herds. This work provided a foundation upon which the SLWCC has developed the following management recommendations in support of the long-term conservation and management of caribou in the Southern Lakes area.

Management Goal:

To increase the size of the Southern Lakes caribou herds and to protect caribou habitat over the long term.

This goal is consistent with the desire of the Parties to the SLWCC, and most recently First Nations elders, to see a further increase in the size of Southern Lakes caribou herds through the continued population recovery and habitat management actions.

To achieve this goal, three key objectives and seven recommendations were identified by the SLWCC. Each recommendation is supported by proposed actions for the consideration of the Parties. Each recommendation and action has been evaluated against the potential risk to caribou and the likelihood that the objective can be effectively managed. Appendix 1 outlines the Risk Assessment Matrix for the Management of Southern Lakes Caribou.

Management objectives were broadly grouped into three categories: Habitat, Population and Community Involvement.

of 6 2 Objective A: Ensure caribou habitat receives the highest possible protection for existing and historic winter ranges.

Recommendation #1: Manage human use of caribou habitats

Caribou herds do not do well where historic human use is high or old growth forest has been removed from winter ranges. To ensure that these activities are minimized for the Southern Lakes Caribou herds, it is important to educate land holders and land managers to ensure that information on caribou winter habitat is known and understood. Tradeoffs will likely be required and need to be carefully considered to ensure that caribou habitat can persist while supporting the appropriate level of activity on public and private land.

Actions:

1.1 The Parties will collaboratively develop and confirm a single map and database of the habitat land base required for caribou conservation, by June 2009. 1.2 Following 1.1, the SLWCC will prepare recommendations, guidelines and measures to protect caribou habitat in the Southern Lakes area.

1.3 Until such time as a regional or sub-regional land use plan is in effect, the Parties will ensure caribou conservation is a determining factor in land use disposition decisions in the Southern Lakes Area.

1.4 British Columbia and TRTFN will work to protect known Atlin herd winter range during land planning activities.

1.5 The Parties will develop a sub-regional land use plan (consistent with Chapter 11 of Final Agreements) for the Carcross caribou herd range.

Objective B: Manage the caribou to ensure that they are healthy and their numbers are growing.

Adult mortality, especially of mature cows, is one of the most critical factors determining the size and growth rate of caribou herds. Recent survey information indicates that the Atlin and Carcross herds are not growing (approximately 800 animals currently), but that the Ibex herd is. The main losses of adult caribou occur through hunting, predation and accidents.

The Government of British Columbia has managed a limited harvest of bull caribou on both the Atlin herd range and the B.C. portion of the Carcross herd range. While a managed harvest of bull caribou on the Carcross herd continued throughout the early recovery period this should be reviewed now that the Carcross herd has stopped growing.

of 6 3 First Nations have not established or implemented arrangements for allocation and distribution of harvest opportunities in Southern Lakes wildlife populations.

To assist in achieving the goal of increasing caribou numbers over the next five years, the SLWCC has identified the following recommendations and associated actions for caribou.

Recommendation #2: Implement a managed harvest for Southern Lakes caribou herds within 5 years, with periodic review as appropriate.

Actions:

2.1 The Parties will establish an acceptable managed harvest model for the Southern Lakes Caribou herds by 2011.

2.2 In the Yukon, the Parties will manage for zero harvest for the Carcross and Ibex herds until 2013, and thereafter in a manner established pursuant to 2.1.

2.3 British Columbia will manage the harvest of Carcross caribou in a manner established pursuant to 2.1.

2.4 The Parties will increase awareness of herd management and harvest management goals and objectives through education and communication initiatives.

Recommendation #3: Implement measures to reduce loss of adults due to highway traffic collisions.

Caribou losses to vehicle traffic (averaging six annually) have historically occurred in the Carcross herd winter range on some of the straightest parts of the Alaska Highway. These losses are often pregnant females that more often utilize the central part of the winter range. The recovery program developed road signs to advise the travelling public of areas of concern. In recent years, it appears that caribou mortality as a result of heavy truck traffic is on the rise. (In 2007, a mining supply truck struck and killed a caribou on the recently upgraded section of the Atlin Road. This collision resulted in the first recorded vehicle-caused caribou mortality on this roadway.)

Actions:

3.1 Through education and communication initiatives, the Parties will increase public awareness in areas where caribou/vehicle collisions most frequently occur.

3.2 Yukon will implement measures to reduce vehicular collisions with caribou by 50% by 2013.

3.3 The Parties will work directly with trucking companies supplying mining and other industrial projects (e.g. Adanac, Minto Mine) to reduce speed in zones where caribou/vehicle collisions occur most frequently.

of 6 4 3.4 The Parties will work directly with industry to increase awareness of the importance of reducing road kills.

Recommendation #4: Track herd status and annual recruitment.

The latest survey information indicates that the Atlin and Carcross herds are not growing. This means that additional effort will be needed to support growth in these herds. While annual monitoring is important to determine herd status, actual herd numbers are needed for any discussion of harvest allocations and to evaluate the success of management initiatives. If herd status declines, then added special protection measures will likely be needed, including revised status and corresponding legal designation.

Actions:

4.1 Yukon will conduct and review annual recruitment surveys on Carcross and Ibex herds for five years.

4.2 The Parties will census the Carcross herd in three years or during the next available deep snow winter.

4.3 British Columbia and TRTFN will conduct and review censuses for the Atlin and Carcross herds in five years.

4.4 First Nation governments will gather local and traditional knowledge and make it available for assessment by 2010 (to inform the assessment of local herds).

4.5 Parties will provide more legal protection for the Carcross herd if the next assessment indicates numbers have still not increased.

Recommendation #5: Increase trapper access to traplines to promote sustainable wolf harvest.

Annual surveys have identified low calf survival during fall and winter counts in both the Atlin and Carcross herds for the last eight years. While climate likely has some influence on calf survival rates, interactions with predators are also important. To ensure complete understanding of caribou calf survival it will be essential to continue existing monitoring programs and to understand the influence of predation on caribou.

Actions:

5.1 The Parties will conduct and review wolf population and harvest information.

5.2 The Parties will identify community held traplines in the Yukon that can be made available for wolf trapping.

5.3 Yukon will conduct training course on wolf trapping techniques.

5.4 The Parties will develop a policy for wolf-only trap line use.

of 6 5 Objective C: Promote community awareness of and involvement in the conservation of caribou.

Recommendation: #6: Promote effective communication and outreach among the Parties and communities.

It is essential to have community support for the recovery program if the program is to be successful and sustained over the long term. Local people must understand the need to manage caribou herds and their habitats. It is also important that supporters who have respected the harvesting ban also appreciate the value of their restraint and that they are aware of the possibility of a well managed caribou harvest in the future.

Actions:

6.1 Yukon will establish and launch an SLWCC website with the most current population status and assessment information.

6.2 The SLWCC will develop regular status updates for inclusion in community newsletters.

6.3 Yukon will update the caribou education program and support it in schools.

Recommendation #7: Identify and support community Guardians/Stewards

Game guardians have been an integral component of the caribou recovery model. Community members hired to patrol the backcountry trails and roads make contact with residents and visitors in the back country. The community knows that someone is there regularly watching out over these resources on their behalf. The Guardian program has worked to improve relationships among the parties to the recovery efforts by supporting joint patrols.

Actions:

7.1 The Parties will contribute personnel, equipment and funding to a joint guardian/ public awareness program.

7.2 The Parties will schedule regular guardian patrols on caribou fall and winter range.

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