Sachs Harbour Community Conservation Plan - July 2008 1
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Sachs Harbour Community Conservation Plan - July 2008 1 SACHS HARBOUR COMMUNITY CONSERVATION PLAN _____________________________________ A plan for the conservation and management of renewable resources and lands within the Inuvialuit Settlement Region and in the vicinity of Banksland, Northwest Territories s Prepared by The Community of Sachs Harbour, Wildlife Management Advisory Council (NWT) And Joint Secretariat July 2008 Sachs Harbour Community Conservation Plan - July 2008 2 IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS The following important words and abbreviations have been used in the Community Conservation Plan and are explained below. Community Refers to all the Inuvialuit individuals living in the area and the local organizations which represent them. Those organizations include the Hunters and Trappers Committee, Elders, Community Corporation, Community Education Council and Hamlet. Conservation Is ensuring that if we take caribou, there will be caribou the next year and the year after that. The same for anything else. This applies to all uses of the land: if it is used and enjoyed now, it must be left and preserved so that it will be there for the next year and for future years. Ecosystem Refers to all of the plants and animals in an area, including the air, water and land on which they depend. The parts of the ecosystem are interconnected and influence one another. Food and energy flow through the ecosystem and are returned to it. Successful conservation and management depend on the recognition that changing one part of the ecosystem may affect the other parts. CWS - Canadian Wildlife Service DFO - Department of Fisheries and Oceans DIAND - Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development DOT - Department of Transportation DENR - Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) EIRB - Environmental Impact Review Board EISC - Environmental Impact Screening Committee FJMC - Fisheries Joint Management Committee GNWT - Government of the Northwest Territories GRRB - Gwich’in Renewable Resource Board GTC - Gwich’in Tribal Council HTC - Hunters and Trappers Committee IBP - International Biological Programme IFA - Inuvialuit Final Agreement IGC - Inuvialuit Game Council ILA - Inuvialuit Land Administration ILAC - Inuvialuit Land Administration Commission IRC - Inuvialuit Regional Corporation ISR - Inuvialuit Settlement Region NWMB - Nunavut Wildlife Management Board NWT - Northwest Territories PWNHC - Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre RRC - Renewable Resource Committee (Gwich’in) SHCC - Sachs Harbour Community Corporation SHHTC - Sachs Harbour Hunters and Trappers Committee SRRB - Sahtu Renewable Resource Board WMAC(NS) - Wildlife Management Advisory Council (North Slope) WMAC(NWT) - Wildlife Management Advisory Council (Northwest Territories) YTG - Yukon Territorial Government Sachs Harbour Community Conservation Plan - July 2008 3 Sachs Harbour Community Conservation Plan - July 2008 4 Conservation is ensuring that if we take muskox, there will be muskox the next year and the year after that. The same for anything else. This applies to all uses of the land: if it is used and enjoyed now, it must be left and preserved so that it will be there for the next year and for future years. -Adapted by Sheila Nasogaluak from a similar quote by Peter Green, Paulatuk, NWT The Community recognizes that the success of conservation depends on the efforts of each person living in Sachs Harbour, as well as the cooperative support of the other individuals and organizations with an interest in Banksland and adjacent waters. Sachs Harbour Community Conservation Plan - July 2008 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................10 1 INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................11 1.1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF BANKSLAND ...................................................................................... 14 1.2 INUVIALIUT FINAL AGREEMENT AND RENEWABLE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ............ 14 1.2.1 Inuvialuit Final Agreement.............................................................................................. 14 1.2.2 Wildlife Management Advisory Councils (NWT and North Slope) and Fisheries Joint Management Committee ........................................................................ 14 1.2.3 Inuvialuit Game Council and Hunters and Trappers Committees ................................... 15 1.2.4 Inuvialuit Land Administration ........................................................................................ 15 1.2.5 Environmental Impact Screening Committee and Environmental Impact Review Board ............................................................................. 15 2 COMMUNITY VALUES ...............................................................................................................16 3 GOALS .......................................................................................................................................... 17 4 SPECIAL AREAS AND RECOMMENDED LAND USE PRACTICES FOR THE PLANNING AREA ........................................................................................................................18 4.1 BANKSLAND SUBREGION - SPECIAL DESIGNATED LANDS .............................................. 19 4.1.1 General Land Use Guidelines ........................................................................................ 43 4.2 INUVIALUIT COMMUNITY PROCESS FOR LAND USE DECISIONS .................................... 44 4.3 CUMULATIVE IMPACTS MANAGEMENT ............................................................................... 44 4.4 ENVIRONMENTAL SCREENING & REVIEW .......................................................................... 45 4.4.1 Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 45 5 EDUCATION, TRAINING AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE ............................................. 47 6 WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH .................................................................... 48 6.1 GENERAL GUIDELINES ......................................................................................................... 48 6.2 SUBSISTENCE AND COMMERCIAL HARVESTING - GENERAL GUIDELINES .................... 50 6.3 TOURISM GUIDELINES .......................................................................................................... 51 6.4 SPECIES CONSERVATION SUMMARIES ............................................................................. 52 Arctic Fox .......................................................................................................................53 Arctic Hare .....................................................................................................................54 Caribou .......................................................................................................................... 55 Muskox .......................................................................................................................... 60 Polar Bear ......................................................................................................................64 Wolf ............................................................................................................................... 67 Sachs Harbour Community Conservation Plan - July 2008 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont’d) Page Beluga Whale ................................................................................................................69 Bowhead Whale .............................................................................................................73 Seals ............................................................................................................................. 75 Other Mammals ............................................................................................................. 76 Ducks ............................................................................................................................ 77 Geese and Tundra Swan ............................................................................................... 79 Loons ............................................................................................................................. 82 Ptarmigan ...................................................................................................................... 83 Sandhill Crane ............................................................................................................... 84 Peregrine Falcon, Gyrfalcon and Rough Legged Hawk .................................................. 85 Snowy Owl .....................................................................................................................86 Bird Species List ............................................................................................................ 87 Arctic Charr .................................................................................................................... 88 Lake Trout ..................................................................................................................... 89 Fish Species List ............................................................................................................90