Technical Report on the Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West, and Bluenose-East Barren-ground Caribou Herds Companion Report to Taking Care of Caribou: The Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West, and Bluenose-East Barren-Ground Caribou Herds Management Plan Tracy Davison Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories 2016 File Report No. 150 ii This report presents the recent scientific knowledge and status of the Cape Bathurst, Bluenose- West and Bluenose-East caribou herds and gaps in knowledge. Research suggestions are presented for consideration by the co-management boards responsible for managing these herds. This technical report is one of two companion documents to Taking Care of Caribou: The Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West and Bluenose-East Caribou Herds Management Plan. The other companion report compiles comments made by community members during engagement meetings on the plan. Readers should refer to that document for a community perspective on the topics discussed in this report. iii Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................................. vii LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................................................. viii RANGE ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Historical Range .................................................................................................................................................... 1 Current Herd Definition and Range ............................................................................................................... 3 Range Use Over Time and Herd Management ........................................................................................... 9 HERD SIZE AND DEMOGRAPHICS ............................................................................................................... 12 Herd Size Estimates .......................................................................................................................................... 12 Post-calving Photograph Method ................................................................................................................ 12 Calving Ground Method ................................................................................................................................... 13 Population Surveys of the Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West and Bluenose-East Herds ............ 14 Adult Female Mortality .................................................................................................................................... 20 Recruitment ......................................................................................................................................................... 20 Productivity .......................................................................................................................................................... 22 Adult Composition ............................................................................................................................................. 23 CONDITION AND HEALTH ............................................................................................................................. 24 Body Condition ................................................................................................................................................... 24 Disease and Parasites ....................................................................................................................................... 28 Contaminants ....................................................................................................................................................... 30 HARVEST ............................................................................................................................................................... 32 Subsistence Harvest .......................................................................................................................................... 32 Inuvialuit Harvest Study – 1988-1997 (IHS 2003) ............................................................................... 33 Gwich’in Harvest Study – 1995-2004 (GRRB 2009). ........................................................................... 33 -2005 (SRRB) ................................................................................................. 36 Nunavut Harvest Study – 1996-2001 (NWMB) ..................................................................................... 36 Sahtú Harvest Study ̶ 1998 iv Current Harvest .................................................................................................................................................. 37 Resident Harvest ................................................................................................................................................ 38 Non-resident, Non-resident Alien Harvest .............................................................................................. 39 Commercial Harvest ......................................................................................................................................... 40 ECOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................................... 41 Habitat and Forage ............................................................................................................................................ 41 Spring ...................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Summer .................................................................................................................................................................. 42 Fall ........................................................................................................................................................................... 42 Winter ..................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Fire ........................................................................................................................................................................... 44 Predation ............................................................................................................................................................... 45 Changing Climate ............................................................................................................................................... 47 PRESSURES ........................................................................................................................................................... 49 Anthropogenic Landscape Change: Industry/Development ............................................................. 49 Aircraft ................................................................................................................................................................... 50 MANAGEMENT CONTEXT .............................................................................................................................. 52 Taking Care of Caribou .................................................................................................................................... 52 Advisory Committee for Cooperation on Wildlife Management ..................................................... 53 Protected Areas .................................................................................................................................................. 53 NWT Protected Areas Strategy ..................................................................................................................... 55 Tuktut Nogait National Park .......................................................................................................................... 56 GAPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................ 57 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................................................... 59 v PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS ................................................................................................................... 59 LITERATURE CITED .......................................................................................................................................... 60 APPENDIX I: LIST OF COMMONLY USED ACRONYMS ......................................................................... 74 APPENDIX II: RECOMMENDING HARVEST FOR BARREN-GROUND CARIBOU BASED ON HERD RISK STATUS: A RULE OF THUMB APPROACH ......................................................................... 75 Background .......................................................................................................................................................... 75 Harvest Management Context in the NWT 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