talk
Environmental Monitoring and Research

Boots on the Ground - Caribou Monitoring

Thursday, November 22, 2018 - 15:40 to 15:59 Theatre 3

Author(s)

T. Steinwand
Tlicho Government

P. Jacobsen (Presenting)
Tlicho Government

The Boots on the Ground traditional knowledge caribou monitoring program completed its third installment this summer at Koketi (Contwoyto Lake), which sits on the NWT/NU border. Two teams spend 3 weeks each out on the land observing the Bathurst caribou in their natural habitat. Tlicho/Inuit Elders, field guides, wildlife monitors and researchers make up a 5-6 person team. By staying small scale the team is able to easily move across the land or use a boat on the lake to follow the caribou. The program created the ‘we watch everything’ methodology; observations about vegetation, caribou behavior, caribou health and migration routes are recorded along with information on predators, other wildlife and the weather. Of note this year is how a changing climate is bringing new predators to the area, which further increases pressures on caribou. The presentation will explain the program and information gathered.