AHM 2012 – Meeting report and PCMB Recommendations
In accordance with the Harvest Management Plan (HMP), the Porcupine Caribou Management Board (Board) held this year's Annual Harvest Meeting (AHM) from February 7 to 9, 2012 in Dawson City, Yukon. The Board convened a three-day meeting to gather input and deliberate on the harvest management recommendations for the Porcupine Caribou Herd.
On the first day, a public meeting was held, allowing time for all Parties to the HMP, the Board and the general public to share information regarding the current status of the herd and other important factors potentially impacting the herd.
The second day was an in camera session between the Parties to the HMP and the Board. The purpose of the meeting was to review the information presented during the first day as well as discuss, based on the information available, what zone the herd is in and thus, what harvest management recommendations should be considered by the Board. It also served as an opportunity for the Parties to raise issues and challenges regarding the collection of harvest data.
The Board is encouraged that all Parties are continuing in their efforts to implement consistent harvest-reporting programs despite some challenges encountered. Some Parties were not able to submit their harvest data in time to have it included in the PCTC Annual Summary Report; however they did submit data at the AHM; therefore, the Board had at least minimum estimates from all Parties to consider in its assessment. The Board utilized this cumulative data as a harvest estimate and included it as part of its rationale in the AHM Report. Please note that the PCTC Annual Summary Report, with slight revisions since its distribution, is located on the Board's website at www.taiga.net/pcmb.
The Board is encouraged that all Parties have reiterated their commitment to the HMP and they are finalizing and following through with implementing the tasks outlined in the Implementation Plan, including the finalization of the Native User Agreements. Parties briefly related updates on the status of specific activities identified in the Implementation Plan. To assist with tracking Implementation Plan activities, the Board has prepared the attached Summary Table of Implementation Plan Tasks and Actions outlining the various activities and updates provided. Please review this table and confirm the accuracy of the information recorded. The Board, with the support of the Parties, will use this table as a tool to help track activities under the Implementation Plan. Parties will be asked to provide an update on activities in this manner again next year.
On the third day of the AHM, the Board held an in camera meeting to deliberate on the status of the herd, which harvest management zone should apply, and appropriate harvest management actions to recommend.
The AHM report presents the Board's recommendations and rationale regarding the harvest management zone and associated management actions that should apply to the herd over the coming year. Also included are other related concerns raised during the meeting and the recommendations from the Board with respect to those concerns.
In accordance with the AHM Terms of Reference, 15 days following the release of the AHM report, these recommendations will be made available to the public (March 7, 2012). As agreed to in the HMP Implementation Plan, Parties are provided 30 days from the date of this report to respond to the Board's recommendations. The Board looks forward to receiving Parties' responses by March 21, 2012.
All Parties are encouraged to be mindful of the key activities and associated timelines throughout the annual HMP cycle in order to continue to move forward cooperatively and on target. Please note that next year's Annual Harvest Meeting will be held February 12 to 14, 2013. In the meantime, the Board looks forward to continued work with the Parties and user communities.
2012 AHM documents
Presentations
Pre-meeting documents
For more information about the Annual Harvest Meeting, please contact the PCMB's Secretariat.
NOTE: Most of the documents on this page are PDF files and require Adobe Reader to view them. You can download Adobe Reader for free at this address:
www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
|