Welcome!
The Porcupine Caribou Management Board works to manage the Porcupine Caribou Herd, one of the largest herds of migratory caribou on the continent, and protect and maintain its habitat in Canada. The herd faces numerous threats, including climate change and increasing human activity within its range and on its calving grounds.
PCMB announcements
2012 Annual Harvest Meeting
The 2012 Annual Harvest Meeting will be held in Dawson City, Yukon on February 7 and 8, 2012. The public portion of the meeting is February 7, with the Parties meeting on February 8.
New information about the AHM has just been posted in our Annual Harvest Meeting section. If you have any questions, please contact the Secretariat.
New PCMB brochures to download
The PCMB has just published four new brochures:
Minutes of March Board meeting now available
The final minutes of the March 2011 PCMB meeting, held in Whitehorse, are now available in our Meetings section.
Porcupine Caribou Herd – calving and post-calving surveys, June-July 2011
The Alaska Department of Fish & Game released the latest calving and post-calving surveys for the Porcupine Caribou Herd on July 15th. You can read the findings in this memorandum (pdf).
HMP Implementation Plan now ready for Porcupine caribou harvest rules
The Implementation Plan (IP) for giving practical effect to the new Harvest Management Plan (HMP) for the Porcupine Caribou Herd has been approved by all eight parties involved in the management of the herd in Canada.
The HMP and IP will facilitate the coordination of management actions for the Porcupine Caribou Herd. The HMP is a long-term framework that outlines how Parties will respond to the status of the herd whether the population is high or low. It establishes a proactive approach with four management regimes for different herd sizes and conditions.
The purpose of this IP is to give effect to the requirements of the HMP and the commitments of the Parties. The IP establishes a coordinated approach and integrated actions for the development and implementation of management activities that should result in effective harvest management outcomes.
More information on the HMP can be found in our Harvest Management Plan page.
Annual Harvest Meeting – more info available
Three new documents and four PowerPoint presentations from the first Annual Harvest Meeting are now available to download in our Annual Harvest Meeting page. The AHM was held from February 8 to 10, 2011 in Inuvik, NWT.
Final photocensus results
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says that the Porcupine Caribou Herd has grown to an estimated 169,000 animals, according to the July 2010 photocensus. It was the first successful photocensus on the Porcupine herd since 2001, when the estimated population was just 123,000 caribou.
Porcupine Caribou Herd – Fall 2010 Composition Survey
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Environment Yukon conducted a composition survey of the Porcupine Caribou Herd on their winter range during 16-18 October, 2010. The results of this survey can be found in this composition memorandum (pdf).
Caribou Update for February 2011
Although the Board is very pleased that the Porcupine Caribou Herd seems to have increased since the last estimate in 2001, we still don't know exactly why the herd declined from 1989 to 2001. That means we don't know why the declining trend appears to have reversed either. The Harvest Management Plan was developed mainly in response to this uncertainty. Read more in this month's Caribou Update (pdf).
Environment Yukon brochure: Flying in Caribou Country
Studies show that caribou are sensitive to low-altitude overhead flights. This brochure by Environment Yukon provides valuable information on how to minimize caribou disturbance from aircraft. The brochure can be downloaded at www.environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca (pdf).
Harvest Management Plan – final plan released
The PCMB is pleased to announce that the Harvest Management Plan for the Porcupine Caribou Herd in Canada is now available to the public. The PCMB recommended a draft Plan to the Parties in June 2009. The final Plan has been agreed to by the eight Parties responsible for the Canadian Porcupine Caribou Management Agreement. To download the plan, see our Harvest Management Plan page.
North Yukon Land Use Plan approved
The Yukon and Vuntut Gwitchin governments have approved the North Yukon Planning Commission's North Yukon Land Use Plan. This is the first regional plan approved in the Yukon. The plan provides a "road map" for future land uses in the North Yukon Planning Region and provides a clear statement on how the land is to be used.
The final plan, draft plan, and other related documents and comments, including the PCMB's comments, can be viewed on the Yukon Land Use Planning Council website. The final plan is also available at the Government of Yukon's Regional Land Use Planning website.
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