NEWS RELEASE:
Decline of the Porcupine Caribou Herd
November 23, 2006
The Porcupine Caribou Management Board is concerned about the rate of the herd's decline.
However, fear that the population might have dropped by over 60 percent in the last five years is unfounded.
In fact, the Porcupine Caribou Management Board says people are looking at two different types of population estimates – one that includes calves and one that only counts adult caribou.
Population censuses for the Porcupine Caribou Herd have always included calves.
But the Northwest Territories government does not count calves when it estimates herd populations in the NWT.
To compare the Porcupine Caribou Herd with other Northwest Territories herds, the calf numbers are removed from the population estimates.
The latest population figure by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game estimates the Porcupine Caribou Herd at 110,000 adults and calves.
If the number of calves is subtracted from the 110,000, then the herd size would be approximately 78,000 caribou.
Some people have misunderstood this adjustment and presumed that the herd has dropped from 123,000 caribou in 2001 to 78,000 in 2006.
The correct figure is a drop from 123,000 to an estimated 110,000 caribou over the past five years.
Some NWT herds near the Porcupine Caribou Herd's range have seen sharp declines recently. We should be aware that a dramatic decline might be observed in the Porcupine Caribou Herd in the next census.
At the recent PCMB meeting in November, the Board unanimously passed a resolution that the herd is in immediate need of conservation.
That resolution also contained a commitment to develop and implement a comprehensive Harvest Management Strategy.
This Harvest Management Strategy will be developed jointly by all user groups.
The PCMB is working to fast-track this process to ensure the Porcupine Caribou Herd receives all the respect it needs so there will continue to be enough caribou to support our future generations.
For more information please contact our Secretariat, Deana Lemke, at (867) 633-4780 or e-mail pcmb@taiga.net.
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