Game guardians
WANTED: Respected member of local First Nation. Must have local knowledge, good bush skills and an interest in wildlife. Minimal paperwork. Main criteria is the desire to spend time on the land. Interpersonal and language skills are assets.
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The varied job of a game guardian involves patrols, public education, monitoring harvests and facilitating activities out on the land.
(photo: Yukon Fish & Wildlife Management Board)
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At first glance, the brief qualifications for a game guardian seem simple enough. But according to the stewardship coordinator at the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board (YF&WMB), the special mix of community respect, bush skills and interest in wildlife is a powerful combination. And it's a job not suited for just anyone.
"Guardian programs usually work well because they have the right person on the job -- someone who is committed to the big picture," says Jocylyn McDowell. "I think people want to behave in ways that are in accordance with right and wrong, and the guardians help them do that."
A guardian or stewardship approach to wildlife management is based on the premise that local people can best act as 'eyes on the land'. Though the job varies between programs, most game guardians monitor harvests and changes in wildlife populations or habitats, and deliver community education.
Many Yukon First Nations have established game guardian positions in their communities, and McDowell works with them to help develop the territory's various programs.
"It works because subsistence harvesting is a world unto its own," says McDowell. "No First Nation member is obliged to tell anyone about their hunt, but most First Nations realize that good harvest data is critical for making good decisions about wildlife management."
Game guardians are paid, and the job generally includes patrolling, noting signs of animal and human activity, and talking with people they meet in the bush. Most native and non-native residents view guardian programs favourably and would like to see more patrols. With government and First Nations wildlife management staff finding they spend less time on the land and more time in the office, the role of game guardians seems all the more important.
Though the job sounds a bit like a conservation officer, there are some major differences. A key distinction is that game guardians are not involved in enforcement.
"The idea is to select people in the community with bush skills who will be respected when they intercept someone while on patrol," says McDowell. "I suspect that having someone show up without a uniform or gun can be more persuasive. They are able to articulate a moral vision."
Many different guardian programs have operated in the Yukon. The Southern Lakes Caribou Recovery Program has succeeded in tripling the size of the Southern Lakes caribou herd. Longtime game guardian Larry Bill worked for the program, and now works as Liaison Conservation Officer for the Yukon government.
YF&WMB member and Kluane First Nation elder Joe Johnson is a harvest monitor in his traditional territory. Harry Smith, a Champagne-Aishihik First Nation member and also a member of the YF&WMB, has worked as a game guardian much of the year. Smith has been very involved in the Aishihik bison hunt, including accompanying students from Whitehorse's Vanier High School for a unique bison hunting camp each year.
"The Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation has a full-time year-round game guardian," adds McDowell. "Robert Kaye is young and keen, and he's a good facilitator of activities on the land, like accompanying elders out to cabins."
She also singles out Teslin Tlingit guardian Howard Smith for his excellent work. "He's not afraid to tell members of his own Nation how he feels about their practices."
Some programs, like the Ta'an, are still in their infancy and need support and encouragement. Others like the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in have established an active land stewardship program.
McDowell says that collaborations are working well, too. In Teslin, the game guardian and local CO work out their schedules so they don't overlap on patrols. On the Dempster, conservation officers and Tr'ondëk and Vuntut game guardians patrol together in the fall and organize a camp for Dawson youth.
Three Yukon game guardians joined McDowell at a national conference last summer. Learning about other stewardship programs made them realize the uniqueness of the Yukon's approach to guardianship.
"The Borderlands Co-op collects harvest data door to door on the North Slope, and Labrador has a program that focuses on fish. The Haida Watchmen program posts elders at important sites to help educate and interpret for visitors, but it's not related to harvest."
"Ours is a very unique northern solution."
McDowell believes in stewardship programs because in many ways it feels more effective than regulations and enforcement.
"There's some exhaustion with the idea of wildlife management from an office. How can you do it without people on the land?"
"So much of the history of wildlife management has involved paperwork and modeling and Western academia. Guardianship works because it's in the bush, it's sweaty, and people respect it."
