GNWT loses caribou management appeal

The NWT government has lost its appeal regarding management of the Bluenose West caribou herd.

The territorial government had sought to overturn an NWT Supreme Court decision ordering the environment minister to reconsider a community conservation plan that would allow the Colville Lake Renewable Resources Council to manage harvesting of the herd in the Sahtu.

In a written decision released on Tuesday night, a three-judge NWT Court of Appeal panel dismissed the NWT government’s appeal and sided with Colville Lake.

The Bluenose West herd was estimated at about 112,000 animals in 1992. The most recent estimate in 2021 was 18,440, the lowest number recorded.  

Currently, harvesting of the herd is managed through the territorial government’s tag and quota system, known as the total allowable harvest. That system is administered at the local level by renewable resources councils.

The Behdzi Ahda First Nation, Colville Lake Renewable Resources Council and Ayoni Keh Land Corporation are seeking to replace the total allowable harvest in the Sahtu with a community conservation plan. They argue such a plan is the best practice and consistent with Dene knowledge, practices and laws.

The former NWT environment minister, however, declined to allow the Colville Lake Renewable Resources Council to manage all harvesting of the herd in the Sahtu, or remove the tag and quota system.

During an appeal hearing in October, the NWT government argued that under the Sahtu Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, community renewable resources councils only have the authority to manage harvesting for members from their specific community rather than all members within the Sahtu.

The appeal court disagreed.

“The appellant’s argument ignores the logic of addressing management of the herd, which happens to be located in a particular area,” the decision states.

The recent decision does not guarantee, however, that the Colville Lake conservation plan will be approved or that the total allowable harvest will be scrapped for the Bluenose West herd in the Sahtu.

The appeal panel noted that while the Sahtu Renewable Resources Board, or SRRB, “signaled an openness to that type of plan,” and the initial Colville Lake plan was widely supported by other Sahtu communities, the board has not yet decided whether to accept the plan.

The judges said even if the board does accept the Colville Lake plan, it will still be subject to a decision-making process involving the territorial environment minister.

“The treaty is intended to enable Dene and Métis of the Sahtu to live alongside Crown governments in a positive, long-term relationship,” Tuesday’s decision stated.

“Against the backdrop of caribou conservation concerns, the SRRB seeks to engage the Sahtu communities in effective harvest management in a meaningful way based on Indigenous knowledge and culture and based on the current location of the various herds. The SRRB is aware of the need for effective coordination. Co-management is central to the treaty.

“The appellant [the territorial government] merely speculates, in the absence of a final Colville CCP [community conservation plan], that the SRRB’s approach, based on Indigenous practice, understanding and consensus building, is unworkable.”