What the missing winter road could mean for Bathurst caribou

For the first time in decades, the Bathurst caribou herd will spend a winter without the Tibbitt-Contwoyto winter road passing through areas used by the animals. 

The road, used for decades to resupply diamond mines north of Yellowknife, is not being planned for the 2027 season after mine operators said they do not currently require it. Camps will be placed into care and maintenance, with a 2028 road considered more likely.

For the Bathurst herd, estimated at just 3,609 animals in 2025 according to the GNWT, the absence of hundreds of kilometres of winter road traffic could provide a rare reprieve.

The herd has declined dramatically from an estimated 470,000 animals in 1986. Its population was estimated at between 6,000 and 7,000 in 2022 before falling another 47 percent over the following three years. 

The causes of that decline are not fully understood.

The GNWT has identified a range of possible pressures, including industrial development, hunting and changes associated with climate and habitat, while noting that further work is needed to understand what is driving the continued decline. 

Coralee Round, a spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Climate Change (ECC), said the lack of a winter road will likely mean less sensory disturbances from traffic and potentially less harvesting in the area. 

“What this specific change means for barren-ground caribou herds and in particular the Bathurst is difficult to predict,” Round told Cabin Radio in a written statement, noting caribou populations are affected by the cumulative impacts of multiple factors. 

ECC will continue its barren-ground caribou research and monitoring this winter. That will include comparing movement rates from collared caribou between years when the winter road operated and years when it was closed. 

According to Round, monitoring and enforcement will also adapt to where caribou and harvesting activity occur.

For people who live and hunt in the region, the quieter winter could still make a difference. 

“It’ll be good for caribou to replenish,” Bobby Drygeese, a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, told Cabin Radio.

Drygeese said fewer people travelling the road and surrounding area could mean less hunting and disturbance for the animals. 

Caribou use energy when they move away from perceived threats, he said, and a road-free winter could give them more space to feed and conserve energy. 

For hunters, however, the loss of the winter road is more complicated. 

Drygeese said YKDFN members will still travel to the area to hunt, but will have to begin their trips wherever the road ends, potentially requiring more fuel. 

Whatì resident Shaun Moosenose said the road has in the past provided access for hunters from outside communities. He said he had witnessed cases where caribou carcasses were left behind or more animals were harvested than needed. 

He told Cabin Radio the closure could give the animals “a break” from that. 

At the same time, Moosenose worries reduced access to traditional hunting areas could push some people toward other areas where caribou are available, potentially creating new pressure elsewhere.  

Beyond offering a temporary break for the Bathurst herd, this winter could also provide an opportunity to observe what happens when a major piece of infrastructure and its associated traffic disappear from areas caribou use. 

Drygeese said that lesson could be particularly important as the territory looks toward future infrastructure projects, including the proposed Arctic Economic and Security Corridor, which is expected to cross areas used by caribou if built.

Round said it is too soon to estimate the significance of a single winter without the road for the Bathurst herd, compared with the other pressures it faces. 

For Drygeese, however, the stakes are personal. He hopes the herd can recover so younger generations can experience hunting caribou themselves. 

“A lot of our younger boys, younger girls” have not yet had that opportunity, he said.