Baffin Island Caribou Workshop
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Baffin Island Caribou Workshop
IQALUIT, Nunavut (July 18, 2013) – The Government of Nunavut Department of Environment and wildlife co-management partners from across Baffin Island will meet in Iqaluit July 23-24, 2013 to discuss the status of Baffin Island caribou.
"The Baffin Island Caribou Workshop will build upon the tradition of open dialogue and collaboration for ongoing cooperation in caribou co-management," said the Honourable James Arreak, Minister of Environment. "By working together with our co-management partners, I am confident that we will arrive at meaningful strategies to help ensure the continued conservation and long-term sustainability of caribou on Baffin Island."
The Department of Environment conducted a series of comprehensive community consultations in 2011 and 2012 in all of the Baffin Island communities. Many of the consultation participants indicated that caribou populations on Baffin Island are very low. An aerial survey of the South Baffin Island caribou population was completed in the spring of 2012. Results from the survey indicated a substantial decline in the number of caribou.
The Baffin Island Caribou Workshop will review those results along with concerns that were brought forward by the Baffin communities in recent years. Potential conservation options surrounding Baffin Island caribou will be sought in this critical workshop, and the possible need for short-term and long-term management actions will be discussed.
Participants have been invited from each of the Baffin Island communities, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, the Qikiqtaaluk Wildlife Board, the Department of Environment Elders Advisory Committee, and other co-management partner organizations.
###
Tyler Ross
A/ Manager of Communications
Department of Environment
867-975-7720