Bathhurst Caribou Herd Mid-1980s - 470,000; Bathhurst Caribou Herd Today - 8,000

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But, as I discovered later, population cycles cannot completely explain the Bathurst caribou’s absence in the heart of their historic territory. Their herd’s numbers are decreasing in a way that cannot be chalked up to simple fluctuations. The Bathurst caribou are on the brink of disaster, with their population falling over 95 percent from roughly 470,000 animals in the mid-1980s to a low of just over 8,000 today.

Climate change may play a role—though it is not the only factor as it has not had the same effects on the Beverly and Ahiak herds. Hunting may also be important, particularly over-harvesting during periods of low caribou numbers. In the recent past, hunters looking for the Bathurst herd had to search on foot or with dog teams. Now, snowmobiles and winter roads built by mining operations help hunters cover more ground and find herds even when they are scarce.

Because of this, hunting of the Bathurst herd has been banned by the government of the Northwest Territories since 2010 for non-Indigenous people. Four years later, the ban was expanded to include Indigenous groups. But according to a recent paper published in Science Advances by Brenda Parlee, John Sandlos and David Natcher, hunting pressure is not the main culprit behind caribou herd declines, and Indigenous groups were using sustainable harvest practices. Instead, the paper concluded, the Bathurst caribou herd population downturn began with the mining boom of the 1990s.

The Barren Lands region of Arctic Canada is a vast expanse. It might seem like a mine or road interspersed across so much space would make little difference to wildlife. But that hasn’t been the case. The noise, habitat loss, and traffic that accompany mining have blocked the herds from the forage that they depended on and affected the caribou’s ability to migrate to their calving grounds.

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https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/searching-for-bathurst-caribou-herd?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=sierramag&utm_medium=social