The Art of Caribou Management

In the north, managing caribou can be a tricky business. Migratory caribou herds typically number in the hundreds of thousands; they boom and bust unpredictably, and they travel incredible distances.

Because of these natural limitations, successful management schemes rely on the expertise of biologists and on the willingness of hunters to comply with management decisions, to volunteer information about the herd, and to limit their harvest when necessary.

What management system works best in getting hunters to cooperate with biologists and game managers? A team of researchers recently studied two caribou management systems to come up with a preliminary answer. They compared a Canadian management group, composed primarily of subsistence hunters, with the Alaska State Board of Game, which receives input from, but has no direct representation from, the subsistence caribou hunting population. Expecting the Canadian system might foster greater cooperation and communication between hunters and managers, the researchers were surprised to find that the Alaska system appears to work a bit better.

Using questionnaires filled out during lengthy interviews with hunters and managers, Jack Kruse, Professor of Public Policy at the Institute of Social and Economic Research with the University of Alaska Anchorage, and David Klein, Senior Scientist with the Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, compared the management of two caribou herds similar in size and in corresponding hunting population.

Approximately 400,000 to 600,000 caribou in the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq herds roam the Northwest Territories, northern Saskachewan and northern Manitoba. In 1982, the Canadian government established the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board. Five representatives from the Canadian government serve on the board, along with eight Native subsistence hunters who were elected by other villagers. Because the board is heavy with subsistence hunters in the area, the group has been called an example of desirable co-management, in which users of the resource share management decisions with government scientists and biologists.

In Alaska, the more than 500,000 caribou of the Western Arctic Herd can be found anywhere from Point Hope to Huslia to Anaktuvik Pass, depending on the season. Management regulations for the Western Arctic Herd are set by the Alaska State Board of Game, composed of seven people from throughout the state who were appointed by the governor. The board makes hunting and trapping regulations based on feedback from local advisory councils, biologists, user groups and individuals.

Compliance with hunting rules couldn't be used as a gauge to measure the effectiveness of either management system, since many of the Canadian hunters have treaty rights to the herds and have no daily bag limit, and the hunters of the Western Arctic Herd can take home up to five animals each day.

Instead, Kruse, Klein and their colleagues gauged the success of each management system by asking hunters and managers specific questions. Did the hunters trust biologists' opinions about the caribou herd? Did biologists believe their opinions would be respected by hunters, especially during times of dire need, such as when herd numbers become critically low?

According to the results of the interviews and questionnaires, 82 percent of the hunters of the Western Arctic Herd said they saw value in estimating the number of caribou in the herd---an essential management tool---while only 59 percent of the Canadian hunters believed estimating the number of the caribou herd was important. A higher percentage of Canadian hunters also said they were less inclined to trust biologists' opinions about the herd than they were in the 1970s.

Why the difference? Kruse wrote that Canadian indigenous people may resist government management because they have or seek treaty rights to wildlife resources. Their mistrust also may be fostered by the fact that the managers of the Canadian herds are isolated outside of the herds' ranges in Yellowknife, NWT., while managers in Alaska are stationed in Kotzebue and other villages close to the majority of hunters.

Klein and Kruse hope to use the results of the study to pinpoint the characteristics of a good management system--one that fosters the best cooperation and communication for the unique challenges associated with managing northern caribou herds.