This document contains the Sahtú Ragóɂa (Hunting Law) and Approaches to Wildlife Harvesting, Colville 2020 Public Listening (Hearing) Session Final Report and Reasons for Decision. The report was submitted to the ENR Minister on October 30th, 2020.

The Decisions

The SRRB’s decisions and recommendations are based on a holistic and biocultural approach to caribou conservation.

● The SRRB determines that harvest regulation for all caribou populations must be subject to community conservation planning (CCP) measures;

● The SRRB will remove the total allowable harvest in Sahtú Barren-GroundCaribou Hunting Area S/BC/01 once Colville’s community conservation plan has been completed and approved. The SRRB will regularly review the conservation outcomes under the community conservation planning approach. The SRRBreserves the right to re-apply the total allowable harvest if required for effective conservation;

● Conditions are identified for the approval of Colville’s community conservation plan and Délı̨nę’s revised 2019-2021 Belare Wıĺ ́ e Gots'ę́ Ɂ ekwę́ (Caribou for AllTime) plan;

● The plan specifically defines a system for planning based on recognized community responsibilities for individual barren-ground caribou herds (see Table1, D1.2 );

● Youth will be invited to play meaningful roles in the entire process for future public listening sessions;

● The 2021 public listening session will include a full discussion of the role that residency requirements and hunter education play in fostering or inhibiting respect for Dene protocols in the Sahtú region;

● The SRRB identifies the need for capacity support and program funding for the CCP system, and commits to working with co-management partners to develop a feasible means of implementing the Sahtú CCP approach;

● In addition, 18 recommendations provide guidance for consideration by other co-management partners, including recommendations supporting interim measures to immediately implement the Colville and Délı̨nę plans.

For more information on the SRRB’s decisions and recommendations, see Table 1: KeyIssues, Decisions, and Recommendations in the report.

The Process

Given evidence regarding the threatened status of ɂekwę́ (Bluenose East barren-ground caribou), Colville Lake’s expressed concerns about ɂǝdǝ (barren-ground caribou) in their traditional territory, the threatened status of to?dzı (boreal caribou), and the consideration of shúhta goɂepę́ (mountain caribou) as a species of special concern in the NWT, the SRB concluded there was sufficient conservation concern to trigger a hearing. Undersection 13.8.21 of the Sahtú Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement(SDMCLCA), a hearing can be called when harvest restrictions are being considered or when the SRRB is satisfied that a hearing is desirable. The SRRB recognizes that this is the first time that a wildlife co-management board in the NWT has convened a hearing focused on a single “hot topic” and encompassing multiple herds and ecotypes. The SRRB carefully considered both Indigenous knowledge evidence and science-based evidence in making the decisions and recommendations included in this report. In addition to receiving Colville’s community conservation plan, the SRRB also received a submission from ENR and convened community conservation planning sessions that resulted in Sahtú community submissions. Moreover, the SRRB encouraged neighbouring wildlife management authorities, nations, and communities to register as parties and contribute submissions. All five Sahtú communities contributed to the public listening session, in addition to nine other registered parties. In addition, elders, Colville community members, and the broader public were encouraged to participate. The questions and presentation by theSahtú Youth Network were a special highlight of the proceeding.

This is the second report by the Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı (Sahtú Renewable Resources Board – SRRB) on the Colville 2020 Public Listening Session (PLS), Sahtú Ragóɂa (Hunting Law) and Approaches to Wildlife Harvesting, which was co-hosted with Colville Lake on January 21-23, 2020.

The present report marks a step in the planned five-part PLS hearing approach undertaken by the Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı (Sahtú Renewable Resources Board – SRRB) during 2020-2024 to address the central question, “What is the most effective way to conserve caribou?" The Colville 2020 PLS focused on the question, “What is the most effective way to regulate the harvest of caribou?”

This report follows upon the January 29, 2021 response by the NWT Minister of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) to the SRRB’s October 30, 2020 Report and Reasons for Decision on the Colville 2020 PLS. The documents arising from the Colville 2020 PLS are referred to as the October 30 SRRB Report, the January 29 Minister’s Response and the March 30 SRRB Second Report.

The SRRB is established by the Sahtú Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement (SDMCLCA) as the main instrument of wildlife management in the Sahtú region. The Minister retains ultimate responsibility for wildlife management, so the SRRB’s decisions are sent to the Minister. The SRRB met and considered the January 29 Minister’s Response. The SRRB also invited hearing parties to comment on legal issues not previously raised before preparing its second report. The SRRB sought to fulfill its mandate by presenting reliable evidence, sound analysis and justified positions.

This report contains two parts: 1) a policy statement on Hı̨dó Gogha Sę́nę́gots’ı́ɂá (Community Conservation Planning - CCP); and 2) the SRRB’s analysis and reply specifically with respect to October 30 decisions and recommendations that the Minister proposed be varied or set aside and replaced.

In light of the Minister’s January 29 Response, the SRRB has decided to establish a policy on Hı̨dó Gogha Sę́nę́gots’ı́ɂá. This includes an explanation of the principles the SRRB applies to Community Conservation Planning (CCP) and the CCP Components. This second report also addresses issues raised in the January 29 Minister’s Response, while inviting further engagement on a number of these via the planned 2021-2024 Public Listening Sessions.

This summary document is for information purposes to facilitate greater access to the SRRB’s work for interested parties. READERS SHOULD NOT RELY ON THIS VERSION FOR LEGAL PURPOSES. This summary contains limited sections of the SRRB’s full second report on the Colville 2020 Public Listening Session (PLS), Sahtú Ragóɂa (Hunting Law) and Approaches to Wildlife Harvesting.