Environment committee  Thank you.

Environment committee  I think this is very important because of the place that hunting and trapping have in the Northwest Territories and the linkages that hunting and trapping have to aboriginal culture and to a way of life. We talked earlier about how sometimes we look only at the dollars and cents.

Environment committee  We have enjoyed federal support in a number of areas. We recently presented to the standing committee regarding the federal support received around biomass in association with climate change. That is something we certainly look to continue. As Linda said, we need general support

Environment committee  You're right. The ability of people, rights holders in NWT, to trap goes beyond something monetary. I did mention that it's not a primary source of income for most people, it's secondary or tertiary. It supplements income in other areas. It's part of an annual cycle of getting pe

Environment committee  Perhaps you could explain what you mean by internal to the Northwest Territories.

Environment committee  Yes.

Environment committee  Recently there has been a devolution of authority to the NWT. However, the only real element of licensing in this area that the federal government is still involved in is for migratory birds. Licences for big game and small game are issued by the Northwest Territories government,

Environment committee  That was me.

Environment committee  I'll have to get Jamie to speak to the history of the holdover of migratory birds being under federal legislation. Everything beyond that is under our jurisdiction. Jamie, can you speak a little to the federal involvement in migratory birds, or is that something we just sort of

Environment committee  Regarding the relationship we have with the federal government around hunting and trapping, as I said, the only real level of involvement that they have at this point in our NWT history is in relation to migratory birds. So they have a fairly narrow level of involvement. Go ahea

Environment committee  Thank you. As Ms. Yonge alluded to earlier, we do see through traditional knowledge that there is a cycle to this, typically of between 30 and 50 years. There certainly is a cycle. We have seen something like this in the past. Traditional knowledge tells us that this has happen

Environment committee  There is no one factor that stands out head and shoulders above the rest. The same factors exist. As Lynda mentioned earlier, we certainly don't blame the decline on harvesting, but what often happens is that as the herd declines, hunters are able to get at the herd with modern t

Environment committee  Given that it's happening in other areas in North America, it certainly suggests there's something larger at play here. Lynda, do you want to provide any detail beyond that?

Environment committee  Thank you for the question. We have seen, as we mentioned, some pretty dramatic declines. There has been a lot of talk about predation, about wolves, and we are undertaking studies to try to ascertain the relative health of the herd. Typically when a prey species declines, the p

Environment committee  The decline in caribou populations in the NWT has had a very significant effect on all harvesters, particularly aboriginal harvesters. We recently saw a substantial decline in the Bathurst herd. We're seeing what we believe might be trends on a neighbouring herd, the Bluenose-Eas