Beverly Caribou Herd
The Beverly caribou have migrated across the northern Canadian landscape for thousands of years, travelling up to 2,000 kilometres each year. The range used by the Beverly herd extends from the boreal forests of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, across the subarctic taiga of the NWT, to the arctic tundra of west-central Nunavut. The Beverly caribou cross vast expanses of wilderness, including hundreds of wild rivers and lakes, and one of the largest protected natural areas in North America, the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Beverly herd range overlaps with Bathurst caribou on the west, Qamanirjuaq caribou on the east and Ahiak caribou to the north. Unlike all other mainland barren-ground caribou herds, which spend part of their annual cycle in coastal areas, Beverly caribou remain inland year-round as they travel between their calving grounds northwest of Baker Lake to their winter range in north central Canada.
Distribution
Traditionally, the Beverly herd calved near Beverly Lake and the Thelon River system. More recently, their calving grounds have moved north near Gary, Sand and Deep Rose Lake in Nunavut.
The winter range of the Beverly herd extends into the boreal forest of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. They have been known to move as far south as the communities of Fond-du-Lac, Black Lake and Wollaston Lake in Saskatchewan and as far southeast as Tadoule Lake in Manitoba.
Population
The last population survey of the Beverly herd was carried out in 1994. This photographic survey estimated the herd at 276 000 caribou.
The 1993 survey estimated a population of less than 150 000 caribou, which is the threshold for management considerations. These results prompted the Beverly-Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board to request the Renewable Resources Department to repeat their survey and confirm the population numbers. Results obtained in 1994 are consistent with other data and indicate that the Beverly herd has remained stable in size since 1984. The most likely explanation for the low estimate in the 1993 survey is that not all breeding females aggregated on the calving ground that year.
| Year |
Population |
Standard Error (+/-) |
Survey Method |
| 1982 |
164,338 |
72,332 |
Photographic |
| 1984 |
263,691 |
80,652 |
Photographic |
| 1988 |
190,000 |
71,000 |
Photographic |
| 1993 |
87,000 |
17,900 |
Photographic |
| 1994 |
276,000 |
106,600 |
Photographic |
Harvest Levels
The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds are jointly managed under the Beverly-Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board and the information available about harvest levels is grouped together for the two herds.
Residents of the NWT, Nunavut, Saskatchewan and Manitoba harvest from the Beverly and Qaminurjuaq herds. There are more than 13,500 people living on or near the ranges of these two herds, of which at least 11,000 people are considered traditional users. Approximately 18,500 caribou are taken annually from these two herds for subsistence use, with an approximate replacement value of $12,000,000. In addition to the caribou harvested for subsistence use, the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq herds also support small harvests by non-aboriginal residents, non-resident hunters and commercial operators. In the NWT, the non-aboriginal resident and non-resident harvest is extremely small as the Beverly herd seldom travels close to NWT communities.
Management
The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou herds are jointly managed under the advisement of the Beverly-Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB). The main purpose of the board is to safeguard the caribou herds in the interest of Aboriginal people who have traditionally relied upon caribou.
The board consists of 14 members, including a chairman and vice chairman. As the herd’s migratory route straddles two territories, two provinces, and four different native cultures, so do the board members. Members include representatives from the southern Kivalliq (Keewatin) Region of Nunavut, Dene and Metis communities in the South Slave Region of the NWT, communities in northern Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, the Government of Manitoba, the Government of Saskatchewan, the Government of Northwest Territories and the Government of Nunavut.
Calving ground surveys to estimate total herd size are carried out periodically. If a survey indicates that the population of either herd has dropped below 150,000 or if community-based indices suggest a decline, the Beverly-Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board will submit recommendations for emergency management and protection of the herd to the Saskatchewan, NWT and Nunavut governments.
The last survey, in 1994, indicated that the herd population was stable. Calf mortality is also examined during calving ground studies. Wolves cause 60% - 70% of calf mortality on the Beverly herd. During the summer of 1994, forest fires caused a great deal of damage to the range of these two herds. In the NWT, 11% of the Beverly range was burned, while in northern Manitoba, 25% of mature and old forest capable of supporting wintering caribou was destroyed. Several large fires also burned in northern Saskatchewan.
The potential for industrial activities on the range of these herds is a management concern, and is monitored closely by the board.
For more information, visit the Beverly-Qamanirjuaq Herd Management web-site.