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Wednesday February 24 2016 7 g rush to extinction climate change which is introducing its own new set of challenges for caribou. The catastrophic reduction in several of the herds happened at roughly the same time around 2000-2010 which may in- dicate a common cause. Adamczewski said the decline in all the herds is the result of high cow mortality and low calf productiv- ity with the two combining to produce low numbers. He said there is no known smok- ing gun pointing to cause however he says there seems to be a correlation between herd declines and high drought indices in their re- spective ranges across the Canadian North. Drier weather over a number of decades has caused vegetation to change in their ranges including impacts on the plants they feed on. The drought index was exceptionally high in 2014 the year of NWTs mega-fires which he suggests may be linked to poor summer feed- ing a low pregnancy rate the following win- ter and low calf production the next spring in a number of the herds. One herd that is not in decline and in fact seems to be growing in size is the Porcu- pine Herd in Alaska and Yukon. Its calving grounds are usually along the Alaskan north slope and it migrates south into Yukon to for- age in fall and winter. The herd had declined during the 1990s but then recovered and now has a healthy population. That region has not faced the same sustained high drought levels found in the ranges of the herds that are suf- fering further east. Adamczewski said the reduction in the size of herds also means a contraction in the size of the range they use. Their diminished range re- ducestheextentofsomeofthenegativeimpacts on them particularly if they winter in areas remote from settlements and infrastructure. He said that natural response may be a key factor in their survival and eventual renewal. One of the papers conclusions is that the disappearance of a large caribou population such as the Beverly Herd may be an excep- tional event and is considered a troubling signal for conservation. Although herds in the past have been known to recover from very low numbers Adamczewski told the Journal it is worrisome that the same fate suffered by the once mighty Beverly Herd which has now been wiped out may be in store for some of the other large herds in the NWT and Nunavut. His reports one tiny note of optimism rec- ognizes the possibility that should conditions improve in the future allowing the Beverly Herd to reconstitute itself the area of the calving ground in the vicinity of Beverly Lake in western Nunavut should be protected from development so it is waiting and available for the herds return. Caribou herd numbers across northern Canada Bathurst NWT 470000 in 1986 20000 in 2015 Bluenose-East NWT 118000 in 2000 38600 in 2015 Bluenose-West NWT 112000 in 1992 15300 in 2015 Cape Bathurst NWT 19000 in 1992 2300 in 2015 Beverly NWTNunavut 276000 in 1994 No longer exists Ahiak Nunavut 200000 in 1994 71300 in 2011 Qamanirjaq Nunavut 496000 in 1994 246000 in 2014 George River Northern Quebec Labrador 780000 in 1993 10200 in 2015 Porcupine Alaska Yukon 125000 in 1998 197000 in 2013 CourtesyofGNWTEnvironmentandNaturalResources he previously held theory that the Beverly Caribou Herd while still large and healthy moved ncorrect. A broader look at evidence shows what really happened is the Beverly Herd was ving until finally the few remaining animals joined the Ahiak Herd in order to survive. All s have similarly suffered dramatic declines in the last two decades and they too are at risk. nges between Yukon and Alaska which appears to be healthy. There is no known cause no rops in caribou herd numbers.