Seven projects were awarded funding in 2025-26 from a total budget of $60,000. Descriptions of approved projects are provided below.
Athabasca Denesųłiné Land Monitors in Nuhenéné: Keeping our relationship with etthën (caribou) strong using Denesųłiné traditional protocols
Project lead: Athabasca Denesųłiné Né Né Land Corporation
Species at risk focus: Barren-ground caribou
This project expands on last year’s pilot project to monitor caribou harvest in the southern NWT and ensure harvesters are following traditional protocols. This has been identified as a top priority by the three Athabasca Denesųłiné First Nations through the development of a caribou relationship plan and is guided by an Elder’s advisory group as well as by community input and feedback. In January-March 2026, nine community monitors will go out on the land for a total of 20 days throughout the harvest season. They will observe the harvest and take habitat observations. They will collect data on any wastage or disrespectful harvest, harvest of cows, caribou health and caribou movement and use of the landscape, as well as any safety issues. Monitors will also engage with harvesters and provide information on the respectful harvesting and field processing of caribou. This project is expected to reduce wastage and overharvest, increase awareness of traditional protocols, and by used to develop targeted education and awareness programs. Knowledge gathered through this project will be shared with co-management partners, including caribou habitat and movement data, experiences and results. Community tours following the conclusion of the program provide opportunities to shine a light on the good and harmful practices observed by the monitors.
Investigating Bat Prevalence in the Gwich'in Settlement Area
Project lead: Gwich'in Renewable Resources Board
Species at risk focus: Bats (Northern myotis and Little brown myotis)
The goal of this project is to monitor potential bat distribution in the Gwich’in Settlement Area (GSA) through habitat mapping, data collection, and community engagement. Passive acoustic bat monitors will be deployed in strategic areas of habitat preference across the four GSA communities. In Aklavik, a community monitor will be hired to monitor for bats using a handheld detector and community members throughout the region will be encouraged to report bat sightings. Deliverables include 16+ weeks of consecutive acoustic recordings across 10 study sites and maps of areas of bat habitat preference identified by community members, as well as increased awareness and knowledge about bats and bat monitoring.
Post-fire Status of Reptiles and Amphibians in the NWT
Project lead: Thompson Rivers University
Species at risk focus: Red-sided garter snake, northern leopard frog, western toad
Reptiles and amphibians are important predators in terrestrial, semi-aquatic, and aquatic environments and act as prey to many other wildlife species. However, neither group has been well-studied in the NWT. The goals of this project are to document and assess persistence at previously recorded sites of occurrence; update abundance estimates or indices of abundance; gather information on sex ratio, age class, condition, and health; and increase understanding of the fire ecology of these species (i.e. vulnerability and response to wildfires). Activities in 2025-2026 will include field measurements (sex, weight, length), swabbing for disease, mark-recapture using passive internal transponder (PIT) tags, wildlife cameras to monitor predation on snakes at dens, and radio tracking up to twelve individual snakes with small transmitters. Methods for amphibians will include visual and acoustic surveys in wetlands, field measurements (species, sex, weight, length), and swabbing for disease testing/DNA analysis.
Merging Advanced Technologies with Traditional Knowledge for Species at Risk Protection in the North Slave Region
Project lead: North Slave Métis Alliance
Species at risk focus: Various
This project draws on both western science methods and Indigenous knowledge to investigate the presence and distribution of species at risk in the North Slave region. NSMA has now completed six years of its eDNA project, which gathers and analyses water samples to detect the presence of species at risk. The project has expanded to include other non-invasive monitoring techniques such as audio (ARU) and visual (wildlife camera) recordings. Activities in 2025-2026 will include: further eDNA, ARU and wildlife camera monitoring; species database updated with camera data for use in species distribution models; and placement of ultrasonic ARUs at Old Fort Rae to investigate bat presence; bat emergence counts and potential bat banding at Old Fort Rae (a suspected maternal colony site for the little brown myotis). Deliverables include summary report of 2025-26 activities, data from 2024-25 season, updated database, report of bird and bat detection data from ARUs and a results workshop from the 2024 season for NSMA members.
Investigating population structure and connectivity of little brown bats across the Northwest Territories
Project lead: Jesika Reimer and Laura Kaupas
Species at risk focus: Bats (Little brown myotis)
The goal of this project is to increase our understanding of little brown myotis population structure and genetic connectivity across the NWT to provide insight into the potential spread of white-nose syndrome when it arrives. Using tissue samples from little brown myotis collected during previous surveys in the NWT, the project will investigate gene flow across the region and seek to define the population structure of little brown myotis across the NWT. Deliverables include a technical report describing the population structure and geneflow of little brown myotis throughout NWT; a gene flow connectivity map highlighting areas of frequent interaction between bats and corridors of, and barriers to, gene flow across regions; a genetic library for samples from the NWT; and genetic analysis results uploaded to a public database, concurrent with publication in a peer-reviewed journal. These results will be contributed to a larger gene flow study assessing the connectivity of little brown myotis populations across the greater North (Alaska, Yukon, NWT).
Indigenous Knowledge of Berries in the NWT
Project lead: Saint Mary's University
Species at risk focus: Rock cranberry (to be assessed in 2028)
This project aims to document Indigenous knowledge of berries throughout the NWT - what we know about them, where they grow, trends, and possible threats. It was initiated in 2022-23 at the suggestion of the Species at Risk Committee, reflecting the ecological and socioeconomic importance of berries in the NWT, reports of declines by communities in disparate areas of the territory, and a planned assessment of Vaccinium vitis-idaea (cranberries). The broad-scale, exploratory nature of the study will provide a strong baseline against which future changes can be measured, including abundance, condition, range, interactions, phenology, and threats. Deliverables include regional results reporting, journal articles and other deliverables targeted at the broader public and communities, including a calendar of fruiting times and a field guide to berries in the NWT.
BQCMB Youth Engagement - Caribou Edu-kits
Project lead: Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB)
Species at risk focus: Barren-ground caribou
The goal of this project is to foster awareness and educate youth about barren-ground caribou. The Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB) has identified youth engagement as a priority in its 2023-2033 Caribou is Life Management Plan. The Caribou is Life: Edu-Kit is a youth-oriented adaptation of the management plan. The BQCMB plants to use SCARF funding to print and distribute these Edu-Kits across communities within the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq caribou ranges.