The Northwest Territories (NWT) Conference of Management Authorities (CMA), established under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act to manage and recover species at risk in the NWT, has reached consensus to list polar bear (Ursus maritimus) for another 10 years as a species of Special Concern on the NWT List of Species at Risk.
The signed consensus agreement communicating this decision was provided to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources on April 28, 2022. In accordance with this consensus agreement, the Minister legally listed polar bear for an additional 10 years on July 28, 2022.
The Inuvialuit Settlement Region Polar Bear Joint Management Plan and the Implementation Table for Actions on Management of Polar Bears in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, completed in 2017, will continue to provide management goals and objectives for the species, as well as identifying the relative priority, timeframe, proposed lead, potential partners, and measurement of performance for each management action.
Adding a species to the NWT List of Species at Risk does not result in any automatic prohibitions or protections for the species or its habitat. Additional species information and supporting documentation, including the status report, reassessment and consensus agreement, are available at www.nwtspeciesatrisk.ca.
For more information contact:
Jody Pellissey, Chairperson
Conference of Management Authorities
c/o NWT Species at Risk Secretariat
Phone: (867) 767-9237 ext. 53216
Email: sara@gov.nt.ca
Background:
Listing extension
- The Conference of Management Authorities (CMA) is the group of wildlife co-management boards and governments that share management responsibility for the conservation and recovery of species at risk in the NWT. Under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act, the Conference of Management Authorities provides direction, coordination and leadership on species at risk. All CMA decisions are made by consensus of the Management Authorities.
- The Management Authorities for polar bear in the NWT are:
- Wildlife Management Advisory Council (NWT)
- Government of the Northwest Territories
Special Concern status
- The NWT Species at Risk Committee (SARC) is an independent committee of experts that assesses the status of species in the NWT and makes recommendations on listing under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act.
- SARC first assessed polar bear as a species of Special Concern in 2012. The species was reassessed in April 2021 with no change to its status.
- An assessment of Special Concern means a species may become Threatened or Endangered in the NWT because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.
Joint management
- The Inuvialuit Settlement Region Polar Bear Joint Management Plan was developed collaboratively by all partners in the management of polar bears in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, which includes Yukon and the NWT.
- The goal of management partners is to ensure the long-term persistence of healthy polar bear populations in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region while maintaining traditional Inuvialuit use.
- The joint management plan and the accompanying Framework for Action for Management of Polar Bears in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region were adopted by the CMA in March 2017 to guide coordinated management of polar bears in the NWT.
- The Implementation Table for Actions on Management of Polar Bears in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region builds on the joint management plan and framework by identifying the relative priority, timeframe, proposed lead, potential partners, and measurement of performance for each management action.