The public is invited to comment on a proposed Recovery Strategy for Dolphin and Union Caribou in the NWT.
Dolphin and Union caribou are considered a species at risk in the Northwest Territories. They were listed as an Endangered species in 2024 under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act.
Under the Act, a recovery strategy must be developed for an Endangered species. The strategy will provide guidance on the long-term conservation and recovery of Dolphin and Union caribou in the NWT.
Comments on the recovery strategy for Dolphin and Union caribou can be submitted to the Conference of Management Authorities until February 15, 2026.
Complete a survey or send your comments directly to the Wildlife Management Advisory Committee (NWT) or the Species at Risk Secretariat.
Photo: Xavier Fernandez Aguilar
Contact
Species at Risk Secretariat
PO Box 1320
Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9
Phone (toll-free): 1 (855) 783-4301
Fax: 1 (867) 873-0221
Email: SARA@gov.nt.ca
Our approach to recovery
The proposed NWT recovery strategy adopts the Management Plan for the Dolphin and Union Caribou in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, published in 2018. This includes the goal, objectives and approaches set out in the current joint management plan.
The proposed recovery strategy also includes an NWT addition which points to updated information on Dolphin and Union caribou from Indigenous, community and scientific sources that have become available in the years since the management plan was released.
This approach ensures up-to-date guidance is in place for the recovery of the species while preserving the collaborative and coordinated nature of our NWT-Nunavut approach to Dolphin and Union caribou conservation and management—in particular, the shared goal, objectives and approaches.
About the proposed recovery strategy
The NWT recovery strategy has two parts:
- The existing Management Plan for Dolphin and Union Caribou in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, which includes shared goals and objectives for the conservation and recovery of Dolphin and Union caribou, approaches to achieve those objectives, and threats and positive influences to the species and its habitat across its range; and
- An addition from the Northwest Territories, which points to updated information for Dolphin and Union caribou in the NWT:
- NWT Status Report and Reassessment (2023)
- NWT Progress Report (2023)
- Addendum to the COSEWIC status report (2024) prepared by co-management partners in NWT and Nunavut, which provides information that more fully reflects existing Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, traditional knowledge, and local knowledge on Dolphin and Union caribou
The management plan was developed collaboratively by Inuvialuit and Inuit organizations and the governments of NWT, Nunavut and Canada, giving equal consideration to Indigenous and community knowledge, Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, and science. The plan was approved/adopted by the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, Government of Nunavut, Government of the Northwest Territories and the Wildlife Management Advisory Council (NWT). The Government of Canada also adopted it as the national management plan for Dolphin and Union caribou in Canada.
The NWT addition was developed collaboratively by the Conference of Management Authorities (CMA)—the wildlife co-management boards and governments that share responsibility for Dolphin and Union caribou in the NWT. All CMA decisions are made by consensus.
Members of the CMA for Dolphin and Union caribou are: Wildlife Management Advisory Council (NWT) and Government of the Northwest Territories.
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