Eight projects were awarded funding in 2026-27 from a total budget of $60,000. Descriptions of approved projects are provided below.
Athabasca Denesųłiné Harvest Monitors Program
Project lead: Athabasca Denesųłiné Né Né Land Corporation
Species at risk focus: Barren-ground caribou
This project supports ongoing efforts to monitor barren-ground caribou harvest south of the NWT border (northern Saskatchewan) to ensure hunters are following traditional protocols for a sustainable and respectful harvest. The overarching goals of this program are to reduce wastage and overharvest, promote the Denesųłıné traditional laws and protocols to younger generations, use all parts of the caribou, teach youth safety and respect on the land, and monitor caribou and caribou ecosystems and habitat for changes over time in order to be proactive in keeping caribou populations healthy and thriving.
During the winter harvest season, harvest monitors from each of the three Denesųłıné communities will travel to where the caribou and harvesters are located for a minimum of 10 days (two 5-day trips). They will observe the harvest and take note of any harvesters they see and speak to, check gut piles for wastage, and collect hides for workshops. Information about caribou demographics, movements, health, habitat use, habitat condition, predators, and other species (e.g. muskox) will be noted, and pictures taken. At the end of the season, the monitors will meet with community partners and an Elders Advisory Group to debrief the season and set priorities for future actions.
Voices of the Land: Elders and Youth Sharing Caribou Teachings
Project lead: Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB)
Species at risk focus: Barren-ground caribou
The goal of this project is to document and share Elder and youth knowledge, lived experiences, and perspectives related to barren-ground caribou through the production of a series of short video interviews. The interviews will be conducted with community members across the Beverly caribou range during the BQCMB Board meeting in Lutsel K’e from June 11-14, 2026. The videos will be professionally produced and shared via social media and for schools and community presentations. The project supports intergenerational knowledge sharing by capturing teachings related to respectful harvest practices, the people/caribou relationship, conservation concerns and future stewardship responsibilities.
Identification and Closing Knowledge Gaps of Critical Habitat for Northern Leopard Frog in the South Slave
Project lead: Fort Smith Métis Council
Species at risk focus: Northern leopard frog
This goal of this multi-year project is to identify and map critical habitats for northern leopard frog in the Fort Smith region, including breeding and overwintering areas. Community Elders will be interviewed on their experiences of finding frogs in the region and mapping will be used to locate regions with similar vegetation to current known northern leopard frog locations. Fort Smith residents will also be encouraged to report sightings and potential threats to the species. ARUs will be installed at identified areas to gain specific occurrence data and waterways where they are found will be monitored for parameters including oxygen levels, pH, turbidity, conductivity, depth, and ice thickness (in the winter). Occurrence maps will be created for the species and breeding sights will be identified and periodically surveyed. Signage will be created for areas where the species is present to educate about the species and the threats it faces and promote reporting.
Nin Nihlinehch'ì' - Li' hàh Guk'àndehtr'inahtìi (Animals at risk - animals we are watching closely)
Project lead: Gwich'in Tribal Council
Species at risk focus: Barren-ground caribou
The Gwich’in Tribal Council is gathering information about barren-ground caribou, including diet, life cycle, population changes, and behaviour, for an upcoming report on Gwich’in knowledge about barren-ground caribou. This is being done by conducting interviews with Gwich’in Elders and other knowledge holders and documenting their knowledge in a final report to support species at risk management decisions. In addition to a public report, presentations about this work will be given to wildlife managers, species at risk managers, academic partners and Gwich’in communities.
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 seven years of fieldwork for its eDNA project, which gathers and analyses water samples to detect the presence of species at risk in areas that are important for NSMA members. The project has expanded to include other non-invasive monitoring techniques such as audio (ARU) and visual (wildlife camera) recordings. Camera data is being incorporated into NWT-wide species distribution models. The NSMA hopes to continue this program for years to come to continue creating species baselines in the North Slave region and to begin to track changes in varies species abundance and distributions.
White-nose syndrome surveillance at bat hibernacula in the South Slave region
Project lead: Jesika Reimer and Laura Kaupas
Species at risk focus: Bats (all species)
The goal of this project is to document the current status of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in the NWT and to describe the microbiota of resident bats to inform future WNS treatment options. Applicants will produce a technical report for biologists and managers detailing the results from their WNS assessment including the health and status of bats surveyed during spring 2026, Pd wing swab and guano analysis results, and microbiome results as they pertain to the potential use of probiotic treatments. This information is essential to understanding the current extent of WNS in the NWT and will help inform best management practices and any preventative measures that are currently being considered by the territory, such as probiotic treatments. In addition, during the field surveys, applicants will welcome participation and provide training for local biologists and community stewards to increase the capacity of local agencies and communities to monitor bat populations in their regions.
Sump monitoring and Species at Risk in the Sahtu Settlement Area
Project lead: Sahtú Renewable Resources Board
Species at risk focus: Boreal caribou and northern mountain caribou
The goal of this project is to evaluate potential impacts to species at risk in the Sahtú Settlement Region from the failure of drilling-waste sumps due to permafrost melting. The project team will visit 10 sump locations in the Sahtú to conduct drone surveys and retrieve SD cards from wildlife cameras and autonomous recording units (ARUs). The drone data will be analyzed to characterize features of sump failures (i.e., ponding) based on a risk framework created by the SRRB and Renewable Resources Councils. The camera and ARU data will be used to validate the presence/absence of species at risk at sump locations and support impact assessment of sump failures on species at risk. A summary report will be prepared describing field activities and a preliminary data review.
Post-fire Status of Snakes in the NWT
Project lead: Karl Larsen, Thompson Rivers University
Species at risk focus: Red-sided garter snake
The goal of this project is to assess the responses of red-sided garter snakes in the South Slave region of the NWT to the 2023 wildfire season by updating abundance estimates, gathering information on population structure (sex ratio, age class), and examining body condition and health of post-fire snake populations compared with historical data. Human-caused snake mortalities due to roadkill will also be monitored and reduced through this project. 2026-27 is the third and final year of data collection for this project.
Deliverables include data files (e.g., csv), field notes, photographs, and unique identification information for marked individuals. Range maps will be updated as possible, and occurrence information will be recorded in the NWT's WMIS. This project will help address knowledge gaps respecting abundance, life history, ecology, and vulnerability/response to threats for reptiles near the northern limit of their distribution in the NWT.