The NWT Species at Risk Committee (SARC) has prepared the Draft Species Status Report for Porcupine Caribou and Barren-ground Caribou (Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West, Bluenose-East, Bathurst, Beverly, Ahiak, Qamanirjuaq, Wager Bay and Lorillard subpopulations) (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) in the NWT and is requesting review of the information in the report.
The species status report is a comprehensive document that compiles and analyzes the best available Indigenous, community, and scientific information on the biological status of Porcupine caribou and barren-ground caribou in the NWT, as well as existing and potential threats and positive influences. The report was prepared in advance of the scheduled 2027 assessment of Porcupine caribou and barren-ground caribou in the NWT.
If you are interested in reviewing the report and submitting comments, please use the following questions to guide your review:
- Has the report fully investigated the best available sources of information?
- Is the information from those sources portrayed accurately?
Comments on the draft report must be submitted to the Species at Risk Secretariat by no later than January 22, 2027.
Comments can be submitted via email (SARA@gov.nt.ca), fax (867-873-0221), or via standard mail at the address below:
Species at Risk Secretariat
SC6, c/o Environment and Climate Change
Government of the Northwest Territories
PO Box 1320
Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9
Please note the report is a draft and must not be cited without permission of the Species at Risk Committee Chairperson. If you have any questions about reviewing draft status reports, or if you require the report in a different format, please contact the Species at Risk Secretariat.
Photo: Barren-ground caribou - P. Jacobsen
Quick facts
- The Species at Risk (NWT) Act provides a process and tools to identify, protect and recover species at risk in the NWT.
- The NWT Species at Risk Committee (SARC) is an independent committee of experts that assesses the biological status of species at risk in the NWT.
- In 2017, the NWT Species at Risk Committee (SARC) assessed the territorial status of barren-ground caribou (Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-West, Bluenose-East, Bathurst, Beverly, Ahiak, and Qamanirjuaq) as Threatened in the NWT.
- SARC considered Porcupine caribou separately as a geographically distinct population. Porcupine caribou were assessed as Not at Risk in the NWT.
- In 2018, barren-ground caribou, not including the Porcupine caribou, was added to the NWT List of Species at Risk as a Threatened species in the NWT under the territorial Species at Risk (NWT) Act.
- Species on the NWT List of Species at Risk are reassessed every 10 years to evaluate new information and determine if its status has changed.
- Barren-ground caribou are scheduled for reassessment in 2027.