The Government of Yukon, Kluane First Nation, White River First Nation, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the United States National Park Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service are renewing commitments to ensure conservation of the Chisana caribou herd by signing a renewed management plan.
The Chisana caribou herd is a small herd occurring in the Yukon and Alaska on the Klultlan Plateau and near the headwaters of the White River, ranging across international boundaries and multiple jurisdictions. The herd has international significance and is important to Indigenous Peoples and residents of the Yukon and Alaska.
The Chisana Caribou Management Plan was initially signed in 2012 in an effort to stabilize the herd’s population, which was declining in the 1990s and early 2000s. Following a review of the 2012 management plan, and community engagement meetings in both Alaska and the Yukon, the parties have agreed to updated commitments, which include:
- strengthening efforts to monitor the herd;
- developing a new framework for harvest decisions, within the same overarching allocation;
- developing a strategy to avoid incidental harvest of Chisana caribou; and
- identifying considerations for Chisana caribou in planning and decision-making processes.
The updated management plan maintains the original plan’s overriding goal of ensuring conservation of the herd. The plan will remain in effect for 10 years and will guide management and conservation of the herd in both Alaska and the Yukon.
The Government of Yukon is proud to renew its commitment, alongside our valued Indigenous and international partners, to the conservation of the Chisana caribou herd. This updated management plan highlights the strength of collaboration and reaffirms our shared responsibility to protect this vital and culturally significant herd. By incorporating modern strategies and community insights, we are helping to ensure the continued stewardship of the Chisana caribou for future generations, while honouring its profound importance to Indigenous Peoples and residents of the Yukon and Alaska.
Kluane First Nation's perspective on the Chisana Caribou Management Plan underscores the importance of Indigenous leadership in conservation efforts. As the original stewards of Ä sì Keyi, which translates to "My Grandfather's Country," the Lhù'ààn Mân Kwach'ân (Kluane Lake People) have demonstrated their dedication to preserving the herd by voluntarily refraining from harvesting this population for many years. First Nations are not just stakeholders but essential partners in environmental stewardship. The plan's objectives align with the cultural and ecological values of the Kluane First Nation, ensuring that conservation efforts are culturally appropriate and sustainable.
White River First Nation Members, and our ancestors, have lived with and stewarded caribou for thousands of years. Our ancestors lived throughout the present-day range of the Chisana Caribou Herd, in lands that now are part of both the Yukon and Alaska. Since the early 20th century, the colonial governments have imposed an international border on us, dividing us from our relatives. The caribou know no such boundaries. For this reason, it is critically important to bring together Indigenous, federal, and subfederal governments on both sides of the border to address the need to conserve these animals—especially in a landscape that is changing as quickly as our Traditional Territory is.
We appreciated this opportunity to collaborate with our Yukon and Alaska partners as we together renewed our commitment to conserve the Chisana caribou herd through this updated plan while continuing to provide for subsistence harvest opportunities. We also thank the subsistence advisory groups and Tribal organizations who responded to our invitation to provide input to this important planning effort.
We are excited to announce the renewal of the Management Plan for the Chisana Caribou Herd. This plan is a testament to the longstanding collaborative efforts between the Yukon government, two Yukon First Nations, and various management agencies in the United States. This dedicated group has developed a forward-thinking, inclusive management approach based on Traditional Knowledge, cultural heritage, and community input. While the herd’s population is still recovering, we hope to see it support a sustainable harvest opportunity for Yukoners soon.
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Updates to the plan were informed by community engagement meetings held in Alaska and the Yukon in fall 2023 as well as outreach to Tribal entities in Alaska. In the Yukon, meetings were held in Burwash Landing, Destruction Bay and Beaver Creek. Meetings were led by the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board with support from Kluane First Nation, White River First Nation and the Government of Yukon.
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The majority of the Chisana caribou herd’s range is within protected areas. The herd’s summer range is predominately within the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska, while the winter range has a large proportion of the herd occurring in the Yukon’s Asi Keyi Natural Environment Park.
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Since 1987, biologists in the Yukon and Alaska have collaborated to monitor this herd through collar data. Despite past concerns with declines, collaborative monitoring efforts show the population is likely small but stable. The latest population estimate in 2022 found 582 animals.
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Chisana caribou are not hunted in the Yukon because Kluane First Nation, White River First Nation and the Government of Yukon have agreed to provide the opportunity for herd growth. While Kluane First Nation and White River First Nation have the right to harvest caribou, they have voluntarily banned Chisana caribou harvest.
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In Alaska, there is a small, carefully managed, subsistence hunting opportunity for residents of rural communities with customary and traditional ties to the herd, managed by the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Since 2012, between zero to three caribou have been harvested per year.
Laura Seeley
Cabinet Communications
867-332-7627
[email protected]
Chantelle Rivest
Communications, Environment
867-334-9815
[email protected]