Day 1 Seminars, August 22
Morning Session (0900 to 1200 hrs)
- Seminar 1: Indigenous Talking Circle
- Seminar 2: Wildlife Necropsy & Health/Condition Sampling Techniques
- Seminar 3: Conservation Education
- Seminar 4: Caribou Demographic Modeling
Afternoon Session (1300 to 1600 hrs)
- Seminar 1: Aboriginal Talking Circle – cont’d
- Seminar 2: Wildlife Necropsy & Health/Condition Sampling Techniques
- Seminar 3: Conservation Education
- Seminar 4: Caribou Demographic Modeling
Seminar 1: Indigenous Talking Circle
Cost: No Charge
Title: Harvesting for the Future
Time: 0900 -1200 hrs: Morning Session
1300 - 1600 hrs: Afternoon Session
Place: Tree of Peace
Organizers: Walter Bayha, Danny Beaulieu, Deborah Simmons; Bea Lepine
Seminar 1: Indigenous Talking Circle:
Harvesting for the Future
"When you put your knowledge in a circle, it's not yours anymore, it's shared by everyone." Douglas Cardinal
Theme
Indigenous peoples need to get our knowledge about the land and the animals to the decision-makers. In order to do this, we need to regain confidence in our own knowledge – which is the basis of who we are as nations. We know the land and take care of the land as hunting and herding peoples. This Talking Circle will bring together indigenous speakers, including youth, to share stories about how this knowledge can be maintained, strengthened and used in policy. The forum will identify a series of topics for more in-depth discussion.
It is expected that there will be two rounds in the circle (morning and afternoon). The number of invited indigenous speakers in the inner circle is limited due to time constraints. Others are welcome to join the audience in the outer circles.By permission of invited speakers, the Talking Circles will be audio recorded and transcribed. The transcript will be the basis for preparing a document that may be reviewed by speakers for possible publication.
Protocol
This forum will be facilitated according to a Talking Circle protocol. Talking Circles vary depending on who is leading the gathering, the purpose, and who is participating. This circle represents the voices of all participants from north, south, east and west, coming together to share stories about their relationships with caribou.
This indigenous forum is arranged in rings according to the four directions. The inner ring is the Talking Circle where one indigenous guest from each participating nation is invited to sit. This person will be supported by neighbours and collaborators in the second ring. People in the outer ring are observers who are invited to listen throughout the day.
Two facilitators are responsible for guiding the circle, and will be stewards of the Talking Stick. The Talking Stick is a symbol of respect for the thoughts and stories of each person participating in the circle. Whoever is holding the stick is welcome to speak, or they can decide to keep silent and pass the stick to the next person.
All stories are respected equally, and there is understanding that stories are told without interruption. At the same time, speakers respect that all members of the circle need to have time to speak. The facilitators will signal if there is a need to think about time and the stories of others waiting to be shared.
By consent of the participants, this Talking Circle will be recorded, and the stories will be transcribed and worked with to prepare a contribution to the conference proceedings. Don’t hesitate to speak with the facilitators if you have any questions.
Seminar 2: Wildlife Necropsy & Health/Condition Sampling Techniques
Cost: $25
Number of participants: Maximum 12
Instructors:
Brett Elkin, Wildlife Veterinarian
GNWT Environment & Natural Resources, Wildlife Division
Jane Harms, Wildlife Pathologist,
Diplomate ACVP
University of Saskatchewan,
Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Wildlife biologists, researchers and wildlife officers are often called upon to respond to wildlife mortality cases or disease outbreaks in the field, involving individual or multiple animals, in order to determine the cause of death. Wildlife personnel may also be involved in research projects that include examination and sampling of harvested wildlife carcasses which can provide important biological and animal health information. The success of these investigations will largely depend on being prepared and knowledgeable in basic wildlife necropsy and sampling techniques, and by the quality of samples collected. In this workshop, we will introduce participants to basic concepts and principles of wildlife disease, approaches for field wildlife disease outbreak investigation, practical wildlife necropsy techniques, health and condition monitoring protocols, and how to work with wildlife health experts and laboratories to get the information you need.
The workshop will include both a classroom lecture and hands on practical session in ENR’s North Slave Laboratory. The lecture will cover an overview of wildlife diseases and why they are important, an overview of some of the common diseases and parasites of arctic ungulates, and steps to prevent transmission of zoonotic diseases. In addition, the essentials of conducting a field investigation of wildlife mortality will be covered, including important information on equipment, personal protection, data collection, photographs, necropsy procedures, sample collection and preservation, sample shipping procedures, laboratory testing options, and carcass disposal. The lecture will be followed by a hands-on session in the laboratory where participants will have an opportunity to observe and participate in a wildlife necropsy session (species TBD) with a board certified wildlife pathologist, practice sample collection, and conduct basic laboratory health and condition assessment techniques.
Participants should wear comfortable clothing suitable for use in the laboratory and necropsy area; personal protective equipment and coveralls will be provided.
Reference Material Provided at the Session:
Wildlife Disease Investigation Manual, 2nd Edition. 2007.
Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre.100 pp.
Rangifer Health & Body Condition Monitoring Manual. 2008. A. Gunn and W. Nixon editors. Circum Arctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network. 54 pp.
Example health and condition monitoring protocols & datasheets for caribou and bison.
Seminar 3: Conservation Education
Cost: $25
Number of participants: Maximum 20
Instructor:
Stephanie Yuill, Public Education Specialist
GNWT Environment & Natural Resources, Field Support Unit
Spend 3 hours with Stephanie discovering how educators take ungulates outside the realm of science and into the world of experiential education.
Be prepared to prance and dance and to sing and shout as you experience back to the basics, hands-on learning that we bring into the schools and to the public!
Participants will discover different learning styles and experience some of the various activities associated with those styles. They will learn hints how to take academic materials and make it accessible to the public. And most importantly, they will learn how we make education fun, interesting and relevant.
This program will be held outside so please be prepared for all weather conditions. Bring sunscreen, sunglasses, bug spray, water and possibly rain jackets.
Reference Material Provided at the Session:
Caribou and People: A Shared Future
Project Caribou
Seminar 4
Caribou Demographic Modeling: use of data-driven population models to explore caribou demography and optimize management decisions.
Cost: $25
Number of participants: Maximum 20
Instructor:
John Boulanger, Integrated Ecological Research,
924 Innes, Nelson, BC, V1L 5T2.
boulange@ecological.bc.ca
www.ecological.bc.ca
One of the challenges of researching and managing ungulate populations is obtaining accurate and complete estimates of demographic parameters such as survival rates, productivity, and population size. This seminar will demonstrate methods that allow the modeling of caribou demography using all the data sources available, including indirect demographic estimates such as calf-cow ratios. The basic approach that will be illustrated, termed ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation, was initially developed for deer populations (White and Lubow 2002), and most recently applied to the Bathurst caribou herd (Boulanger et al. 2011). The technique does not need specialized software and can be implemented using common spreadsheet packages such as Excel™.
The seminar will first illustrate the Bathurst analysis with an emphasis on model assumptions, limitations, and how the model was applied to answer management questions. We will then conduct an example of the incremental building of an OLS population model in Excel based upon statistical principals, caribou biology, and management/biological hypotheses. The final part of the seminar will involve discussion of stochastic simulation models as an expansion of the OLS method, as well as alternative approaches such as Bayesian state space models. Participants should have a general knowledge of basic statistical methods such as regression analysis.
Participants should bring their own laptop computer with Excel installed to allow participation in the seminar. We will send participants background reading to help prepare for the workshop. Participants are encouraged to bring questions about their own data, however, time constraints will not allow actual analyses of participants’ data.
Literature cited
Boulanger, J., A. Gunn, J. Adamczewski, and B. Croft. 2011.
A data-driven demographic model to explore the decline of the Bathurst caribou herd. Journal of Wildlife Management. In press.
White, G. C., and B. Lubow. 2002. Fitting population models to multiple sources of observed data. Journal of Wildlife Management 66:300-309.