As the Cree Nation Government strongly urges community members to avoid hunting Leaf River caribou this winter, it is coordinating with the Inuit and neighbouring First Nations to save the herd from further decline.
The stance is based on a provincial estimate of the herd’s numbers at approximately 136,000. It’s an alarming drop from last year’s estimate of 175,000 – which itself is a marked decline from more than 650,000 in 2003.
“Worst case scenario, projections are looking at 45,000 by 2030 if we don’t do anything,” said Grand Chief Paul John Murdoch. “To go from close to 700,000 to 45,000 is scary. We consulted our land users and they said we need to ask everybody to really restrict the harvesting of caribou.”
With the non-Native sports hunt closed in 2018, Murdoch emphasized that caribou preservation is a “credibility issue as First Nations to regulate ourselves.” The restraint recommendation follows last year’s call from Chisasibi and the Cree Trappers’ Association asking that harvests be restricted to one per household.
While Chisasibi Chief Daisy House estimated over 100 caribou had already been harvested in the community this season, she has observed a general reduction and told the Nation that there have been discussions to establish a full moratorium on hunting the species for three years.
Under a 2022 agreement, tallymen hosted Innu hunters for limited caribou hunts, but that was suspended in 2025. Guy Bellefleur, the Innu Nation’s caribou lead, recently told APTN News that it’s fallen on his people to manage the migratory herds because “Quebec is doing nothing, absolutely nothing.”
Tina Petawabano, the CNG director of federal and Indigenous relations, engages with neighbouring Nations regarding the caribou harvest. Petawabano admitted, “There are challenging times but there’s no better way than to talk about it and ask how can we help one another.”
The CNG wants Quebec to support Cree-led efforts and fund upcoming surveys planned for 2026 to obtain precise numbers on both the Leaf River and George River herds. While both populations peaked in the early 1990s, the George River caribou has suffered an almost-total collapse, from 800,000 to only 8,600.
The migratory ranges have become progressively smaller. The Leaf River’s southern range is 350 km less than 20 years ago, reaching slightly east of Chisasibi and recently shifting southeast. Habitat concerns have arisen from the 2023 wildfires and mining activity along the Trans-Taiga Road.
“Land users are noticing the physical health of the caribou is not what it used to be,” Murdoch said. “They’re finding carcasses where it’s not clear why they died. In coordination with our staff, Quebec is taking samples when caribou are harvested to evaluate the health of that caribou and the herd and get as much understanding as possible.”
Studies show low reproductive rates and a low average winter mass of female caribou calves (43 kg, compared to a healthy average above 50 kg), suggesting inadequate habitat quality, high energy costs from migration, and increased vulnerability to infections and extreme weather.
The Leaf River caribou’s 1,000 km range covers the expanse of Nunavik, which has chosen to maintain its hunt because families rely on the meat. However, Makivvik Corporation plans to deploy a mobile application this year to record harvests and launch consultations to consider restrictions.
“You can’t do that in a rush,” said Adamie Delisle Alaku, vice president of Makivvik, the region’s managing entity. “Measures will have to be put in place, but it will take time.”
Discussions between Nunavik, Cree and Naskapi representatives will continue in meetings of the Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Coordinating Committee, which determines the region’s hunting rules and regulations. The HFTCC will host the Ungava Migratory Caribou Workshop in Montreal March 24-26.
“We all grew up with this Leaf River herd in our backyards and roads,” said Deputy Grand Chief Linden Spencer, the Cree HFTCC representative. “It’s a very important part of our culture. We need to make sure our policies reflect the realities on the land, supporting long-term conservation measures and the Cree way of life.”
At the Innu Nation’s two-day caribou gathering on December 4 and 5 in Mani-Utenam, participants discussed both migratory herds as well as the woodland caribou, which live farther south in scattered sparseness and are nearly extinct in some areas. Days before the gathering, La Presse reported that Quebec had developed plans for 15 woodland caribou protected areas in 2023 but scrapped them to appease the forestry industry.
“The roads that penetrate the interior of the terrain make it easier for bears and wolves to attack the caribou,” asserted Bellefleur. “Because that’s where the caribou walk. There are too many predators.”
Murdoch clarified that the Leaf River herd doesn’t venture as far as southern forestry roads but suggested wildlife crossings could be developed to connect protected areas. He would like land users to determine a balance between traditional activity and development.
Studies of another caribou herd in Baffin Island recently found a ten-fold increase over the past decade after its population had dropped to just 4,600 in 2014. The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board responded with an initial moratorium that was soon replaced by a limited harvest that continues to this day.
“We shouldn’t forget that it’s a natural cycle for the population to go up and down,” Murdoch explained. “We just want to stay out of nature’s way. I’m hopeful. We’re putting the values and the traditional science of our land users forward – we have to stand with them.”