![]() ![]() The Yukon government's first response was to inactivate all hunting permits in the area. ![]() They had observed that caribou numbers has dropped from over 3000 in the early 1960s to around 400 by the 1990s. The third study and control program under the Yukon Wolf Plan began under the insistence of the White River and the Kluane First Nation in regards to the Chisana caribou herd that roamed around the Saint Elias Mountains in the area. Some poisoned Yukon wolves and birds were found in the Aishihik testing area and 4 of the packs in the area lowered from 38 individual members to 8 members. In 1994, during the study, a big game outfitter was convicted in court of attempting to convince guides in the area to place poison on the ground. The study also concluded that, in future testing areas, lethal methods of reducing wolf populations would be minimized, as it was clearly found during the study that sterilization was far more effective in controlling the population and it also did not affect wolf behavior. Thus, the study concluded that the Yukon wolf, along with hunting by humans, was one of the greatest controlling factors for the moose population and for the caribou population as a whole. The resulting evidence showed that, while the Yukon wolf greatly affected and controlled the population of moose, the survival rate of adult caribou was not affected by the decrease in the number of wolves in the area, nor was the Dall sheep population affected at all. Subsequently, it could be decided that the major limiting factor in terms of the population growth of these species is attributed to predation by the Yukon wolf. The program was a test on whether decreased wolf population would cause the population of caribou, moose, and Dall sheep to increase. After recovering the bodies of slain wolves, the pelts were removed and sold. Numerous wolves were also neutered in the years between 19. This was accomplished by aerial wolf hunting and through the use of snares and traps. Aishihik Recovery Program (1992–1997)Ī five-year control program created as a part of the Yukon Wolf Plan ended in 1997 that detailed the extermination of around 80% of the Yukon wolf population within southwest Yukon, specifically around the Aishihik area. While the government has wished to continue efforts at wolf control in the area, an agreement could not be made with the First Nation peoples of Ross River, so the effort was eventually abandoned. However, since the end of the program, the number of caribou has once again begun to steadily decline, though the health of the herd has remained stable regardless. The result was that the number of caribou more than doubled and the number of wolves returned to their previous count before the control period. In order to test if a concurrent effort would have a greater effect, hunting any caribou in the herd was also limited and controlled by a strict permit system. In response, the government, from the beginning of the program to 1989, reduced the number of wolf packs in the area from 25 to 7, which involved reducing the number of individual members from 215 to 29. ![]() The first control program was started because of observations and complaints by the people of Ross River that the Filayson herd of caribou has been declining in size. The plan was eventually, however, opposed by environmental groups who did not wish for wolf control in any form. The planning group also set forth methods of increasing public awareness of the importance of wolves and making more strict wolf hunting laws. The aftereffects of the plan in the 2000s involved continued study and the creation of "rigid guidelines for ensuring long-term wolf conservation" and limited the amount of wolf control enacted by decreasing the scope and length of any future studies. The studies would also be conducted in only 7 of the 23 ecoregions in Yukon. Ontrol and understanding of the results of any study. Population Finlayson Recovery Program (1983–1992)
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