Tahltan Guide & Outfitters Association Message

Klappan Moose

The Klappan is a sacred area to Tahltan, with a high density of ancient, traditional, and current dwellings, camps, sites, trails, harvesting and gathering areas. It is an area important for Tahltan Members to meet their cultural and sustenance needs throughout the year.

The area is also used by licensed hunters, primarily for moose hunting, who have accessed it via the rail grade traversing the length of the region.

The Klappan has a history of conflict over land use practices, from overlapping and at times competing uses between the Nation and licensed hunters. There have also been concerns over and differing views of the moose population numbers.

The BC Government and TCG have worked together on the Klappan Plan, associated land uses, moose numbers, and hunting issues. In 2018 they established two Limited Entry Hunting (LEH) seasons to address concerns about the sustainability of the moose harvest and to avoid overcrowding by distributing hunters over time and space.

In 2017, the Klappan Decision-Making and Management Board (KDMB), a joint decision-making body of the Province and Tahltan representatives, was established for the area. In 2018, the KDMB endorsed the licensed hunting regulation changes for the Klappan.

The Tahltan Nation is a member of the 3 Nations Society and was involved in the 3NBC Collaborative Stewardship Forum (CSF), a threeyear initiative. The project supports the goals and broad objectives of the 3 Nations Leadership and 3NBC CSF, including collecting information to monitor the effectiveness of hunting regulations and other wildlife management information needs.

Klappan Moose Classification Survey

As part of the CSF, in 2019 the Wildlife Department acquired funds to conduct an early winter moose count in the Klappan, collecting information on the numbers of bulls, cows, and calves just after the hunting season and after rut.

The Guardians and the Wildlife Department conducted a helicopter survey in early December of 2019, which observed:

Ȗ 351 Moose

94

BULLS

157

COWS

46 + 4

CLASSIFIED CALVES UNCLASSIFIED CALVES

• 44 groups of cows with a single calf, and one group of cows with twin calves

• A bull ratio of 46.5 ± 9.6 (90% CI) bulls/100 cows with a sample size of 296 and a precision level of 20.5 % (90% confidence interval)

• A calf ratio of 25.2 ± 6.5 (90% CI) calves/100 cows with a sample size of 253 and a precision level of 25.8 % (90% confidence interval)

Additional wildlife viewed in the study area included:

2

WOODLAND CARIBOU (Rangifer tarandus caribou)

17

STONE’S SHEEP (Ovis dalli stonei)

4

MOUNTAIN GOATS (Oreamnos americanus)

2

WOLVES (Canis lupus)

2

WOLVERINES (Gulo gulo)

5

ELK (Cervus elaphus)

Another survey is planned for December 2020, flying similar areas in the Klappan for further comparisons on the status of the moose population. Results will be provided to the Tahltan communities and leadership as well as the KDMB for further consideration on the LEH hunting seasons and other management items.

Klappan Moose Stewardship Plan

The 3 Nations BC CSF agreed it is important for all involved to create a moose stewardship plan for the Klappan that meets the needs of the communities, Nations, and BC. The management objectives and strategies need to be based on indigenous, local, and scientific knowledge (western science and each Nation’s knowledge), traditional practices, and laws.

For the Tahltan, the Klappan was identified for a moose population pilot, working with TCG, communities, BC and the 3 Nations on setting Tahltan management priorities, developing a plan that meets the needs and supports decision-making for all involved.

This plan is being delivered through the TahltanBC Fish and Wildlife Working Group under the Government-to-Government Agreement. With the communities, TCG, 3 Nations, and BC, we are developing a plan that works toward:

1 . Population, habitat, harvest, and land use management objectives consistent with provincial and Tahltan moose management approaches.

2 . A moose stewardship plan based on Tahltan, local and scientific sources of knowledge.

3 . A moose stewardship plan consistent with moose management direction from Tahltan land use plans and conservation initiatives,

Klappan Decision-Making and Management

Board, and legal higher-level plan objectives.

4 . Community-based review and approval process for Tahltan.