SUBSISTENCE HUNTING AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT IN THE CENTRAL CANADIAN ARCTIC

During the winter of 1992/93, a perceived caribou decline in the vicin ity of Holman, NWT, Canada, led a government wildlife manager to sugge st that a ban on caribou hunting was the only reasonable solution to m anaging the caribou population. This paper focuses on the resulting in teraction between wildlife managers and Inuit. On the surface, the pro cess appeared to be an adequate exercise in co-management, as the comm unity was involved in all phases of addressing the problem. However, f urther examination suggests that some local Inuit were unhappy with bo th the process and the solution. It is also suggested that a ban on ca ribou hunting was unnecessary because Inuit recognized that continued hunting was economically unproductive.