Hunters are not allowed access to Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation land along the Dempster Highway.

Chief Joe Linklater announced the move by the Vuntut Gwitchin government Thursday afternoon. The decision, which took effect immediately after it was made public, comes over concern about the herd's numbers.

Information from the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Board has put the number of Porcupine caribou at an estimate of between 78,000 and 110,000, Linklater said in an interview.

'Either number's not good,' he said, adding that overall, caribou herds have shown a decline in numbers since about 1987.

Doug Larsen represents the Yukon government on the Porcupine Caribou Management Board (a group of first nation and government officials from the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Ottawa). He said the estimate is based on a 2001 count which showed there were 123,000 caribou, including calves.

Officials haven't been able to do a count since. The 78,000 figure is an estimate of the herd not including calves.

The management board needs clearer numbers to come up with a plan on how to proceed based on that count, Larsen said.

A harvest management strategy protocol agreement was also finalized at the board's most recent meeting with signatories given a deadline of Jan. 15 for signing.

What comes out of a harvest management strategy will depend largely on the count.

'Let's put the brakes on until we can find out the numbers,' Larsen said.

Once a herd's number gets to 100,000 or fewer, it is harder to sustain the herd.

'Then there's no stopping it,' Linklater said.

The first nation has two sections of land along the Dempster: one which sits adjacent to the Eagle Plains Lodge and the other near the Oglivie River. Signs posted at the start and end of the sections note it is Vuntut Gwitchin land.

Linklater said closing off the land is a move the first nation can do while more long-term plans are developed for the herd across the North.

'Everybody's saying this is a good move,' said Linklater.

The first nation may send its natural resource officers down to the Dempster at some point during the hunt, but conservation officers from the Yukon government will be monitoring the area.

Both Linklater and Larsen commented in separate interviews that the one thing that can be done to help the population is dealing with the human hunting of caribou.

'There's an awful lot of pressure on the herd right now,' Linklater said.

Climate change and predators are all taking their toll on the animals. It was also noted at a recent meeting of the management board the declining numbers of Bluenose caribou in the Northwest Territories could put additional hunting pressures on the Porcupine herd.

Along with the most current hunting policy, the Vuntut Gwitchin is also making conservation efforts which include hunting bulls only, placing a 500-metre road corridor on roads within the first nation's land and a seven-day harvest closure after the first caribou is spotted.

First nation governments in other regions have implemented similar initiatives, Larsen said.

'I'm glad to see they've taken a very strong (role in conservation),' Larsen said of the Vuntut Gwitchin.