Amos Scott is 鈥渇eeling good鈥� about his new job as the executive director of the Caribou Guardians Coalition (CGC).
鈥淚鈥檓 feeling excited to be in a position that is advocating for the health and wellness of caribou,鈥� he said soon after his hiring was announced.
The CGC exists to foster collaboration between existing caribou guardianship programs, and to help people create new guardianship programs across the range of the Bathurst herd. The organization was founded in 2020, and following a three-year planning phase, moved into its implementation phase last year.
Scott applied for his new position with CGC in March, and was hired soon after.
He was born and raised in Yellowknife and is Tlicho on his mother鈥檚 side. Even as a young boy, he appreciated the importance of the caribou to people across the North.
鈥淚 grew up with caribou,鈥� he said. 鈥淩ight from an early age, I knew it was important.
鈥淢y grandparents would make sure we always had caribou [to eat],鈥� he added. 鈥淐aribou dry meat is probably one of my favourite foods in the world.鈥�
He brings some interesting professional experience to the role, having worked as a journalist and filmmaker.
鈥淥ver the years I鈥檝e had different ways to contemplate the role of caribou, and the importance of caribou in the North,鈥� he said. 鈥淒uring that time, I鈥檝e also learned about some of the issues around the management of caribou and the population decline struggles.
鈥淚鈥檓 not the most experienced, but that鈥檚 one of the reasons I鈥檓 happy to have this job, because many of the people who work around protecting and conserving Bathurst caribou have been doing it for a long time, and I鈥檓 hoping to learn a lot from their expertise.鈥�
The CGC鈥檚 membership includes a long list of Indigenous groups, including Deninu Kue First Nation, Lutsel K鈥檈 Dene First Nation, the NWT M茅tis Nation, the North Slave M茅tis Alliance, the Tlicho Government, and several hunter and trappers organizations in Nunavut鈥檚 Kitikmeot region.
Scott said one of his top priorities in his new role will be nurturing collaboration and communication between those groups and the GNWT.
鈥淚 think that one of the opportunities that has already started to be established is that relationship between the Indigenous members of the Caribou Guardians Coalition, and the relationship that they have in the co-management of caribou with the Government of the Northwest Territories,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 never an easy relationship to have, but I think [CGC has] started off in a good direction and I鈥檓 hoping that I鈥檓 able to support that work.鈥�
The Bathurst herd, part of the barren-ground caribou species, occupy a range that extends from the southern and central NWT to the Bathurst Inlet in Nunavut. In some years, the animals winter as far south as northern Saskatchewan.
Scott could not comment on the current overall health of the herd, but pledged to do as much as he can support caribou conservation in his new role.
鈥淚 would hope that the numbers are improving and I would hope that the health of the herd is improving,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been some aggressive management measures in the last number of years with the no-hunting zone, and hopefully that鈥檚 doing the job it needs to do.
鈥淚鈥檓 there to support the people who are doing the hard work and the good work around helping caribou. I think that just needs to continue and they need more of a support system, and I hope to be that person.鈥�
CGC receives funding from several sources, including Polar Knowledge Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the GNWT鈥檚 Department of Environment and Climate Change, and Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk.
