When the Tlicho Government’s Lands Protection and Renewable Resources department offered Behchoko resident Été Lafferty-Zoe a trip to Churchill, Man., to present about caribou conservation, she jumped at the chance.
“I got asked by [wildlife and fisheries biologist] Stephanie Behrens,” the 21-year-old said. “She said I would have to do a presentation. I thought about it, and I told her I’d be interested in going.”
For two consecutive summers, Lafferty-Zoe has participated in the Tlicho Government’s Boots on the Ground program, which enlists people from the four Tlicho communities to spend time on the land monitoring the Bathurst, Bluenose and Beverly caribou herds that migrate through the region.
“We monitor caribou, we look at their health, we look for any injuries on them, we see if they’re fat or not and if they have calves,” she said. “We watch everything when we’re out there, and it’s not just the caribou we monitor. We watch the landscape for predators and everything that’s out there.”
In Churchill, Lafferty-Zoe shared her experiences from the program with members of the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB), an organization that aims to safeguard those particular herds.
Her presentation was part of the board’s 95th annual public meeting during the second-last week of November.
She admits she battled some nerves before making her speech, but said it ultimately went well.
“[BQCMB is] really watching the caribou because they’re declining, so I just told them my experience and why I do what I do out on the land,” she said. “I don’t usually talk in front of people like that, so I was kind of nervous, but it went OK. They liked what I said. It was very touching. They said it was a really good speech and they enjoyed it.”
Lafferty-Zoe also had the chance to meet with local Elders, as well as Shakayla Antsanen, a youth from Northlands Denesuline First Nation in Lac Brochet, Man., who was presenting on the Seal River Watershed Initiative.
“It was good meeting new people,” she said.
Now back in Behchoko, Lafferty-Zoe said she will continue to advocate for caribou conservation. She plans to participate in the Boots on the Ground program again next year.
Her main source of motivation is preserving the caribou for the next generation – including her own son.
“We’re dependent on caribou,” she said. “It’s good that we’re protecting them for our younger generation.
“I’ve been looking at the numbers, and I’ve noticed the caribou are declining. I have a four-year-old, and I want him to hunt caribou and see caribou. That’s why I do this and why I’m part of the Boots on the Ground program.”