Polar bears are a culturally, spiritually and economically important species to Inuit in the Canadian Arctic. To Inuit, wildlife conservation and cultural conservation are one in the same, and this is why Inuit have been effective at managing polar bear as well as other populations of wildlife for generations.
The perceived impacts of climate change on polar bears have created new management challenges, including the U.S. listing of the polar bear as a threatened species, which bans the importation of polar bear trophies into the U.S. The ban significantly decreased the number of Americans paying for guided polar bear hunts. My presentation examines the numbers and composition of the polar bear harvest within three polar bear management units located in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) in the western Canadian Arctic to identify what effect, if any, the U.S. listing has had on the harvest. The findings underscore the need to better understand the cultural importance of polar bear to Inuit and how they are managed in the ISR.

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Livestream (Channel 1). Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation remotely.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.