Odds my July NWT dall hunt happens?

[Timjohnson11]

Never posted on a forum but I have a July 15th dall hunt fully booked with a well known and respected outfitter and I’m looking for any help I can find. What are the odds you guys think this hunt occurs at this point?

I haven’t found a ton of clarity on current travel restrictions and would be appreciative on any insights into the current travel situation. For example, can I travel from US to Norman Wells via air at the moment? And if so, is there a mandatory quarantine I would be subject to before I could hunt? My outfitter has advised to hold off on purchasing my airfare to Norman Wells until more clarity. We are now two months out though.

 

[Old and gray]

I’m in the same situation as you. It’s a wait and see at this point.

 

[Saskabush]

Canadian border is closed right now to non-essential travel with no real indication of when it might open.

Can’t really speak to the situation in NWT or Yukon specific to outfitters, but both territories are being very cautious and have restricted all travel in to only residents and essential workers. They’re not even letting other Canadians into the territories presently. From what i’ve seen in the news they don’t sound to eager to ease those restrictions before the summer. The isolated communities in those places are very concerned about Covid-19.

Here in Saskatchewan, outfitters have been told they cannot operate this spring. Fingers crossed for the fall seasons.

To summarize, cross your fingers and hope for the best. Sounds about 50/50 right now for the early part of the fall, and that might be overly optimistic.

Good luck.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I know some of the outfitters live down in Alberta, but come back to do wolf hunts in the Spring. They also bring the horses back up but maybe that is June or so. Are the outfitters back up there yet in the NWT?

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[OutdoorsMD]

I have a sheep hunt booked in August in the NWT as well. As a physician in one the most hard hit areas of Covid-19 (metro detroit), I have mixed feelings. The disease incidence around this area has dramatically dropped recently. I would not want to see areas that haven’t been hit go through what we did here. However, I have been waiting 2 years since I booked and essentially my whole life to do this hunt and I really want to go! My brother in law is a Delta pilot and told me they suspened all flights to Saskatoon through the end of September.

 

[Saskabush]

I know some of the outfitters live down in Alberta, but come back to do wolf hunts in the Spring. They also bring the horses back up but maybe that is June or so. Are the outfitters back up there yet in the NWT?

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I can’t speak to how each oufitter has been trying to work around this. Generally speaking, i can only pass on what I’ve seen in the news and my own personal take on it. What i do know is the NWT border has been closed to all but essential travel since late March. Most of what i’ve read up to this past week has suggested the border closures (both NWT and Canada) aren’t going to be lifted anytime soon.

Only reason I’ve been paying attention to it is I was in the process of researching/booking my own dall hunt in the next few years. I really feel for those of you that have been planning and preparing to hunt This fall. I hope it works out for you guys.

 

[buzzy]

I’m in the same boat and supposed to head to Norman Wells on 7/22. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they open up the border. If they aren’t going to open it by then they may as well keep it closed until a vaccine is found. Either people will have learned how best to manage this by then or why ever open it up until there is a vaccine?

 

[JFKinYK]

I see no possible way July or August nonresident hunts happen in the NWT.

It’s not about the Canada/US border being open. It’s about the vulnerable population of the NWT welcoming outsiders again, and the history of introduced illnesses impacting indigenous populations with very little access to health care. We aren’t even allowing people from Alberta here, and you want to fly in from around the world?

There’s also the lack of appetite for NR hunting/outfitters/guides but I’ll leave that for another time.

 

[HankBC]

I'm in BC and they're about to open up the parks for day use on the 15th and camping in june. I'd say July is looking pretty early due to all this crap. The outfitter may be working, it's just a concern on whether or not you can make it across the border to us up here.

I'll cross my fingers for ya, keep training and best of luck.

 

[Saskabush]

I see no possible way July or August nonresident hunts happen in the NWT.

It’s not about the Canada/US border being open. It’s about the vulnerable population of the NWT welcoming outsiders again, and the history of introduced illnesses impacting indigenous populations with very little access to health care. We aren’t even allowing people from Alberta here, and you want to fly in from around the world?

There’s also the lack of appetite for NR hunting/outfitters/guides but I’ll leave that for another time.

I tend to agree with you. The same sentiments are present in the more remote parts of Northern Saskatchewan. Not really a topic for discussion here though.

However, at some point the provinces and territories will have to re-open to outsiders. From what i know of the NWT, it’s similar to Northern Sask in that the economy is driven by mining and tourism. Not much else up there, except a shitload of water and bugs.

For now, all the provinces and territories are deferring to their public health officials, who have their own criteria for when to reopen. Only advice I could really give to guys with hunts this year is keep in touch with your outfitters and be as patient as you can given the circumstances. Most of them are trying to get answers to the same questions you are.

 

[JFKinYK]

I tend to agree with you Saskabush. Without getting too far off track...

Tourism is a blip on the radar that has been getting bigger the last 10 years, but NR hunting is hardly a driver. Aurora viewing and things like hiking and paddling dwarf any contribution NR hunters make. If you come to hunt sheep here, your tag will cost $110 CAD, or about 80 bucks US. Sure there's some spin-offs from that but the majority of NWT residents don't care one bit about the NR hunting industry. Also remember that 7 of the 8 Mackenzie Mt outfits are NRs (up until a few years ago, 8 of 8). And they rarely hire residents.

Our main drivers are yes, mining, but also government including transfer payments from Ottawa - sad but true. Our big mines are mostly continuing to operate or at least pay staff.

There are many deep, complicated factors with NR hunting here that I shouldn't get into - things like land claims and no northern hiring quotas, self government agreements and traditional territories. I'll stop there before I say too much! Anyone thinking this is a financial argument isn't getting it.

 

[Doc Holliday]

.....the majority of NWT residents don't care one bit about the NR hunting industry.

I guarantee you the tribe elders who get all the meat every time a float plane lands in Norman Wells cares. When we landed, the very first order of business was giving 4 giant rubber tubs of moose and caribou meat to the natives who had backed their truck up to the dock. Only after that was handled were we allowed to deplane.

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[JFKinYK]

Agreed Doc. That is one big benefit the outfitters provide. But most people would rather be getting that meat themselves, or at least from a family member.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Agreed Doc. That is one big benefit the outfitters provide. But most people would rather be getting that meat themselves, or at least from a family member.

Yes, if they could. But the reality is the vast majority do not have the resources (planes, horses, etc.) required to do it.

 

[Saskabush]

Agreed. I actually had a line in my last post about “other agendas” but removed it. You hit most of the issues in yours. I don’t know the situation in the Territories well but it’s the same across most of western Canada.

I was blown away at the bus loads of Chinese tourists in Yellowknife last fall. It was unreal. The service industry in that town is going to be hurting bad if the whole season gets flushed.

 

[JFKinYK]

This is probably the last thing I’ll mention on this...

There are dozens of programs and more every year for indigenous hunters to receive funding to go hunting - including air charters. Are they running up mountains to shoot sheep? Not really.

Outfitters as early as the 1990s sold their concession stating native land rights as their increasing worry.

There’s more I could say but I’ll stop. I suppose if anyone wants to hear me wander and rant more they can PM me. It’s very interesting watching it all unfold.

Good luck to everyone this fall wherever your hunt takes you.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Agreed. I actually had a line in my last post about “other agendas” but removed it. You hit most of the issues in yours. I don’t know the situation in the Territories well but it’s the same across most of western Canada.

I was blown away at the bus loads of Chinese tourists in Yellowknife last fall. It was unreal. The service industry in that town is going to be hurting bad if the whole season gets flushed.

Yeah, apparently having sex under the northern lights is a major thing in Chinese culture. And since they are becoming (if not already) the richest people in the world now....

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[ejs21]

I saw an online statement released by the NWT government stating that all tourism and outfitting is shut down for the time being, but the situation will be updated every two weeks. I can't seem to find the link again but I will post it if I do. I have a hunt booked for early August and am hoping provincial borders being open by then, but I cant see the international border being open this summer. I hope I am wrong and everyone gets to go on their hunts.

 

[ejs21]

https://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/sites/enr/files/resources/covid-19_-_information_for_outfitters_and_tourism_operators_-_en_april_2020.pdf

Here it is.

 

[buzzy]

Thanks for sharing the link.