Tough winter ahead, say trappers, after N.W.T.'s summer wildfires

Two N.W.T trappers say they're expecting a difficult winter ahead for many of the species they trap, after summer wildfires devoured more than four million hectares of the territory's forests.

Those forests were home to a wealth of small animals, as well as predators that have now been driven into other areas, putting pressure on the food chain.

"I was just a little sad, you know, seeing everything go up. So now I'm just trying to focus on different species," said Nathan Kogiak, who has trapped near Yellowknife for more than a decade.

Kogiak lost four of his six marten lines, which were between one and 3.5 kilometres long, to the Yellowknife-Behchokǫ̀ wildfire. Along with those traplines, he believes many smaller animals died in the fire.

Not wanting to put even more pressure on those small animals, he's switching up how he traps this year. He's going to be focusing on beavers instead — animals that require wood to survive. With so many trees burned, some of them could face a slow death.

It's the same for predators, he added. With less small game to go around, he worries larger predators will starve this winter.

"That's a hard way to die," Kogiak said. "Trappers play a role in keeping that balance."

South of Great Slave Lake, trappers and hunters around Fort Smith are facing a similar predicament, said Richard Mercredi.

Mercredi has trapped for much of his life and spends a lot of time on the land at his cabin east of the town. Most of his traplines burned.

Water animals like mink and otter should be alright to trap this winter, he said. He, too, is looking at beavers.

From his experience, he said, it could take decades for the landscape itself to recover and grass, shrubs and trees to start growing again in the areas worst-hit by the fires.

"The fire actually around our community was really, really devastating," he said. "Some of the country is rocky and gravel kind of country, and when you look down, the fire's burnt the dirt. There's nothing left, just gravel. So for trees to come back, it would be like trees growing in a gravel pit."

Aside from trapping, Mercredi said the after-effects of the fires are also affecting hunters. He knows of some people who were harvesting moose on the highway as fires drove the creatures from their usual habitats, but he suspects many more moose died in the fires or got pushed to other areas.

"There's going to be a lot less hunting in the future from what I can see," he said. "Where it's burned hot — and I'm telling you, it's miles and miles of it — even buffalo wouldn't have grass to eat."