It was not that long ago that hunters enjoyed the seemingly endless opportunities to hunt caribou throughout their range in the far northern reaches of North America. I was introduced to this possibility in the mid-1990s when a good friend booked a trip to hunt Quebec-Labrador caribou. Along with a few other buddies, they traveled north to link up with a well-known outfitter that offered a streamlined opportunity to access the caribou herds that had reached an all-time high. Success came easy with nearly every hunter filling both of their tags with respectable bulls. No one knew at the time that they were witnessing the golden era for caribou. The discussion around caribou has changed drastically in the last 30 years, leaving us with a completely different caribou reality.
Barren-Ground Caribou
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game recognizes 32 separate caribou herds throughout the state. These herds can be discussed in two general groups – migrators and non-migrators. The migrators usually represent the larger, more popular herds like the Western Arctic herd, Porcupine herd, or Mulchatna herd, famous for large mass migrations that can cover hundreds of miles. It is mainly these large migratory herds that experience a massive bloom period and subsequent crash. The renowned Mulchatna herd that peaked at roughly 200,000 animals in 1997 started to show signs of collapse in the early 2000s. The current population estimate for the Mulchatna herd is 13,000 animals with no harvest permitted by any user group.
Hunters seeking an opportunity to hunt caribou quickly shifted to the Western Arctic caribou herd in Northwest Alaska near Kotzebue. This herd peaked in 2003 at 550,000 animals and began its rapid decline. As of 2022, the federal government has deemed that only federally qualified subsistence users are allowed to harvest animals from the herd and closed all non-resident hunting on federal lands within the herd’s range. With two of the large caribou herds no longer available for hunters, the displaced hunters have sought out the few remaining large migratory herds like the Porcupine herd and Central Arctic herd. These herds are reported as stable or growing, but access issues and hunter crowding are rapidly becoming an issue.
The remaining smaller migratory herds and non-migratory herds simply cannot support the same amount of hunter demand that the Mulchatna and Western Arctic herds have supported in the past. For those seeking self-guided opportunities, keep in mind that reputable air-taxi and transporter services are booked years in advance. Rumors of untrustworthy operators are becoming commonplace, and great care should be taken before handing deposits to transporters. Those hunters seeking a guided opportunity should call us to ensure they are working through a reputable outfitter. Whether you go self-guided or fully-guided and outfitted, you should be aware that prices have increased drastically in response to closures and access issues with transported hunts booking at $6,000-$7,500 and guided opportunities booking for $15,000-$25,000.
Mountain Caribou
Mountain caribou exist in huntable numbers in both British Columbia (BC) and the Northwest Territories (NWT). Seeing declines in this subspecies, the BC government was the first to take action. Outfitters in BC saw their allotted 2024 quotas reduced to 105 total non-resident tags for the entire province, with many outfitters losing almost all of their quota. I would not shy away from a British Columbia caribou hunt as it seems the drastic reduction was largely politically driven and outfitters did quite well on their caribou hunts in 2024. At the time of this article, NWT has not experienced tag reductions; however, many outfitters feel the reductions are coming. Hunters seeking Mountain caribou should expect prices of $20,000-35,000. Any additional quota reductions could result in additional increases in price point.
Central Canadian Barren-Ground Caribou (CCBGC)
Like the Alaska Barren-ground caribou, the majority of the large CCBGC herds are migratory and have experienced the same downward trend since the 1990s. While the declines are notable, the CCBGC herd offers several hunting opportunities throughout NWT. With approximately 10 migrating herds available, hunters have plenty of opportunity. The sheer remoteness and logistical difficulty of the region acts to limit pressure without additional restrictions necessary. Hunters interested in this herd have multiple opportunities to access the CCBGC herd if they are willing to be flexible with travel. Hunters are getting on the books for $14,000-22,000. Plan on an additional $4,000-$7,000 to cover travel and shipment of trophies back to the States.
Quebec-Labrador Caribou
The “canary in the coal mine” after the herd experienced an amazing bloom period through the 1990s, Quebec-Labrador caribou populations started to slide. No other species/subspecies recognized by Boone and Crockett have experienced a closure in my hunting lifetime. Though hunting is not considered a significant contributing factor for the decline, we have lost the opportunity to pursue this subspecies of caribou. At this time, there is no plan of reopening on the horizon.
Woodland Caribou
Though Woodland caribou are an isolated herd, they have experienced the same cycle on roughly the same timeline as the rest of North American caribou. At its peak, Newfoundland supported 95,000 Woodland caribou in the mid-1990s. Today, 30,000 Woodland caribou range across the island province. What was once considered the least expensive of all the caribou to hunt, Woodland caribou can now demand $20,000-$35,000. The sharp decrease in tag allocations has stabilized over the last couple years, but demand has not eased.
The once plentiful, easily accessed North American caribou herds have declined from a bloom period that many hunters became accustomed to. Though this has caused alarm with many hunters and conservationists, we may want to look to previous declines and periods of low abundance that occurred in the 1950s. If we look at population fluctuations through a multigenerational lens, we can see that caribou herds have always been susceptible to population declines. We should also note that the strongest bloom period that we have on record has occurred in the middle of the industrial era while under the management of the North American Conservation Model.
It would be my hope that we could remove some overbearing government agencies and manage the remaining animals with common sense that also includes some consumptive use by all user groups. Until then, we have to make the best of our current situation. Though we do not have the populations that we enjoyed just two decades ago, I would encourage our members to make their caribou plans and go. I wouldn’t want to wait for a mass recovery that most of us will not witness in our lifetimes, if it occurs at all.
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