As Mi’kmaq, we have an inherent right to access and use our resources.
We also have a responsibility to the environment, and the plants and animals that live within it.
In our long held tradition of Netukulimk, we have always balanced community nutrition with the integrity of our environment. Today, you have an important role in helping us to protect and better understand the Cape Breton moose population.
Mi’kmaq harvesters have been requesting checkpoints in the Cape Breton Highlands and we have listened and taken this request very seriously.
Starting this year, checkpoint stations will be set up at Hunter’s Mountain and Wreck Cove and will be there throughout the harvesting season, operated by both Mi’kmaq and Lands & Forestry representatives.
Stopping at these checkpoints is voluntary, but we are asking Mi’kmaq harvesters to help us preserve, protect and understand this very important species. If you are successful in this year’s harvest, please stop into one of our checkpoints.
At these check stations, we will be collecting lower jaw bones, female reproductive tracts, and antler measurements to help us all better understand the health of the moose population. We are also asking for heart, lungs, liver, head and scat samples. A brochure on how to collect these samples will be given out at the 2019 Mi’kmaw Summer Games, can be found on the Assembly, UINR or KMKNO’s Facebook pages, and/or are available at the check point stations.
Each person who drops off the lower jawbone and either the female reproductive tracts, or antler measurements, along with a completed survey will be entered into a draw for one of three prizes:
Cabela’s Ultimate Alaknak Tent;
Ascend CD14 Canoe with paddles and life jackets; or
Reconyx HyperFire2TM High-Output Trail Camera.
The draw will take place at the Annual Feast in the Highlands in October.
We thank you for your involvement and helping us to ensure that
the moose population stays healthy for years to come.
