Travel: Fostering Rural and Indigenous Knowledge Sharing on Caribou

Caribou are critically important to arctic ecosystems and human subsistence in Alaska and Canada, and caribou herds are subject to complex management regimes and harvest regulations amidst increasingly unpredictable climatic conditions. Collaborative stewardship of caribou advances science and improves management outcomes by integrating diverse perspectives, types of knowledge, and data sources. This travel award supports participation of Indigenous knowledge holders, wildlife biologists, and students in the joint meeting of the North American Caribou Workshop and Arctic Ungulate Conference in Anchorage, Alaska. Travelers will participate in a panel that advances collaborative stewardship of caribou and highlights how equitable participation of Indigenous and rural community organizations, biologists, and managers can improve outcomes for both humans and wildlife. Participants in the workshop, conference, and panel will explore the roles of Indigenous knowledge in caribou stewardship, thereby advancing caribou conservation and subsistence, and facilitating collaboration among Indigenous organizations, biologists, and managers. Student participants will gain experiential knowledge of the complexities of caribou management and a better understanding of the role of Indigenous knowledge in wildlife conservation. The PI team plans a peer-reviewed journal article that discusses the roles of rural and Indigenous communities and knowledge in wildlife management. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.