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A conservation organization that represents the interests of Manitoba hunters says it was surprised by the province’s seemingly last-minute agreement with a First Nation to enforce a hunting buffer zone, after the community said it would turn away licensed hunters.
Bloodvein First Nation, on the east side of Lake Winnipeg, said in late August it would turn non-Indigenous hunters away from its traditional territory at a checkstop, citing concerns about declining moose populations.
Moose hunting season opened Monday in three game hunting areas that overlap with Bloodvein and nearby Berens River First Nation — 17, 17A and 17B.
On Monday afternoon, the province said it amended Wildlife Act regulations to establish a buffer zone across those hunting areas during this year’s season. It’s unclear if the buffer zone will remain beyond this year.
Chris Heald, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation’s senior policy adviser, says his organization was taken aback by news of the buffer zone and felt excluded from the province’s conversations with Bloodvein.
The federation has maintained Bloodvein’s checkstop prevented licensed hunters from accessing provincial Crown land.
“You can’t make knee-jerk decisions at the last minute when hunting season [has already] started and expect everybody working in collaboration,” Heald told CBC News on Tuesday.
“If any group sets up an illegal roadblock and government makes concessions … it’s a terrible precedent-setter.”
Heald said he hadn’t heard of any licensed hunters who were turned away at Bloodvein’s checkstop on Monday.
This year, the province issued a total of 175 moose tags across those three hunting areas, a provincial spokesperson told CBC.
The buffer zone will ensure that an area of 500 metres on either side of Rice River Road, within game hunting area 17B — which connects Bloodvein First Nation to Berens River First Nation — will be protected, the province said.
The buffer will also apply to 500 metres on either side of the Bloodvein River and Namay Falls, up to the intersecting border of hunting areas 17, 17A and 17B.
Heald said the wildlife federation understands that moose hunting is a tradition for First Nations communities, but argues that it’s also a tradition for non-Indigenous hunters in the province.
“Let’s not forget that licensed hunters have been here for, you know, four or five generations now too.”
The federation is “at a wit’s end” when it comes to trying to set up meetings with First Nations and the province to discuss a shared path forward, Heald said.
Only Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew can get them all to the table, he said.
“We’re calling on the premier and this government to have these discussions, and get everybody in the room and talk about these things.”
‘Everyone should be able to hunt moose’: premier
Kinew appeared to downplay the buffer zone on Tuesday.
“What I would point out about this is, you’re not supposed to hunt near the road anyways,” Kinew said at an unrelated news conference on Tuesday, before Heald spoke to CBC.
“The treaties are about sharing, and everyone should be able to hunt moose, according to the rules we have in place here.”
CBC News has also reached out to Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie for comment.
First Nations have a constitutionally protected right of top priority to hunt, fish, trap and gather for food, and treaty-based hunters are not subject to hunting seasons or bag limits.
In a Monday interview, Bloodvein Chief Lisa Young said she was happy to see the province reach an agreement with Bloodvein and Berens River, and that Bloodvein’s actions have drawn support from many other First Nations in Manitoba.
Black River Chief Sheldon Kent said his First Nation, which is also on the eastern side of Lake Winnipeg, put up similar signs to stop licensed hunters from harvesting there in 2018.
The province has closed parts of game hunting areas 21A and 26, which overlap with Black River’s traditional territory, to moose hunters since 2020.
Trail cameras have shown that the moose population is starting to thrive there, he said.
He encourages other First Nations communities to “take control of their own lands.”
“We go hunting for sustenance, and it’s always been our treaty right — an inherent right,” Kent told CBC News.
Kent said he stands with Bloodvein.
“They see a decline in their moose population … so this is a way for them to protect it,” he said.
“It’s always been our responsibility to take care of the land, as the land will take care of us.”
He also said he hopes First Nation chiefs in Manitoba get a seat at the table for conversations about a way forward for all.
“From a government and a wildlife federation perspective, we should probably sit together and have a conversation on how we can move forward together.”
The province has made an agreement with a Manitoba First Nation to have a hunting buffer zone enforced in the area after the community said it would turn away outside hunters. The development came the same day moose hunting season opened on Bloodvein First Nation’s traditional territory.
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