Chief Of Dene Nation - Caribou Numbers Dropping Fast, River Levels Falling, Ice Too Thin To Hunt On

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POZNAN, Poland -- Chief Bill Erasmus of the Dene nation in northern Canada brought a stark warning about the climate crisis: The once abundant herds of caribou are dwindling, rivers are running lower and the ice is too thin to hunt on.

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Erasmus, from Yellow Knife in Canada's Northwest Territories about 300 miles south of the Arctic Circle, brings firsthand experience of climate change. The caribou, or reindeer, herds are declining across North America and northern Europe, he said. "We can't hunt because the ice is not frozen yet. Our hunters are falling through the ice, and lives are being lost," Erasmus told The Associated Press. This winter the normally dry area has been covered by thick, wet snow, further hampering hunting, he said.

Petroleum extraction from the Canadian tar sands is draining the underground water table and reducing the flow of the rivers northward, and the effects are felt hundreds of miles away, he said. He is concerned that warmer winters will mean less luxurious fur on muskrat and beaver his people sell.

Nearly 40 years ago, he said, tribal elders noticed changes in the annual migrations of animals. The weather, which they could forecast three weeks in advance from animal behavior and the appearance of the sunsets, is now unpredictable.

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http://www.adn.com/news/environment/warming/story/633008.html