Government agencies and staff can no longer point fingers at Gitanyow and say that Gitanyow hunting is part of the problem with the moose population decline. Between our harvest monitoring and our own research into the causes of the moose population decline, including taking government to court, the BC government has no scientific footing to make accusations against Gitanyow. We collect our own data and conduct our own research, and data and information are power for Gitanyow.

Monitoring programs need to address the issue of thresholds and acceptable levels of change. Rather than just collect data, the design of the program should inform a conversation about the levels of development that are acceptable.

In our experience, you should start with a data collection method that has buy-in. If you are trying to influence the province, ensure they have reviewed your monitoring method and buy into it. The more data we collect, the more we become experts in terms of the moose on Gitanyow territory and on hunting and management issues. If things do go to court, we have all this background information that will be important in influencing the decision. They will do what they can to pick apart your data, so having a qualified professional sign off on the data and research helps.