Revised - The Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board is hoofin’ it.

Specifically, the organization is looking into establishing management protocols and strategies for the hoofed animals in the Yukon.

While that encompasses everything from moose to caribou to goats and sheep, the emphasis will be on the first two species, which are the most commonly-harvested animals.

Board members held a news conference Wednesday afternoon in Whitehorse to discuss the initiative, which is in its earliest stages.

Simply put, the people on the board want to talk to people in the general public about its ideas before moving on to more concrete ideas.

“The board continues to hear community concerns about issues with ungulates and how they are managed (i.e., hoofed animals like moose and caribou),” the group said in a prepared statement.

“These concerns include the availability of hunting opportunities, harvest allocation, habitat loss or alteration, conflicts among hunters and other land users, recovery of declining wildlife populations, predation, and increasing levels of access and recreation.”

That’s a mouthful, but the organization went on to explain its objectives.

“To understand and address the concerns from all perspectives, the board created an Ungulate Working Group, comprising six board members with staff and contractor support.

“The group receives technical support from the Department of Environment.

“The Working Group is exploring ungulate management issues and how to support the advancement of community-led wildlife management processes.”

Graham Van Tighem, the executive director for the board, said the project is aimed at “advancing forward-thinking, community-driven solutions for managing ungulates.”

The focus is on caribou and moose, the most sought-after animals.

“They are a really important species in the Yukon. Moose are the bread-and-butter species of the Yukon, with caribou second.

“There’s also the cultural significance of moose as part of First Nations Final Agreements.”

Michelle Dawson-Beattie chairs the Ungulate Working Group.

“We have had a bunch of community meetings initially because we heard concerns about declining populations or increased pressure on the ungulates,” Dawson-Beattie said.

“So we’re trying to enable community-led management tools because the concerns are very different in different areas.”

She added, “We’ve had meetings with a lot of our partners, but now we’re looking at a broader approach. The findings of that will lead us into what we (will) do (next).”

“The concerns range from harvesting issue to access issues,” Van Teigham added. “Development, and even habitat change.”

“Another thing we like to talk about is people’s ability to harvest in accessible areas, but overall what we hear is that there is a lot of really good work happening out there, but there is a lack of of a strategic program to assess all of the changes on a territorial basis. That’s where we come in.”

The ultimate goal is the development of a new ungulate management framework that is “practical, flexible, and holistic,” according to the board.

“This framework will provide communities with tools and strategies that support conservation and sustainable use and are suited to their specific needs. We look forward to hearing what Yukoners have to say.”

Dawson-Beattie said the board “acts in the public interest and makes provisions for public involvement in its decisions and recommendations about wildlife management.

“We take this responsibility seriously and look forward to hearing what Yukoners say about ungulate management.”

It’s likely to take up to 18 months to finish this initial stage of the project, Dawson-Beattie said.