This fonds consists of approximately 62.64 meters of textual material, 18 photographs, 24 drawings, 46 posters, 34 maps, 4 audio reels, 14 audio cassettes, 5 sound CDs, three 16 mm film reels and approximately 395 videocassettes in Betamax and Umatic format.
The textual material created and/or managed by the Directorate of the Department of Renewable Resources between 1974-1993, include correspondence of the Minister, Deputy Minister and Assistant Deputy. In addition, there are divisional reports, minutes of meetings, briefing notes, decision papers, Land Use Planning records, Management Steering Committee records, copies of submissions to environmental review boards and copies of agreements between the Federal Government and the GNWT. There is also a copy of an operational review of the department that was conducted between 1990-1991, a subsequent report and appendices of a departmental organizational review, and files related to enforcement issues and development of hunting regulations in the Liard/Mackenzie Corridor. Additionally, there are three files from the department library that relate to forestry and game officers from 1950-1969.
The records from the Finance and Administration Division consist of files relating to Departmental Organization and Priorities. These records are dated between 1984-1986.
The records from the Policy and Planning Division relates to Departmental reviews and responses and an overall Government of the Northwest Territories Functional Inventory.
The records from the Yellowknife Division relate to amendments to the operational manual, regulations, and legislation.
The fonds also contains records relating to the transfer (devolution) forestry and fire management from the federal government, including correspondence, work plans, asset inventories, organizational charts, job descriptions, and meeting minutes.
The fonds also includes records relating to forest management, including the 1987 Forest Resources Transfer Agreement, “Forests for Tomorrow: Forest Management in the Northwest Territories A Public Policy Discussion Paper” and related feedback, timber licensing and inspection, forest utilization, timber export, integrated resource management (Liard/Nahanni Valley), and forest fire response, including protection of communities.
The fonds also includes general records relating to trapping, seal hunting and marketing, the Furbearer Management Program, compensation, incentive and income support programs, trap exchange, and the Natural Resources Conservation Trust Fund (NRCTF).
The textual material from the Wildlife Services Division consists of several oversize ledgers documenting Hunting and Trapping Reports and Fur Export Tax Reports from across the Northwest Territories. There are also general correspondence files, minutes of meetings, memorandums, strategic planning, and policies relating to the division's activities, programs and workshops delivered and files relating to the transfer of responsibilities for forestry and fire management from the federal government to the Government of the Northwest Territories. In addition there are records dealing with wildlife regulations, enforcement, devolution of land and water, and outfitting, individual trapping records, harvest reports, outfitter harvest statistics, reports on the monitoring of different wildlife species, Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) files, human resources files, Game Office files, caribou and moose surveys, fisheries data, fur dealers records, registered trapping areas, Trappers Association records, export permits, trappers assistance records, organized hunts, buffalo/caribou hunter data, trapper and hunter kill statistics, anthrax control and emergency response planning, humane trapping, community freezers and bison ranching. There are also annual reports for the division, 1990-1992.
There are also files that were created by the Forest and Wildlife office in Rae and Fort Smith. This material contains Robert Douglas' monthly patrol reports and correspondence from between 1951-1955. The reports include summaries of the warden's duties, weather reports, wildlife observations, hunting, trapping and fishing activities, lists of game taken and licenses issued, as well as the monitoring of animal species, particularly caribou. The remaining material from Fort Smith dates between 1987-1996 and contains files relating to Administration, Personnel, Policy and Directives, Finance and Budget, Training, Lands and Properties, Associations, Committees and Boards, Native Organizations, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Research and Field Studies, Resource Development, Fisheries and Forestry Legislation and Enforcement, Licenses and Permits, Conservation Education and Pollution Control. In addition, there are approximately 35 maps from this division that concern animal trapping in the Northwest Territories.
The textual material from the Pollution Control Division dates between 1975 - 1991. The records consist of air quality reports, water quality reports, and information about solid waste management, hazardous waste management, waste oil, chemical disposal, anti-litter campaign, and minutes from the Pollution Control Division meetings and Yellowknife Anti-Litter Committee meetings. The records also include a copy of the "Truth North" #2 comic book.
The material generated or managed by the Field Services Division between 1961-1986, consists of correspondence, minutes from Regional Superintendents and Regional Hunters and Trappers Associations meetings, field project reports, reports from regional and community wildlife officers, fur records, forms and reference material kept by the division. The records relate to a variety of activities such as: hunting, trapping, enforcement of regulations, animal studies, fisheries, training and organizational structure. Reports from the five administrative regions of the Government of the Northwest Territories (Fort Smith, Inuvik, Keewatin, Baffin and the Kitikmeot, which was once part of the Fort Smith region) have been kept in an effort to document regional activities and responses.
The records from the Environmental Planning and Assessment Division date from 1971 to 1991 and consist of land use planning evaluations, correspondence, policies, minutes of meetings, social impact studies and records relating to water management and planning, Inter-jurisdictional Water Negotiations and Environmental Impact-Assessment of Oil/Gas and Mineral Exploration.
The three 16 mm film reels contain two films produced by the Department of Renewable Resources in conjunction with the Department of Culture and Communication. The first film is entitled "Koukdjuak Crossing: Caribou Tagging on Baffin Island." The film is available in English and Inuktitut. The second film, "Two Have Forever: Hunting the Bathurst Caribou Herd" was produced in 1986; it illustrates the importance of the Bathurst herd to the Inuit, Dene and non-natives. This film is available in English and Innuiaqtun. The accession containing approximately 395 videocassettes was produced by or for the Conservation Education and Resource Development Division of the Department of Renewable Resources. The videocassettes contain informational programming about wildlife management, trapping, fur handling, oil spill containment, hunting safety, firearm safety, information about Renewable Resources officers and projects, land use planning and wildlife conservation.
Part of the fonds is comprised of a series of posters produced the department for the annual National Wildlife Week Poster Contest; another series warns of the dangers of bears; a third series relates to Wildlife Regulations in relation to hunting and the export of animals/pelts/meat outside the Northwest Territories. The sound recordings consist of 3 audio reels and 6 DAT audiocassettes that contain recordings from a conference entitled "Fish, Fur and Game for the Future" held in February 1981. The remaining sound recordings, which consist of 14 audiocassettes and 1 audio reel, contain programs and radio ads that were produced by the department between 1985-1990. These programs and ads were aimed at teaching northerners about caring for the environment, educating them about the role of the department and raising awareness about new wildlife regulations. The audio reel contains the proceedings from a Fur Symposium held in Fort Resolution from 1986.
The remaining material within the fonds is comprised of published studies, reports, and brochures from the Department of Renewable Resources; the majority of material relates to its Wildlife Service subdivision between 1976 and approximately 1997. There are also reports and indices of scientific research licences issued 1974-1982. There are also approximately 5 cm of reports created by the Science Advisory Board of the Northwest Territories. The reports date from 1979-1982 and include the objectives of the Board as well as multiple topics including population studies, imported foods to the N.W.T., wind energy, aquatic resources, arctic marine mammals, dietary habits of native populations and animal management.
