By Eshana Gohil, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio For the first time in decades, the Bathurst caribou herd will spend a winter without the Tibbitt-Contwoyto winter road passing through areas used by the animals. The road, used for decades to resupply diamond mines north of Yellowknife, is not being planned for the 2027 season after mine operators said they do not currently require it. Camps will be placed into care and maintenance, with a 2028 road considered more likely. For the Bathurst herd, estimated at just 3,609 animals in 2025 according to the Northwest Territories government, the absence of hundreds of kilometres of winter road traffic could provide a rare reprieve. The herd has declined dramatically from an estimated 470,000 animals in 1986. Its population was estimated at between

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