Restoring Balance on Haida Gwaii

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Clients: Council of the Haida Nation, Parks Canada

Introduced Sitka Black-tailed Deer have transformed the forests and shoreline ecosystems of Haida Gwaii over more than a century. Poisson Consulting provided the quantitative backbone for the Llgaay Gwii sdiihlda (Restoring Balance) program, an ambitious effort to remove deer from islands within Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve.

Bayesian models were used to estimate the relative efficiency of hunting methods (aerial shooting, ground hunting) and the cost of completing eradication, with results published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence (Irvine & Thorley, 2024). Complementary genomics work (Burgess et al., 2022, Communications Biology) resolved the population structure of invasive deer, while a structured decision analysis (McComb et al., 2025, People and Nature) integrated Haida and Western scientific knowledge to guide management priorities.

This project illustrates how rigorous statistical modelling can serve both ecological restoration and Indigenous-led stewardship.

Decision Analysis | Poisson Consulting

Restoring Balance on Haida Gwaii