Gwich'in and other northerners who rely on the Porcupine caribou herd may have to consider hunting restrictions in light of declining numbers, officials told delegates at this week's International Gwich'in Gathering in Old Crow, Yukon.

Recent computer models have shown that the Porcupine herd continues to decline. While the last full count of the herd in 2001 showed 120,000 caribou, that number may be down to 90,000 animals now, said Shel Graupe, director of natural resources for the Vuntut Gwich'in First Nation in Old Crow.

"In lack of a number, we have to manage in a worst-case scenario," Graupe said Tuesday during the assembly.

Managing the herd could involve several options: limiting the number of caribou that people could hunt; hunting more males and fewer females; or not hunting any animals.

Those options were difficult ones for the Gwich'in and others living in remote communities in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Alaska, all of whom depend on caribou for food and clothing.

"It's a scary, scary situation," Old Crow resident Danny Kassi said. "I think people should get together and take measures to conserve the herd."

Others at the assembly have suggested predator control, pointing out that caribou numbers grew when a bounty on wolves was in place in Alaska from the 1950s to 1970s.

Graupe said he is seeking more suggestions, as he and representatives from the Yukon government and the Porcupine Caribou Management Board are gathering public input on the issue.

They hope to have a management plan ready for consideration by late fall, Graupe said.