The window between emergence and destruction may be shorter than the time needed to organize an appropriate response, particularly in remote terrain.

The Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi discovery was managed well in part because of specific favorable circumstances — the hunters’ immediate report, the existence of established relationships between the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and relevant government authorities, the relatively slow initial exposure of the remains in the retreating glacier margin.

Future discoveries may not benefit from all of these circumstances.

The challenge of the warming world is, in this specific domain, a challenge to the communities, governments, and institutions of the North Pacific coastal region to build the monitoring capacity, governance frameworks, and community-scientific partnerships that the retreating ice requires.

The Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi project showed what was possible.