Environment Canada spotlights Canadian research projects from the International Polar Year (2007-2008), a two year multidisciplinary scientific program organized through the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The international program involves over 60 countries, and includes research on changing snow and ice conditions, global linkages between polar oceans and global fisheries, the impact of pollution and climate change on communities and food systems, and promoting public awareness through international collaboration and partnership.
The Government of Canada’s program for IPY has dedicated $150 million to support 44 Canadian science and research projects. Working together with international partners, the projects address two areas of priority for Canadian northern science and policy development: science for climate change impacts and adaptation, and the health and well-being of northern communities.
Click here for a list of featured projects and links.
One of the great watersheds of the West Coast, the Skeena and its tributaries garners worldwide recognition for its prime salmon and steelhead habitat and historic significance to the livelihoods of First Nations and Pacific Northwest communities. Originating in the Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park in northwestern British Columbia, the Skeena flows 570 kilometers to the Pacific and encompasses one of the largest watersheds in British Columbia (at 54,432 square kilometers). A new conservation initiative, the Skeena Wild Conservation Trust, supports a community-based approach to salmon management, and promotes a long term model for ecological and economic sustainability and generating new opportunities for the region. For more information, please visit the organization’s website for updates about projects, news, resources, and events.
SkeenaWild Conservation Trust was started in the fall of 2007. We are a regional conservation initiative whose goal is to make the Skeena River watershed and nearby coastal communities a global model of ecologic and economic sustainability. We are governed by a group of seven volunteer trustees drawn from a variety of backgrounds.
SkeenaWild utilizes the following strategies to realize its goals:
Catalysing and supporting planning processes which advocate for ecologic, economic and social sustainability and resiliency.
Building a Skeena watershed regional identity through direct public outreach activities and a variety of media.
Attracting and providing resources to build the new salmon economy.
Facilitating dialogue among residents of the watershed, First Nations and specific interest groups such as commercial and recreational fishers, municipal leaders and resource managers.
Conducting and sponsoring research into relevant ecological, economic and social issues.
The Parc national des Lacs-Guillaume-Delisle-et-à -l’Eau-Claire, and especially the Lac Guillaume-Delisle sector, was a meeting ground and place of trade, and the navigable waterways were used to link together the different trading posts. The prevalence of water throughout this territory fosters the development of nautical activities that facilitate travelling great distances, and which use the same routes as those used historically by the first explorers (1).
The park plan includes provisions for scientific research, backcountry travel and rustic huts along sea kayaking and canoe routes, ecotourism opportunities, visitor services, exhibits on natural and cultural heritage, and joint management of park with the Kativik Regional Government and local villages. Making regular use of the area for generations, the park will continue to provide protection for the traditional harvesting rights of the Inuit and Cree under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.
Following the tale of hubris and national ambition, John Walker looks at the tragic fate of the 1845 Franklin expedition and the controversy surrounding the harrowing tale of desperation and futility as told by Inuit oral histories. The story is told with the assistance of Nunavut MLA and historian Tagak Curley, and draws on the historical biography of John Rae by Ken McGoogan, titled “Fatal Passage” (2001).
It was news that shook the English-speaking world. Celebrated British explorer Sir John Franklin and his crew of 128 men had perished in the Arctic ice during an ill-fated attempt to discover the Northwest Passage. More shocking, they had descended into madness and cannibalism.
The report came in 1851, from John Rae, a Scottish doctor working for the Hudson’s Bay Company. Traveling thousands of miles on foot and in small craft, Rae had done what six years of searching by the British, Americans, French and Russians had failed to do — discover the fate of Franklin and unlock the final link in the Passage — a 300-year-old dream.
For more information, a CBC story provides audio and video links to interviews with John Walker and Ken McGoogan. The Canadian Encyclopedia includes a list of previous films and awards by John Walker. For a list of future screenings, please visit the official NFB/ONF site for the film.
Keep track of polar field service activities through the newsletter of the National Science Foundation’s arctic logistics contractor: VECO Polar Resources (VPR). Involved in over 100 research projects in Canada, Greenland, and the Circumpolar North, VPR provides transportation, field equipment, camp management, and safety training for field researchers through a global network of service providers. Their monthly newsletter provides updates on research projects administered through the NSF Arctic Sciences Division in the Office of Polar Programs, and other projects.
Learn how Shari Gearheard, a research scientist at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSDIC), is combining the rich ecological knowledge of the Inuit with scientific investigations to better understand just how the sea ice in three arctic communities is changing.
Read about how Fairbanks residents celebrated their frozen habitat last month with their annual Winter Carnival. The festivities showcased the World Ice Art Championships, which began late in February and whose many sculptures were on display in town through March.
Find out how “Expeditionary artist” Maria Coryell-Martin is developing a portfolio of work for her IPY project, Portraits of Ice, Witnessing Climate Change through Art. Coryell-Martin is a member of the Polar Artists Group and The Explorers Club and values experiencing out-of-the-way places through art.
Alex Janvier and Kenojuak Ashevak are recognized for a lifetime of artistic achievement by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Governor’s General. Alex Janvier was born on the Le Goff First Nations Reserve in northern Alberta, and has over 40 years of experience in the arts and education. He was appointed Member of the Order of Canada in 2007, and is the recipient of numerous art and national honors. The award announcement contains a detailed account of his unique visual language, and major accomplishments during his long and diverse career. One of his most well known works is the “Morning Star” mural at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, which tells the story of life movement and the experience of conflict and spiritual renewal in First Nations culture and history. Speaking of the personal nature of his work: “I am painting and I am also telling the story of the way things happened to me and to my tribe and to my people and it’s a true story” (Canadian Museum of Civilization).
Kenojuak Ashevak has been a leading member of the Cape Dorset artists and print making collective for many decades. She was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada in 1967, and was the subject of a 1963 NFB documentary that was nominated for an Academy Award and profiles her early life and the stunning “Arrival of the Sun” print at the National Gallery of Canada. The award announcement describes her distinguished career, and many of the expressive and creative components of her work. A large scale recent work includes her stained glass window installation at Appleby College (near Toronto), titled Iggalaaq, “Where the Light Comes Through.” Featuring a snowy owl and an arctic char, the images draw on multiple sources and depict the “sustenance of life” and “enchant anyone who sees it,” says donor Glen Erikson. Kenojuak Ashevak travels widely promoting Cape Dorset Art, and has several retrospectives of her work.
The Sahtu Dene and the Canadian Government announce plans for a new National Park Reserve in the headwaters of the South Nahanni River. The land withdrawl covers 7,600 square kilometers, and includes two familiar landmarks to wilderness canoers: Moose Ponds and Mount Wilson. The area has long been recommended for conservation by the Sahtu Dene, and the land withdrawl provides interim protection (for five years) during the planning process for the new park in the Sahtu Settlement Area. “Water is a big part of our life in the North,” said Sahtu Dene Grand Chief Frank Andrew. “That is why we wanted to protect all the waters, all the rivers that come to the Mackenzie River” (CBC). At a press conference for the announcement, Environment Minister John Baird spoke of the rapid pace of development in the North, and a commitment to conserve the greater Nahanni ecosystem and the ecological integrity of the area. This includes habitat protection for grizzly bears, dall sheep, and woodland caribou, and recognition of the unique cultural heritage of the Nahanni watershed (a UNESCO world heritage site).
Industrial development is progressing in the north, with roads, pipelines, exploration for minerals, oil and natural gas, and development of mines and wells. Amidst this development, the Greater Nahanni Ecosystem has remained a large, relatively intact wilderness area. The land withdrawal will prohibit new mineral staking. However, existing third party interests in the area, including existing mineral claims and leases, will be respected (Parks Canada).
Next steps for the proposed park include feasibility studies and development of an impact and benefit plan. Naats’ihch’oh (pronounced naah-tseen-CHO) draws its name from the Slavey word for Mount Wilson, and means “stands like a porcupine.” Further down the river, on lands adjacent to the new park, three boundary options are being considered for the proposed expansion of the Nahanni National Park Reserve (with different concessions for existing mineral claims). Each option considers the size and scope of individual planning units, and the balance of interests between conservation goals and mineral extraction potential. Recommendations on the boundary options are expected soon from the Nahanni Expansion Working Group.
Three women finish in top spots on the second annual Qimualaniq Quest on Baffin Island: Lynn Peplinski (1st), Siu-Ling Han (2nd), Sarah McNair-Landry (3rd). The round trip of 320 km follows the Soper River, and passes over hilly and rocky terrain from Iqualiut to Kimmirut and back. Blizzards and white-out conditions set a slow pace for the race. The first place finisher, Lynn Peplinski, completed the Quest in 43 hours 49 minutes. Two other participants joined the race from Global Warming 101 (Video), a 2,250-km dogsled expedition on Ellesmere Island that starts March 28. You can read more about this year’s Qimualaniq Quest from the Nunatsiaq News, or listen to a weekly podcast from the CBC, “The North This Week.” Originally founded to revive Inuit sled dog traditions in South Baffin Island, the annual race is organized by the L’Association des Francophones du Nunavut.
Located 155 kilometers northwest of Baker Lake, Bayswater Uranium proposes a two year exploration program that includes 30 drill holes and 10,000 meters of diamond drilling in the North Thelon Basin. According to the Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB), “Permit 2 block, the camp location, and the airstrip location are all proposed on the traditional calving ground of Beverly caribou” (PDF). Other proposed blocks are located in key post-calving areas and along spring migration routes for the herd. The BQCMB would like to see a regional assessment of the long term cumulative impacts of mineral exploration and other land use activities on the Beverly Herd, and “on the sustainability of traditional lifestyles and livelihoods for northern communities.”
The Nunavut Impact Review Board is mandated to review development proposals, and administer screening options on the basis of potential environmental and socio-economic impacts. The Bayswater project description (PDF) includes drilling plans, camp area, existing airstrip, waste and sewage management, mitigation proposals for disturbance to caribou herds, bulk fuel storage, and reclamation plans. Four letters were received from “interested parties” on the proposal. Despite long standing opposition to uranium exploration proposals on the Thelon River from nearby communities outside of the Nunavut Settlement Area, the Review Board decided to approve the proposal without an environmental review, and forwarded it’s Screening Decision (dated Feb. 22, 2008) to the Federal Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs (the Hon. Chuck Strahl) for final authorization.
Birders show up at Freezeout Lake in Northern Montana, and reflect on annual migration of Snow Geese to breeding grounds in the North. Terra, an on-line video podcasting site, features sights and sounds of the migration. An estimated 300,000 Snow Geese and 10,000 Tundra Swans make the trip, and stop over at Freezeout Lake (a primary staging area) at the beginning of March. The Terra Podcast, “White Wings Over Montana,” is available above. For more on Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens), please check out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
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