Tag: Wood Buffalo National Park

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Economic Entertainment Ft Mac

Wood Buffalo National Park Cabin Destroyed, Fort Chipewyan Cree Trapper Protests

A Wood Buffalo National Park cabin has been destroyed, and the Fort Chipewyan Cree trapper who built the structure is protesting the destruction. 31 year old Robert Grandjambe Jr. is now considering exactly what his legal options are after the cabin that he started constructing over a year ago has been demolished due to complaints from two First Nations bands and Parks Canada. According to Grandjambe trapping and hunting are his main lifestyle, and he started constructing a cabin on Pine Lake’s south side located in Wood Buffalo National Park. While Robert spends most of each year outdoors hunting and trapping he also works as a millwright during part of the year in the off season. As a Mikisew Cree First Nation member Grandjambe has the right to hunt and trap in the area and he has not been banned, but his cabin was demolished.

Fort Chipewyan Cree Trapper Robert Grandjambe Jr. strategically chose the cabin location in Wood Buffalo National Park because the site had not been harvested for at least two decades but it was still extremely accessible for any groups that wanted to learn about a harvesting lifestyle. According to Grandjambe “It’s a dying art and a dying culture that is hundreds of years old, interrupted in the 1980s with groups like PETA and the anti-fur, anti-hunting movement that doesn’t understand the culture. I’m a fourth generation trapper in this area. Forty years ago, there were many families constantly on the land and it was thriving. These days, the only person I will bump into sometimes is my father.”

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Ft Mac Health

Wood Buffalo National Park Affected by Anthrax Outbreak

Wood Buffalo National Park, anthrax outbreak

An anthrax outbreak in Wood Buffalo National Park has cost the lives of 52 bison so far, and there is no guarantee that the outbreak is over just yet. Parks Canada has reassured residents and visitors in the area that they are confident there is no risk for humans though. Most of the bison in the park that passed away because of the anthrax outbreak have been found in remote areas of the park, places where humans do not usually access. This helps eliminate the risk that people can contract the disease from the infected animals. The last bison found was over a week ago but that could change at any time. External relations manager for the park Mike Keizer confirmed that the park officials are not yet fully prepared to declare the anthrax outbreak over just yet.

Keizer explained the decision to hold off on declaring the anthrax outbreak at Wood Buffalo National Park over, saying“That could still change. When we see this many animals go down, we have more patrols and more flights. But there have been no new carcasses in the last week. In the context of this kind of anthrax outbreak, the type of anthrax that has been turned into a weapon is not relevant.” The park is still open to the public and tours are still being held as usual. Anthrax spores can be found naturally in the earth, and can survive underground for decades before surfacing and posing a problem to local wildlife and human residents.

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Alberta Ft Mac

Wood Buffalo National Park UNESCO Investigation Started After Mikisew Cree First Nation Complaint

Wood Buffalo National Park, UNESCO

A UNESCO investigation into Wood Buffalo National Park has been started after the organization received a complaint from the Mikisew Cree First Nation. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization received the complaint from the tribe and will be sending a monitoring committee to investigate. According to the complaint lodged by the Mikisew Cree First Nation industrial development in the area poses a risk to the environmental stability in Wood Buffalo National Park. A petition was started by the band which is based in Fort Chipewyan, and the goal was to have the park reclassified so that it became an at risk location. There are two projects that have caused concern among the Mikisew Cree First Nation. The Teck Frontier Oil Sands Mine and the Site C Dam would both harm the local ecology according to the petition and the complaint.

The band filed the complaint with UNESCO over Wood Buffalo National Park because they are concerned with protecting the natural state of the area. According to the First Nation the water levels in the delta have dropped significantly in recent years because of encroaching industrial development and this is harming the ecology in the park. The UNESCO website document concerning the investigation states “The Mikisew have reported that First Nations have expressed significant concern about its impacts on their hunting, fishing and agricultural areas.” According to Melody Lepine, the MCFN government and industrial relations director, “Being here this whole week, we have so much more work to do before it can be listed as in danger. But there are other positive outcomes that can happen even if it is not listed as in danger at the end of all this.”

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Economic Ft Mac Politics World

Is Wood Buffalo National Park at Risk of Destruction? First Nation Says Yes!

Wood Buffalo National Park, UNESCO, First Nation
Wood Buffalo National Park, UNESCO, First Nation

Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO registered location, is at risk of destruction according to the Fort Chipewyan Mikisew Cree First Nation band. The group has forwarded a request to UNESCO asking that the site is reclassified to show that it is at risk. As the largest national park in Canada the Wood Buffalo National Park was first designated as a UNESCO heritage site in 1983, due to the fact that it contains the biggest freshwater delta in the world. It is also the only Whooping Crane resting habitat that is natural, and the bird is already endangered. The First Nation band is concerned about an industrial sector that is encroaching on the 45,000 square kilometer park. According to the group the water levels in the park have gone down considerably in recent years because of industrial development in the area.

There are 2 proposed projects in the works that have heightened the First Nation band’s concerns about the risk to the UNESCO site, and the group is worried that the Wood Buffalo National Park is in danger because of the projects. One of the projects is the Site C Dam in British Columbia, and the other is Teck’s Frontier Oil Sands Mine. The First Nation group is concerned that either of these proposed projects could cause even further water level loss in the park, and affect the natural environment and habitat. According to Chief Steve Courtoreille “The water levels have always been a concern over the years, and we don’t know what the park will look like once the dams are built.I don’t know what it will take for governments to listen and realize what they’re doing by approving these licenses before understanding how it will impact the delta. This place is in danger of disappearing from the world.”