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Bear Lake


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Great Bear Lake NT
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A review and assessment of existing information for key wildlife and fish species in the Regional Sustainable Development Strategy study area. Volume 1: Wildlife


Year: 2002

Abstract:
This report summarizes the life history and habitat requirements, distribution and population characteristics (e.g., size and trends) of key wildlife species and communities in the Regional Sustainable Development Strategy (RSDS) study area of northeastern Alberta. A summary of information on key fish species is presented in Volume 2 of this report. Key wildlife included 7 priority #1 species/communities (woodland caribou, moose, muskrat, fisher/small mammal, lynx/snowshoe hare, old growth forest bird community, and Canadian toad) and 8 priority #2 species/communities (black bear, beaver, river otter, ruffed grouse, pileated woodpecker, boreal owl, mixedwood forest bird community, and ducks and geese). Key fish included 2 priority #1 species (northern pike and walleye) and 4 priority #2 species (lake whitefish, Arctic grayling, longnose sucker, and burbot). The information presented in this report is organized into detailed species and community accounts. Data was compiled from numerous sources, including government, industry, university and private/ non-profit organizations. Over 300 published and unpublished reports were reviewed to assimilate the information presented in this report. Habitat/life history requirements for each wildlife species were summarized as general living, foraging, reproducing, protective/thermal cover and migrating/ moving habitat requirements. Habitat elements that characterize moderate-high suitability habitats were also identified based on the results of existing habitat suitability index (HSI) models. Population sizes and trends, as well as the natural variability in population size, were reported where possible. Limited information was available on the population dynamics of most species. Information on population trends was augmented by a discussion of habitat trends within the oil sands area using the results of Cumulative Effects Assessments for various oil sands development projects. Data collected from oil sands projects, as well as other sources, on species sightings/ occurrences and important habitat areas were mapped using GIS. Finally, information gaps pertaining to habitat use, habitat requirements, and population characteristics for each key species/ community were identified.

A review of the baseline data relevant to the documentation and evaluation of the impacts of oil sands developments on black bear in the AOSERP study area


Year: 1978

Abstract:
Three of the tenets upon which the Canada-Alberta agreement for the Alberta Oil Sands Environmental Research Program (AOSERP) is founded are: 1. Canada and Alberta recognize the necessity of improving the scientific understanding of the effects of the oil sands development on the human and natural environment of the Athabasca Oil Sands area. 2. The results of an intensive study of the area will be useful in predicting the effects of any proposed development as a basis for considering future proposals. 3. The results of the study program will be utilized by Alberta in the approval process for future developments and in the environmental design of any project which might be implemented. It is clear, therefore, that AOSERP was established with at least two major goals in mind: 1. To conduct research which will be useful in predicting the environmental effects of oil sands development, and 2. To conduct research which will provide an understanding of the environmental effects of development such that this knowledge may be used in the environmental design of future developments. Development of the Athabasca Oil Sands will affect the black bear population to varying degrees through alteration of habitat, disturbance factors, and increased exploitation. Black bear research in the AOSERP. study area (Figure 1) has not been extensive. One field study doOll1lented radio locations of four cubless females in the Fort Hills area (Fuller ru1d Keith in prep.). Young (1978) categorized habitat in all townships within the AOSERP study area from forest cover series maps (1:126,720 scale) and calculated black bear densities. This was a comparative study based on known densities in similar habitats near Cold Lake, Alberta. In addition, black bear research near Cold Lake (approximately 144 km south of the AOSERP study area) was initiated by Alberta Recreation, Parks and wildlife in 1968 and continued by the University of Wisconsin with financial support from AOSERP. Kemp (1972, 1976) and Ruff (1973) produced reports based on this work; however, a good deal of information is, as yet, unavailable. The general objective of this study is to complete an analysis of the applied research necessary to evaluate the responses of black bears to oil sands development. The objective of this report is to provide a review of the available baseline data which are relevant to the documentation and evaluation of the impacts on black bear which would result from oil sands development in the Athabasca Oil Sands area. This review forms the basis of evaluation of the state of baseline knowledge of black bears in the AOSERP study area and a statement of the research which should be completed in order to provide the data; this analysis has been submitted as a separate volume.

Comment on "Streamflow input to Lake Athabasca, Canada" by Rasouli et al. (2013)


Author(s): Peters, D. L.

Year: 2014

Abstract:
This comment paper addresses data and analysis issues in a paper entitled "Streamflow Input to Lake Athabasca, Canada" by Rasouli et al. (2013). Analyses of observed and naturalized lake level data for Lake Athabasca are redone in this comment paper with corrected hydrometric data to provide northerners and researchers with the correct information for environmental assessments. The comment paper also highlights the importance of including in the analysis not only direct inflows to Lake Athabasca, but also the hydraulic influences on lake outflow, especially when meaningful future projections of lake levels are required for water management.

Elucidation of ecosystem attributes of two Mackenzie great lakes with trophic network analysis.


Year: 2014

Abstract:
The Mackenzie Basin in northwestern Canada is a high-latitude region, with one of the largest watersheds in the world. The Mackenzie great lakes, consisting of Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake and Lake Athabasca form the large lake complex. The human presence in the area is small in terms of population and industry and thus these ecosystems remain comparatively pristine and show no major changes in the fish communities. Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE), the most important and most used ecosystem trophic network modelling tool to study the ecosystem-level responses to changes, and information available in the scientific literature together with traditional knowledge about Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lake was used to elucidate the ecosystem attributes. Our models give a cohesive view of these two ecosystems that will allow researchers and decision makers to explore questions regarding the stability of fisheries and future ecological change. The moderate trophic level of fish catch along with the small percentage of primary production required to sustain fisheries in both lakes demonstrated that fisheries were sustainable during the time period modelled. The ecosystem indices and attributes of the comparatively pristine Mackenzie great lakes were compared with those of two Laurentian Great Lakes having similar types of Ecopath ecosystem models. The metrics utilized to assess comparatively the ecosystem's maturity, stability and health indicated a decline in ecosystem maturity and stability from pristine Great Bear Lake to transitioning Lake Ontario. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Environmental contaminants in mink - Peace and Athabasca Rivers, December, 1991 and January 1992


Author(s): Wayland, M.

Year: 1995

Abstract:
Analyses were done on mink that were collected from three sites: 15 km downstream from the Weyerhaeuser Canada pulp mill about 2 km from the Wapiti River on Bear and Olsen Creeks; on Galoot Lake on the Athabasca Delta and on creeks about 5 km from the Athabasca River and approximately 40 km downstream from Hinton

Field evaluation of an erosion hazard assessment system in west central Alberta


Year: 1987

Abstract:
This thesis examines the environmental history of the industrial transformation on the large lakes of Northwest Canada, Winnipeg, Athabasca, Great Slave, and Great Bear between 1921 and 1960. Using corporate and personal records, government documents, published scientific reports and oral history collections, it reconstructs patterns of industrial activity, relationships between these activities and local ecosystems, and environmental consequences. Touching on the history of the north, ecological colonization, the politics of resource development, and relationships between Natives and Newcomers the argument builds on two main threads of historiography: the place of industrial humans in nature and the role of twentieth-century science in shaping engagements with the natural world. This study traces the development of mining, fishing, and transportation industries on the large lakes and their surrounding environment. This Subarctic development was a Canadian manifestation of international industrial transformations that sought increasingly remote resources for the production of goods destined to capitalist markets. I examined this transformation by asking what happens to nature (organisms, including humans, in relationship with their environment) as a result of twentieth-century industrialization (high-energy fuels, especially fossil fuels, and mechanical technologies applied to production)? I argue that industrialization remained embedded in and dependent upon local ecosystems. Mining, elsewhere seen to exemplify the destructive and inorganic character of industry, integrated its operations with the physical world, extended habitable environments underground, and modelled its work on natural and human metabolism. Where ties to the physical world weakened in this period, it was as a direct result of the commodification of natural resources and how these were processed into goods for distant markets. Scientists played a major role in guiding industrial mining and fishing operations, with provincial and federal governments granting scientists authority to ensure fisheries conservation. The industrial transformation in this period carries the imprint of how these scientists imagined the natural world and the unintended consequences to lake ecosystems of these models.

Growing season energy and water exchange from an oil sands overburden reclamation soil cover Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada


Author(s): Carey, S. K.

Year: 2008

Abstract:
The oil sands mining industry in Canada is required to return mining areas to a land capability equivalent to that which existed prior to mining. During the reclamation process, ecosystems are created that bear little similarity to boreal forests that existed prior to mining. Quantifying the water balance of reclaimed ecosystems is critical in establishing whether there is sufficient moisture for vegetation growth and in the fate of salts, which can be toxic when drawn to the surface or leached out of the covers. At Syncrude Canada Ltd's Mildred Lake mine north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, the surface energy balance was measured atop a reclaimed saline-sodic overburden pile during three growing seasons using eddy covariance. At the onset of the study, the dominant vegetation was foxtail barley, which changed to sweet clover in 2004, and a low-density species mix in 2005, including some aspen and white spruce seedlings. The 2005 growing season was cooler and wetter than 2003 and 2004, and there were seasonal differences in the delivery of precipitation among years. There were distinct differences in the surface energy balance among the study years related to weather, soil moisture, vegetation and stage of growth. Latent heat was the largest consumer of energy in 2003, and mid-day fluxes of sensible and latent heat were approximately equal. In 2004, sensible heat became the dominant flux, primarily due to prolonged dry periods, whereas the wet 2005 season had the greatest latent heat flux density of any year. Ground heat flux declined throughout the growing season and ranged between 3 and 17% of net radiation. Total evapotranspiration was 246, 224 and 283 mm for 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively. A total derivative analysis of the Penman-Monteith equation reveals the influence of available energy, vapour pressure deficit and surface conductance in controlling evapotranspiration.

Local and regional-scale societal dynamics in grizzly bear conservation


Author(s): Clark, D. A.

Year: 2007

Abstract:
Conserving grizzly bear populations is a significant challenge for wildlife managers throughout North America. Much fruitful research has been conducted on the biology of grizzlies, but the human dimensions of bear management remain poorly understood. This imbalance has created conflicts between management agencies and local inhabitants that can jeopardize ecosystem management and planning programs in which grizzlies often feature as key components. Broadly, the goal of this study was to understand how and why such conflicts occur. Qualitative data analysis methods and the policy sciences' interdisciplinary problem analysis framework, along with insights from adaptive governance and co-management concepts, resilience theory, and political ecology, were used to analyze and compare four case studies of grizzly bear management in Canada (the Foothills Model Forest, Alberta; Kluane region, Yukon; the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Northwest Territories and Yukon; Baker Lake, Nunavut). A coordinated, regional ecosystem-scale approach that aims to preserve habitat in large wilderness areas and limit grizzly bear mortality is the prevailing conservation paradigm for grizzlies and other large mammals. Originating in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA, this paradigm is demonstrably vulnerable to failure when applied elsewhere. In the Foothills Model Forest, an ambitious, well-funded, and collaborative regional conservation program was unable to implement any of its research findings and was prematurely terminated. In the southwest Yukon, an interjurisdictional conservation planning process for grizzly bears was effectively cancelled by co-management partners who had no faith in Kluane National Park's extensive ecological research on grizzlies, and felt that an inaccurate and inappropriate problem definition was being forced on them. Small-scale, community-based initiatives are often promoted as an alternative to traditional state wildlife conservation approaches but they face many challenges and this avenue offers no guarantee of immediate success. For remote communities in particular, horizontal and vertical institutional connections are difficult to establish, yet they are important for facilitating learning and the integration of information. Events in Baker Lake, Nunavut, showed that without such connections local peoples' often-substantial traditional ecological knowledge cannot be integrated effectively into decision processes. In the Inuvialuit Settlement Region the quota system for grizzly bear harvests has been able to successfully incorporate both scientific and traditional knowledge in large part because of its cross-scale institutional network. These latter two cases demonstrate a commonly-held vision for adaptive co-management of bear-human systems. As observed in Baker Lake, the evolution of adaptive co-management can apparently be driven by grizzly bear-human conflicts; focusing events which can transform bear-human systems that have low resilience. The leadership provided by individual champions was also an important determinant of case study outcomes. A key element in the three northern case studies is Aboriginal peoples' concept of respect for bears--which is fundamentally different from western views, despite the widespread assumption by non-Aboriginal resource managers that they don't differ. Rooted in a holistic epistemology that emphasizes human kinship with all other living things, practices of respect can be grouped into four categories: terminology, stories, reciprocity, and ritual. In the southwest Yukon, practices in all four categories form a coherent qualitative resource management system that appears to enhance the resilience of the bear-human system as a whole. This system also demonstrates the possibility of a previously-unrecognized human role in maintaining productive riparian ecosystems and salmon runs. Case study findings point toward an alternative paradigm for grizzly bear conservation, that of "respectful coexistence". To achieve respectful coexistence, conventional "bear management" must be re-defined as coping within social-ecological systems--rather than controlling them--with the aim of building resilience in bear-human systems. Local-scale communicative and adaptive governance institutions will be required, and they must make use of multiple information sources. The primary focus of these adaptive institutions should be on localized, place-based relationships between people and bears, but they must also recognize cross-scale connections among bear-human system elements. Finally, there is a need to determine the limits to the application of respectful coexistence: it must be clearly recognized that this approach will not lead to a utopian coexistence between bears and humans, nor is it intended to. I offer recommendations for implementing respectful coexistence practices in the contexts of the four case studies, and I consider their broader implications for national parks, Aboriginal governance institutions, boundary institutions, and the scientific community. These recommendations provide ideas and arguments that can be used to advance governance practices where the status quo is failing to conserve grizzlies in ways consistent with the social and cultural values of people affected by such policies.

My tribe, the Crees


Author(s): Dion, J. F., & Dempsey H. A.

Year: 1979

Abstract:
My Tribe The Crees by Joseph F. Dion (1888-1960) begins this history of his people at the time of contact with Europeans. He explains the cultural life of the Cree of the Plains in chapters devoted to social customs, warfare, hunting and religion. His narrative then moves on to the impact of European contact and the devastating effects of disease, loss of the buffalo, treaties, and the reserve system. Joseph Dion is a direct descendent of Big Bear, and he writes with authority based on oral tradition. His family told him stories about the events surrounding the Riel Rebellion including the tragedies at Frog Lake and Frenchman's Butte. His family endured through the difficult years following the rebellion. Joseph Dion was a school teacher and political leader. His efforts helped in the formation of the Metis Association and Indian Association of Alberta. His Christian beliefs are evident but the richness of the oral traditions of his family are recorded in this history of the Canadian west from a First Nation's perspective. His historical narrative spans the years of first contact up to the 1950s. The importance of his family's recollections of the turbulent years of the Riel Rebellion and the numbered treaties makes this an important contribution to Canadian history from a Cree point of view. My Tribe The Crees is an authorized student support resource for Alberta Education 10, 20, and 30 high school courses.

Oil sands terrestrial habitat and risk modeling for disturbance and reclamation - Phase I report


Author(s): Welham, C.

Year: 2010

Abstract:
The overall objective of this project is to develop a framework that integrates risk management and strategic decision-making to evaluate the impact of disturbance (natural and industrial) on ecosystem products and services, and on habitat availability for terrestrial species in Alberta’s Lower Athabasca planning region. This will include an evaluation of the impact of disturbance (natural disturbance due to insect outbreaks, fire and wind, as well as other industrial and agricultural disturbances), conservation, and reclamation activities associated with oil sands development both at the lease and regional levels. The project will be conducted in three phases. Each phase is sequential such that its results and conclusions represent the foundation for the subsequent work. In this way, project investment and outcomes can be realized incrementally. Four scenarios will be incorporated into the overall project. These include scenarios constituting a basecase analysis, climate change, mine development plans, and regional development plans. The basecase scenario is a series of outcomes derived with no consideration for future climate change. The importance of the basecase is that it represents the null condition and thus provides a context for comparing the relative impact of different climate change scenarios (the focus of subsequent project activities). The basecase scenario was the main focus of the work conducted in Phase I, and is comprised of a dendrochronology study of the relationship between climate and tree growth in the sub-boreal region that encompasses oil sands mining, an aspatial analysis of habitat suitability for 10 wildlife species in relation to reclamation activities on the Kearl Lake mine, and a risk analysis of the potential for development of water stress in young reclamation plantations at the Kearl Lake mine. The report begins with an introductory chapter that defines core concepts and project objectives. Dendrochronology The dendrochronology work examined the relationship between climate and tree growth (specifically ring width) for four species (white spruce – Picea glauca, black spruce – Picea mariana, jack pine – Pinus banksiana, and trembling aspen – Populus tremuloides) in the sub-boreal forests of western Canada (Alberta and Saskatchewan). A review of on-line and literature sources was used to identify tree core collections from the region. A total of 29 chronologies were identified that matched a set of suitability criteria: 18 chronologies for white spruce, 8 for jack pine, 2 for black spruce and 1 for trembling aspen. In addition, 9 aspen chronologies were analyzed from cores collected within the region. Each core series was used to date tree rings by year of growth and to create master chronologies of ring width over the previous 75 years (1935 to 2009). Residual chronologies were generated by standardizing and detrending master chronologies to remove non-climate-related influences on growth. These residual chronologies were then correlated to one or more of 25 climate-related variables derived from climate records obtained from nearby weather stations. Results indicate that radial growth of white spruce was limited by current year water stress; significant relationships were found between radial growth and growing season precipitation and summer temperatures. Similar results were found for jack pine, but no conclusive results were found for trembling aspen or black spruce. Subsequent work will be required to (a) add additional data sources, particularly for aspen, and (b) to determine whether additional climate relationships may better explain ring chronologies. The full report is provided in Section 2. Habitat suitability analysis Habitat suitability indices (HSIs) were calculated from equations for 10 boreal forest wildlife species (moose, black bear, snowshoe hare, lynx, red-backed vole, fisher, Cape May warbler, ruffed grouse, pileated woodpecker, and northern goshawk) in natural forests and within reclamation plans developed as part of the Kearl Lake mine. Input values for each index were derived from output generated from the ecosystem simulation model, FORECAST. The development of each index was calculated from the initiation of reclamation through to mine closure as per practices described in the Kearl Lake Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). It should be noted that for some species, the HSI includes parameters with a spatial component, the latter of which requires calculation of one or more landscape metrics. For present purposes, HSIs were calculated for the 10 species without including spatial metrics. In practical terms, these HSIs then represent the most optimistic scenarios for habitat development since the inclusions of spatial metrics only serves to reduce habitat suitability (though in some cases, the HSI may remain unchanged). Specific objectives were as follows: • Review of habitat suitability models that may be applicable to Alberta boreal forests. • Identify variables used in the habitat suitability models that can be simulated with the FORECAST model. • Simulate the reclamation prescriptions described in the Kearl Lake EIA documents with FORECAST and generate output suitable for populating each habitat suitability model. • Generate habitat suitability indices (HSIs) for 10 wildlife species (identified from the review) on the Kearl lake mine site and compare and contrast the temporal development of habitat from reclamation initiation to mine closure. Conclusions were: 1. There is a 37-year window following mine operation when upland habitat suitability is very poor on the mine footprint (an area that encompasses almost 30,000 ha). 2. Habitat suitability recovers relatively quickly thereafter; 50 years after mine operation, 4 out of 10 species have a 100 % suitability index, and this increases to 9 out of 10 species 55 years after mine operation. 3. The overall quality and pattern of recovery in habitat suitability depends on how much upland is reclaimed relative to the original (pre-mining) landscape. 4. Deviations in the post-mining distribution of ecosite phases relative to the pre-mining landscape could have significant implications for the habitat suitability of particular species, either positively (more habitat is created) or negatively. 5. The broad variation among species in their HSI values suggests that reclamation practices could be targeted towards the habitat requirements of one particular wildlife species by preferentially reclaiming more favourable ecosite phases. Conversely, a broad range of ecosite phases is necessary to promote a higher degree of biodiversity on the reclaimed landscape. 6. When habitat recovery rates on reclaimed sites are considered in conjunction with the overall mine footprint, it suggests that the negative impact of the operation is not trivial with respect to habitat loss. The full report is contained in Section 3. A risk analysis of the potential development of water stress in young reclamation plantations The development of ecologically viable reclamation strategies and methodologies in the oil sands region can be a difficult undertaking considering the logistical challenges of constructing soil covers capable of providing both the hydrological and nutritional characteristics required for the establishment of self-sustaining, productive forest ecosystems. To examine the potential for the development of water stress in proposed reclamation plantations within the Kearl Lake mining area, a risk analysis was conducted for different species and ecosite combinations using the stand-level forest hydrology model ForWaDy. The risk analysis was designed to evaluate the probability of high levels of water stress developing in young plantations of white spruce, trembling aspen, and jack pine established on different ecosites as a function of soil texture and slope position. Each species and soil type combination was simulated for a 25-year period using historical climate data from the Fort McMurray weather station. Annual summaries of simulated water stress (expressed as a Transpiration Deficit Index; TDI) during the growing season were used to derive probabilities of exceeding a range of water stress thresholds. Spruce was the species most likely to experience high TDI levels (greater than 0.3). In addition, it was the only species to reach TDI levels greater than 0.6 during the 25-year simulation period. Jack pine, in contrast, was the least likely to experience high TDI levels and did not exceed levels of 0.5 during any year; the remaining species were intermediate between the spruce and pine. The probability of exceeding TDI thresholds was consistently greater in an a-b ecosite grouping (representing dry, nutrient poor sites) relative to a d-e grouping (moist, nutrient-rich sites). Differences between the two ecosite groupings were relatively small, however. The difference would have been greater if not for the 50 cm peat layer that is applied to each site as a rooting substrate, and which alone constitutes 70% to 80% of the water holding capacity of the total soil profile. The probabilities reported here are based on the simulated response of the tree–soil combinations to the past 25 years of climate data (1982 - 2006). These years reflect the current climate but are not likely to be representative of future climate conditions predicted for the region from Global Circulation Models. An exploration of the impact of climate change on water stress and its implications for overall growth and the associated development of structural habitat elements will be conducted in Phase II of the project. The full report is contained in Section 4. The report concludes with a brief description of the next steps in the project.

Plants and habitats — a consideration of Dene ethnoecology in northwestern Canada


Author(s): Johnson, L. M.

Year: 2008

Abstract:
This paper discusses local understanding of plants and habitats, based on the linguistic evidence [terms for plants and (or) habitats] gathered from ethnobotanical and ethnoecological field work conducted with several Dene Nations of the Canadian northwestern boreal forest and adjacent regions. Nations involved in the study include (Mackenzie Delta Region), Sahtú’otine’ (Great Bear Lake), Kaska Dena (southern Yukon), and Witsuwit’en (northwest British Columbia). Key plant-related habitats include meadow, “swamp”, forest, “willows”, and “brush”. The ethnobotanical classification of willows is explored in conjunction with the explanation of the Dene habitat concept. In local classifications, ‘willow’ is not co-extensive with the genus Salix, but includes a variety of medium to tall woody shrubs that lack either conspicuous flowers, ‘berries’, or thorns; these may include shrubby species of Salix, Alnus, Cornus, and Betula. Shoreline and alpine environments are also discussed as plant habitats. Dene use of alpine environments and resources is ancient, according to the results of recent alpine ice patch research in the Yukon region. The Human dimensions of habitat knowledge are presented. Indigenous concepts of plant taxa and of landscape associations or habitats may differ substantially from those of scientific botany and ecology, and are based in a holistic and interactive ethnoecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potential productivity of black bear habitat of the AOSERP study area


Author(s): Young, B. F.

Year: 1978

Abstract:
Potential black bear (Ursus americanus) production was determined for the Alberta Oil Sands Environmental Research Program (AOSERP) study area using information obtained by radio-telemetry on forest cover use by bears during the two years of study at Cold Lake, Alberta. Expected densities for each of five forest over classes were calculated using the Cold Lake data. The areas of individual townships comprised by each of the cover classes were determined and multiplied by the expected bear density of each class to provide a population estimate for each township. The crude average bear density for the AOSERP study area, including water areas, was 0.18 per km2 assuming total avoidance of muskeg areas and 0.25 per km2 assuming use of muskeg. The potential entire population estimate was calculated as 5188 and 7431 bears using the two methods. The most productive bear habitat was located along the eastern and southern edges of the Birch Mountains and in the Gregoire Lake area. The poorest potential was in the Thickwood Hills and in the northeastern corner of the study area. Although final population estimates may be biased, township population estimates should provide at least a valid index for identifying important areas of black bear habitat.

The distribution, numbers and movements of caribou and muskoxen north of Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories


Year: 1981

Abstract:
Distribution, numbers and movements of caribou and muskoxen in a 21,000 sq. km study area north of Great Bear Lake were monitored between March 1980 and February 1981.

The Highwood Site: A Pelican Lake Phase Burial from the Alberta Plains


Author(s): Brink, J. W., & Baldwin S.

Year: 1988

Abstract:
This report provides a site description of the Highwood Burial site in southern Alberta. The burial was that of a young individual, about 10 years old, whose body had been defleshed prior to burial. Interment had been in a small, sub-surface pit excavated into the bank of a high river terrace. The bones had probably been covered with red ochre and placed in a bundle. Also placed with the burial were grave goods consisting of a Pelican Lake projectile point, several other lithic tools, eleven perforated grizzly bear claws, several dozen perforated bison teeth, freshwater calm shell beads, a piece of native copper, and several exotic marine shells. A radiocarbon date indicates that the burial took place some 2,725 years ago. The Highwood site is compared with a number of other burial sites from the northern Plains, and it is concluded that a systematic manner of interring the dead was practiced in this region during the later part of the Middle Prehistoric Period. The most common, and potentially diagnostic, traits of this burial pattern are presented.

Wildlife movement traditional environmental knowledge workshops: Wildlife movement in the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo


Year: 2005

Abstract:
The intention of this report is to summarize the traditional environmental knowledge information gathered during workshops with Aboriginal communities in the fall of 2005. The overall project objective was "to collect information from selected traditional environmental knowledge holders on wildlife "corridors' for seven animal species" (black bear, moose, woodland caribou, wolf, lynx, fisher, and marten). The report would then be used by the Wildlife Movement Task Group of the Cumulative Environmental Management Association's Sustainable Ecosystems Working Group to develop management strategies to help "ensure maintenance of effective habitat connectivity in order to sustain wildlife populations." One-day workshops were held with Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Métis Local #125, Fort McKay First Nation, Fort McKay Métis Local #63, Fort McMurray First Nation, Anzac Willow Lake Métis Local #780, Fort McMurray Métis Local #2020, Chard Métis Local #214, and Métis Local #193. The number of Elder participants for each workshop varied between one and six; workshops lasted on average three hours. Discussions began with the seven selected indicator species and distinguished between past movement patterns (pre-1960) and current ones (post-1960). The results of the workshops are presented by five community areas: Fort Chipewyan, Fort McKay, Anzac, Chard, and Conklin. The TEK information is then further organized by indicator species, with traditional environmental knowledge on other species presented in the appendix. In addition to movement patterns, information is also provided on habitat, behaviour, seasonality, sex, population levels, and changes to these components over time. Following this, there is a brief section on "areas that are "still good'" for animals and/or hunting, where there is little or no industrial or recreational development, clean water and air, no pollution, and abundant, healthy wildlife and vegetation. Finally, there is also a substantial section of the report on "survival areas," that is, areas that are essential for the survival of both the animal species and Aboriginal traditional lifeways. It is recommended that these areas be preserved.

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