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EnvironmentWildlife7TuesdayAugust62013ChestFreezersAirSealingNewHomesCheckouttheEnergyEfficiencyIncentiveProgramContacttheArcticEnergyAllianceatwww.aea.nt.caorcalltollfree1-877-755-5855or867-920-3333.ByDONJAQUETheNWTsMemberofParliamentwantsmorepre-ventativemeasurestakentoprotecttheBathurstcaribouherdwhichhefearsislikelytobeimpactedadverselybytheadditionofanotherdiamondminenortheastofYellowknife.WesternArcticMPDen-nisBevingtonNDPsaidthelongroadwithmassivefreightandore-haultrucksincludedinDeBeersre-centlyapprovedGahchoKudiamondmineprojectislikelytocreatealineardisturbance.Whatistheeffectoncar-iboumigrationpatternsBevingtonaskedfollowingapprovalofGahchoKuinlateJuly.Therehastoberesearchdone.BevingtonsaidthestringofminesnortheastofYellow-knifeconnectedbyawinterroadthathasconstanttrafccouldactasabarriertothemigratingherdimpactingtheanimalsabilitytondfood.Itcouldalsomakeitharderforsubsistenceharvestersiftheherdsaredrivenfartheraway-aworryexpressedbycommunities.Theremusthavebeenstudiesdone-monitoringofcariboubehaviourthatcanshedsomelightonthisBevingtonsaidaddingifthereareanysuchproblemsmeasuresmustbeputinplacebytheminestopreventanyharmtocaribou.Thenewminewasap-provedbythereviewpanelasubsetoftheMackenzieValleyEnvironmentalImpactReviewBoardMVEIRBonJuly22despitetheproj-ectshavingthepotentialtocausesignicantadverseimpactstotheenvironment.Themeasuresandfollow-upprogramsthepanelhasrecommendedwillensurethatnosignicantadverseimpactswillresultthere-portstated.BevingtonwasamemberoftheMVEIRBwhenitas-sessedtheEkatimineexpan-sionproposalin1999-2000.Thatproposalinvolvedasecondminesiteconnectedtothemainprojectbyroadwithorebeinghauledbyhugetruckstothemainprocess-ingplant-aroadthatalsocrossedcariboumigrationroutes.Thematteroftheimpactoncaribouwasdis-cussedatthattime.ChuckHubertsenioren-vironmentalassessmentof-cerwiththeMVEIRBtoldTheJournalthatresearchontheimpactsofwinterroadsoncaribouhasbeendoneandalotoflessonslearnedsinceEkati.Hesaiditisknownthatroadsareapartialbarriertocariboumigrationandtheprojectproponentisrequiredtomonitorcaribouactivityandndmethodstoreducetheimpactsofvehiclesandtocomeupwithmitigationmeasures.Hubertsaidtheprimarytaskwillbemonitoringtheanimalstodetermineiftheyareimpactedwhichistobedoneinanumberofways.Someoftheanimalswillbettedwithradiocollarsandaretrackedregularly.Com-panytruckswithtrainedstaffwillalsoroutinelydrivethelengthoftheroadtoob-serveanyanimalsandtheirbehaviour.Hesaidcommu-nitymonitorslocalhar-vestersfamiliarwithcariboubehaviourandwhoknowthearea-wouldalsobeutilized.InadditiontoknowledgeaccumulatedintheNWTduringthelast20yearsofdiamondminedevelopmentHubertsaidtherehavebeenstudiesdoneforasimilarsituationrelatingtotheroadtoPrudhoeBayonthenorthslopeofAlaska.Thatgoodresearchcouldbebuiltuponhesaid.Hubertsaidsomemeasuresthatcouldbetakentolimitimpactsoncariboumigra-tionalongtheroadincludetruckstravellinginconvoysinsteadofbeingspacedapartortravellingonlyatcertaintimeswhencaribouarenotpresent.Hesaidthewinterroadlocationacrosslakesoronridgescouldbeim-portanttolessenimpactsaswell.Buttherearesomewhoaredoubtfulthemonitoringwillhaveamitigatingeffectoncariboudisturbance.Theyhavebeenmin-ingtherefor20years.TheyshouldhaveguredthatoutalongtimeagocommentedEarlEvanschairoftheBev-erlyandQamanirjuaqCari-bouManagementBoard.Evanssaidhehasbeensayingthesamethingsaboutthreatstocaribouforyearsbutnoactionhasbeentaken.Hesaidcaribouhavelearnedthatroadsareathreattobeavoided.Huntersusethempredatorslikewolvesfollowroadsforeaseoftravelandthereisdisturbancefromtrafc.Theylearnandtheylearnquickandtheygetthehelloutoftherehesaid.Loca-tionsofanimalswithradiocollarsindicatetheygoasfarawayfromhumanactiv-ityaspossible.Studiesshowthezoneofinuenceofaroadoncari-bouisabout50kmwheretheycansensevibrationsorsmellitorwhateveritistheydoEvanssaid.Hesaidcariboumigrationparticularlybythepregnantcowsheadingnorthtothecalvinggroundsisimpacted.Migrationpathsarede-ectedsotheytravelfurther.Theirrateofmovementisin-creasedsotheyburnmoreen-ergy.TheyhavemorestressontheirbodiesEvanssaid.Thereviewpaneldecisionnotesthelikelihoodoflargenumbersofcaribouinteract-ingwiththeprojectistoolowtohavedetectableeffectsontheherd.Evanssaidlookingattheminealoneisnotenoughandroadsshouldbeconsideredpartofaminesfootprintinanyenvironmentalassess-mentespeciallyregardingimpactsoncaribou.NewminecouldimpactcariboumigrationFreightroadtoGahchoKuwillcrossBathurtherdsrouteGahchoKuwillbeanopenpitminetarget-ingthreeorebodiesoneofthemunderKennadyLake.Duringconstructionthelakewillbeiso-latedfromotherlakeswithaseriesofdikesandbermsandaportionofthelakewillbedrainedandpumpedintoanearbylake.Theshpopula-tioninthelakewillbenettedoutwithminimalpossiblewastage.KennadyLakewillberelledoncetheprojectiscompleteanditisexpectedtobenaturallyrepopulatedbysh.GahchoKuminebackgroundTheGahchoKudiamondprojectisexpectedtohavean11-yearlifeafteraninitialtwoyearsofconstructionandisprojectedtoproduce4500000carats900kgofdiamonds.Itislocatedonthetun-draatKennadyLakeinAkaitchoTerritory85kmsoutheastofDeBeersSnapLakediamondmineandabout100kmdirectlynorthofthetipoftheEastArmofGreatSlavelakeapproximately280kmnortheastofYellowknife.Itwillbeservedbya120-kmspurroadoffthewinterroadtoLupinMine.GahchoKuistheChipewyannamefortheKen-nadyLakeareameaningplaceofthebigrabbit.TheareaisonthemigrationrouteoftheBathurstbarrengroundcaribouherdwhichhasbeentra-ditionallyharvestedbyDeneandMtisfromLut-selKeandFortResolutionandinearliertimesbypeopleoftheTlicho.TheGahchoKudiamondprojectisajoint-ven-turebetweenMountainProvinceDiamondsInc.49percentandDeBeersCanadaInc.51percent.PhotocourtesyofAlexHallCaribouadvocatesworryanotherminingroadandtheheavytrafcitcarrieswilladverselyimpactthealreadystrugglingBathurstherdonitsmigration.