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3TuesdayJuly292014FortSmithYellowknifeTravelmusttakeplacebetweenJuly292014andAugust52014.Allincludedonewayfare.Travelmusttakeplace00OnewayfromYellowknifetoFortSmithSpecialStandbyFareforFortChipewyan9900allincludedone-wayuntilSeptember302014.14900one-wayfarefromYellowknifeallincluded.TravelforthisspecialisbetweenJuly29andAugust5only.www.nwal.caTel867872-3030Fax867872-2214Emailchartersnwal.caForCharterReservationsCalltollfree1-877-872-2216SUPERSUMMERSTANDBYSEATSALESUPERSUMMERSTANDBYSEATSALEBOOKYOURNEXTFLIGHTONLINENorthwesternAirOperatedbyNorthwesternAirLeaseLtd.PADDLEFESTSPECIALPADDLEFESTSPECIALSurveyorsseeincreaseindeltamuskratpushupsWater-dwellingrodentimportantindicatorofWBNPecologicalhealthByDALICARMICHAELTheresultsofthisyearsWoodBuffaloNationalParkWBNPmuskratsurveysareinandwhileitstoosoontodrawconclusionsresearchershopeanincreasednumberofpushupsindicatessustainedgrowthinthepopulation.Threeseparatesurveyswereconductedaspartofanongo-ingstudymeasuringthepro-liferationofmuskratsinthePeace-AthabascaDeltaPAD.Thelastcoupledecadestherehasbeenalotofconcernaboutthedecreasingmusk-ratnumberssaidRhonaKindoppanecologistteamleaderforthesouthwestNWTeldunitofWBNP.Theyaresortofthiskeystonespeciesculturallyandecologicallyforthearea.AccordingtoKindoppmuskratsmeetstandardscien-ticcriteriathatmakesthespe-ciesagreatindicatorfordeter-miningthehealthofWBNPsecosystems.Theyaremod-eratelytolerantofchangestotheirenvironmentrespondtothosechangesinapredictablewayarerelativelyabundantandareeasytomeasure.Thehigherandsteadierthepopu-lationthehealthierthehabitat.Itwouldbeimpossibletoaccountforeachindividualanimal.Insteadmuskratnests-otherwiseknownaspushups-aretallied.Duringsurveystakenthisyearresearchersfound90muskrathousesand249pushupscomparedto159housesand105pushupsin2013.Kindoppsaidsheisopti-misticaboutthesurveyresultsandnotedrecentoodinginthePADafterseveralyearsofdroughtcouldpotentiallyhavepositiveeffectsonthemuskratpopulation.Stillnodenitiveconclusionscanbemadeuntilatleastveyearsworthofdatahavebeencol-lectedenoughtomeasureanytrendsorlackthereof.TheresearchwascarriedoutoverthecourseofthewinterbyParksCanadainconjunctionwithcitizensofFortChipewyanAlta.Weworkcloselywiththecommunitytodevelopthequestionsthattheywantan-sweredKindoppsaid.WecanworkwiththeknowledgethatwehavefromWesternscienceregardingmuskratsbutalsotheknowledgethatlocalpeoplehave.IntheskyandonthegroundDataforthestudywascol-lectedonfootandbyplanestartinginNovemberoflastyear.Wedoaground-basedsurveyconductedinthewin-terKindoppsaid.Weveselected24basinsacrossthedeltasomefromtheAtha-bascawatershedsomefromtheBirchRiverwatershedandsomefromthePeaceRiverwatershed.Localshelpedwiththisresearchcountingpushupsonthegroundinadditiontomeasuringsnowandwaterdepthandicethickness.Anaerialsurveywasalsocompletedinthespring.Parkstaffewoverpre-plannedtransectslocatedat1-kmintervalsin20kmby20kmblocksKindoppsaid.Thefourtransectblockswereinthesameareasasthegroundsurveyswithsamplesalsocomingfromthemid-Delta.NewwaterstudiesForthersttimethisyearWBNPresearchersaddedathirdelementtothestudytestingthewaterqualityinmuskrathabitat.Localpeoplewantedtolookatwhethertherearecon-taminantsandwhethercon-taminantsaccumulateundertheiceandifthatmaybehasaneffectonmuskrathabitatorsurvivaloverthewinterKindoppsaid.Forthissurveythreesam-plesweretakenatdifferenttimesthencomparedyeartoyear.Therstspecimenwastakenfromundertheicedur-ingthespring.Anothersetwascollectedearlierthismonthtestingthequalityduringhighowseason.Athirdsetwillbecollectedjustbeforefreeze-up.Wateranalysiswilllookforlevelsofmetalsmajorionsandorganics.MuskratstudiesinWBNPwererstconductedinthe1970sandagainfrom1999to2006.Thecurrentresearchkickedoffin2012.PhotocourtesyofRhonaKindoppEnvironmentWildlifeMinisterwantstoseemoreFirstNationsinPNWERContinuedfrompage1.ItsimportantforustokeepouroptionsopentohavethatdiscussionandifitsgoingtobenetthepeopleoftheNorth-westTerritories-certainlyifyoulookatthegasprojectthatwouldhavebeenhugelybenecialtotheAboriginalpeopleintheNorthwestTer-ritories-andifwecangetasimilarmodelforanoilpipe-lineownedbytheAboriginalpeopleoftheNorthwestTerri-toriesthenthatsadiscussionweneedtohaveRamsaysaid.AspartofhispresidencyRamsaysaidhewantstoseemoreFirstNationandAboriginalparticipationinPNWERwhichiscurrentlydominatedbyelectedofcialsandbusinessrepresentatives.PartofthatwouldbethroughjointventureslikepipelinesaswellashavingapoliticalpresenceatthePNWERgath-eringsusedpredominantlyfornetworking.RamsaytoldTheJournalhemetwithavarietyofbusi-nessownersfromacrosstheeconomicregionwhohaveakeeninterestintheNorthespeciallywhenitcomestoinfrastructure.Wehaveanumberofbusi-nessesandbigcorporationsthatareinvolvedinthisorga-nizationcalledPNWERwhoareinterestedinopportunityintheNorthandinvesting-miningcompaniesheavyequipmentoperatorscon-struction-typecompanies-soitsimportantforustoshowthemwhattheopportunitiesareandgetthemtheinfor-mationtheyneedhesaid.Ramsaysaidtheorganiza-tionislookingintohostingafallmeetingofPNWERdelegatesinYellowknifeinNovemberof2015.Formedin1991PNWERisapublic-privatepartnershipwithrepresentativesfromAl-bertaB.C.SaskatchewantheNWTYukonAlaskaIdahoMontanaOregonandWashingtonwhosemissionistopromoteregionalcoop-erationoneconomicissues.FromleftITIMinisterDavidRamsayoutgoingPNWERpresidentSenatorKevinRankerMontanaGovernorSteveBullockandNWTPremierBobMcLeod.PhotoGNWTPoliticsEnergyParksCanadascientistsandcommunitymembersfromFortChipewyanworktogethertotestthewaterqualityinWoodBuffaloNationalParkapopularmuskrathabitat.