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Tuesday May 5 2015 11 Protectingthe environment creatingprosperity. Oneyear agotheGNWTassumed responsibilitiesfor a well-developed environmental protectionand regulatorysystem. A healthywell-managedenvironmentwillsustainallNWT residentsand isthe foundation for ahealthy life. Our integrated co-managementsystemprotectsthe economicsocial and culturalwell-beingof allresidents. Investmentsinmanaging our natural resources together payoff inthehealth of our peopleand thestrength ofour economy. Theregulatory system we nowmanagebalancesour commitmenttorealizeour economic potential in all regionswhileprotectingtheland and environmentthat has sustained our people for generations. Theresourcesector is the singlelargestcontributor totheNWT economy. Mining has created morethan 28000 jobsand produced 46 billioninmineralssince theearly 1930s.Our territoryhasworld-classoiland naturalgasreservesand has had an activepetroleum industryfor almosta century. TheGNWT is committed toworkingwith Aboriginalgovernments NWT residentsand industrytorefinetheregulatorysystemtoreflectnorthern priorities and providegreater certainty. April 1 marked the one-year anniversary of Devolution in the NWT. In the first year there were 7 water licences signed by a GNWT minister all in less than 45 days 2196 active mineral claims 8 projects funded under the Mining Incentive Program 5 new environmental management programs being delivered by the GNWT Guardians of the northern pelicans celebrate 40 years Population has increased by 20 times thanks to protection measures By MEAGAN WOHLBERG Thefirstspringpelicantoswoopitswidesweep- ing wings over Fort Smith on Apr. 25 2015 did sowithoutmuchthoughtafteroveracenturyof nesting on the rocky islands of the Slave River the graceful white bird was likely preoccupied with leading its colony to its northern home. But for the band of loyal guardians below the pelican signified a critical milestone as the first to arrive after 40 years of successful protection measures that have seen the north- ernmost colony of American white pelicans in the world expand twenty-fold. Our realization is that nothing can be done withoutinterdependenceco-operationandliv- ing as a family - that is the message from our white pelican rookery said Jacques Van Pelt who at 82 is the oldest member of Fort Smiths PelicanAdvisoryCirclewhichhasbeenwatch- ing over the great birds since 1974. The Slave River pelicans are unique among their relatives. Apart from being the most ad- venturousintheirtravelsnorthwardthecolony is the first and only to make its nests safe away from four-footed predators amid moving tur- bulent water rather than lakes allowing them to set up camp four weeks earlier than those down south where the still waters stay frozen. They then spend their time feeding in rapids during the summer when curious residents can walk down to the rocks at the Rapids of the Drowned to take in the sight of the massive birdssittingeffortlesslyonmovingwatergulp- ingdownlampreyasrapidsrusharoundthem. The most nutritious food supply is the silt- ladenSlaveRiveraccordingtoVanPelt.Last year our pelicans including the juveniles consumed 170000 pounds of fish. Thats six pounds per day per pelican...Here they sit in the chutes and feed on Arctic lamprey suck- ers coney goldeye - 17 species of fish. The pelicans arent the only world-re- nowned group to take flight around Fort Smith during the summer months. After four decades Van Pelt - known aptly around his home community as Mr. Van Pelican - and his partners in the circle have success- fully kept the longest-running cumulative record of colonial nesters in the world. Each year the group - which includes John McKinnonofParksCanadaandKarlCoxofEn- vironment and Natural Resources - does sev- eral flyovers of the archipelago nearMountain Portage Rapids on the Slave River where the colonychoosestomakeitsnestsyearafteryear. Keeping a safe distance above the sensitive societythathasbeenproventodesertitschicks if approached too closely by humans wildlife photographer and ecosystem tech McKinnon snaps photos of the nests and later the chicks ontheislandswhowillbemeticulouslycounted and placed into the 40 year-old record book that documents the variation in numbers and survivorship each year. The records show some tragic years for the chicks often caused by uncontrollable weather events that flooded or otherwise disturbed the nesters but the overarching trend is one of tremendous growth. In 1974 we counted 27 nests that produced 21 chicks Van Pelt said. In 2014 thanks to the protective measures by all levels of gov- ernment and local people there were 583 nests and 359 chicks. Over the years they have gone up up up up he said gleefully. Van Pelt was first contracted to do an around-the-clock study of the birds in 1974 to find out at what distance humans needed to avoid the rookery to prevent desertion. An unfortunate instance in the early 1900s saw the birds leave their original islands after Er- nest Thompson Seton - the first to record the pelicans presence - unintentionally disturbed the population during his exploration. All 77 recorded nests were abandoned. From that study came protective measures - provincial and federal - and a notice to all pilots to avoid the site by 3000 feet from the air and 1500 feet distance by land or water said Van Pelt. Now the pelicans are protected from the air by federal laws and by Alberta Wildlife Sanctuary Status. But the work hasnt stopped there. After 40 years the circle is still wondering what exactly iscausingfatalitiesamongthechicksandfledg- lings who experience an average survival rate of 61 per cent. Though predators are one of the obviouscauses-eagleshavebeenphotographed perching on the nesting islands - Van Pelt sus- pects there might be something in the water. We are hoping to make tests this fall with permission from Alberta to do a food analysis - after the pelicans are gone of course - to do an inventory both chemical and biological and see what theyre ingesting and what is in the nature of the carcasses he said. Theyre on top of the food chain so its ideal to have this colony become an indicator of cumula- tive biocides. Van Pelts group is not the only to fawn over the unique pelicans each summer. In the 40 years that the circle has kept a close eye on the colony at least 40 film crews from around the world have come to document the squadron and this year will prove to be no exception. Along with the late arriving non-breeding juveniles a crew from The Nature of Things with David Suzuki will be arriving in June to shoot for the TV program. Theyll be joined by a separate crew led by NSK Japan who has been to the Wood Buffalo area before to capture the areas wildlife. Though the pelicans have spent the last four years under the caring watch of the ad- visory circle Van Pelt feels it is the humans who have benefitted the most from what the colony has to teach. The meaning of it all Ive discovered is that the measure of the quality of the health of a nation is an indication of how healthy its family is he said. Thirty-two million years priortoourarrivalthepelicansancestorshad that discovered. After hours of observation of this colony my greatest inspiration comes from them. We must operate as a family. PhotoJohnMcKinnon ENVIRONMENT WILDLIFE Pelicans feed on lamprey in the chutes of the Rapids of the Drowned on the Slave River.