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Alberta First Nations drop lawsuit against Site C dam The Mikisew Cree and Atha- basca Chipewyan dropped their suits against BC Hydros Site C dam after the Crown promised further protection. See page 2. Paddlers prepare for annual Slave River whitewater festival Kayakers and canoeists from around the world are arriving in Fort Smith for this weekends Slave River Paddlefest. See page 8. PEEL PERMAFROST THAW A lake near Fort McPherson is about to fall off a cliff. See page 15. Bill Erasmus re-elected Dene National chief Bill Erasmus was re-elected Dene National Chief last week in Deline beating out challenger Harold Cook 85 votes to 43. See page 7. Apache ned for 2013 Zama City pipeline spill The Alberta Energy Regula- tor has ned Apache Canada 16500 for a pipeline that leaked 15.4 million litres of toxic wastewater in 2013. See page 6. V IS IT W W W .N O R J.C A A national award winning independent newspaper serving northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories since 1977 1.00 July 28 2015 Vol. 39 No. 13 Anthrax confirmed in Wood Buffalo National Park bison By MEAGAN WOHLBERG Parks Canada has conrmed an- thraxinat least one of the more than 50 wood bison carcasses found re- cently scattered throughout Wood Buffalo National Park. The latest carcass was found early last week on Parsons Lake Road in the park bringing the dead count up to 52. It tested positive for an- thrax and was burned last week. Though not every carcass was able to be tested for anthrax Parks ofcials say a positive test in one is enough to conrm an outbreak. Once you get a positive test were not calling this suspected any more weve got anthrax in Wood Buffalo said Wood Buffalo National Park spokesperson Mike Keizer. Three carcasses were sampled to test for the disease. Two which were given the standard eld test using mouth and anal swabs tested negative. The last carcass found on Parsons Lake Road underwent a more intrusive sampling tech- nique where a piece of the nose is removed and tested positive. Keizer said there are a number of factors that can contribute to a false negative result. The eld swab tests are known to be unreliable due to factors like the age of the carcass. Furthermore not all carcasses were abletobetesteddue tothe con- dition of the body or their location in a remote area of the park. The new sampling technique which requires a saw to cut into the nose will likely be used in the fu- ture whenever possible Keizer said. Itsamuchmorepuresamplehe said.SoweregoingtomodifyIthink thewaywetrytosampleoverthenext fewyearsifwegetanotheroutbreak. Though there have been no new carcasses found since July 19 Parks Canada is not calling the outbreak over. Staff continue their yovers and road patrols looking for other dead bison particularly those in high-use areas accessible by the public. Those found in front country are burned while the majority of the carcasses located in remote park areas are left to decompose naturally. Visitors who come across a dead bison are warned not to touch it and to report it immediately to the Wood Buffalo National Park ofce. Still Keizer said the absence of new deaths is a good sign the outbreak might be finished. He said the wet cooler weather might have had something to do with the downturn. Bison typically contract the anthrax bacteria which lives in the soil while grazing or wallowing in the dirt on hot days. Historically if we get back to cooler weather like this it seems the anthrax outbreaks slow down but is that a denite No nobody can tell you a denite yes on that Keizer said. What weve seen is that it looks like a good sign. Parks Canada announced a sus- pected anthrax outbreak on July 9 after an initial 34 bison carcasses were found scattered throughout four remote areas of the park. The deaths were immediately treated as if they were anthrax-caused. The current population of wood bisoninWoodBuffaloNationalPark is estimated at 5000 and consid- ered healthy though its status is closely monitored. Anthrax outbreaks have been observed 13 times in the park since 1962. There have been no cases of visitors contracting the disease. Artist Margaret Vittrekwa of Fort McPherson nishes up a beautiful pair of mitts at the Great Northern Arts Festival in Inuvik which ended on Sunday. Now in her seventies Vittrekwa is known in the Beaufort Delta region for her beadwork. For more on the festival see page 9. PhotocourtesyofGreatNorthernArtsFestival