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4 Tuesday August 4 2015 The Northern Journal is an independent newspaper covering news and events in the western Arctic and northern Alberta. 2013 CCNA BLUE RIBBON CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2013 C M C A AUDITED The Northern Journal is published weekly by Cascade Publishing Ltd. Printed at Star Press Inc. Wainwright AB. Publisher.................................................................................. Don Jaque 867-872-3000 ext.21 donnorj.ca Editor..........................................................................Meagan Wohlberg 867-872-3000 ext.24 newsnorj.ca Reporter........................................................................ Dali Carmichael 867-872-3000 ext.25 reporternorj.ca Comptroller...................................................... Dixie Penner 867-872-3000 ext.23 dixnorj.ca Advertising............................... Heather Foubert Hay River 867-874-4106 adsnorj.ca Administration.............................................Jeremy Turcotte 867-872-3000 ext.26 adminnorj.ca Production Manager.......................................Sandra Jaque 867-872-3000 ext.22 sandranorj.ca Graphics.........................................................Paul Bannister 867-872-3000 ext.27 graphicsnorj.ca Letters to the Editor Policy The Northern Journal welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and include a phone number so the author can be verified. Names will be withheld on request in special circumstances where the reasons are determined to be valid. The Journal reserves the right to edit letters for length libel clarity and taste. Opinions expressed in letters and columns are not necessarily those of the publisher or editor. Advertising Deadlines Display ad deadline is Thursday at 400 p.m. Classified ad deadline is Thursday at 500 p.m. Email adsnorj.ca Subscription Rates Prices include GST. 47.25 in Fort Smith 52.50 elsewhere in Canada 105 in the USA overseas 164.30. EDITORIAL LETTER TO THE EDITOR In appreciation of Jane Dragon Editor Jane Dragon is a vibrant human encyclope- dia about furs in the Northwest Territories. Trapping has been in her family heritage for several generations. Years ago she made it her mission to collect a pelt from every ani- mal in the Northwest Territories and with the support of her husband Dave she has ac- complished that remarkable feat. In addition to her valuable pelt collection Janehasfascinatinghandmadeartifactsmade fromNorthernanimalssuchastoysandtools. She has beautifully beaded items too some carefully passed on from her relatives. She is probably the only living person in Canada to have such an incredible personal collec- tion of Northern animal pelts and artifacts. Jane has contributed countless volunteer hours of educational presentations to stu- dents of all ages and at community events. In 2011 she was invited to the Diavik Mine to show employees her collection of pelts and artifacts. In typical fashion Jane shared in- teresting trapping stories and information while kindly allowing the employees to handle the pelts and delicate items to best appreciate their value. She was given a couple of DVDs of her demonstration and to date this is the only bit of video record she has of her collec- tion and informative skills. Janes items are priceless and her wisdom and experiences about them are fascinating and invaluable At 75 years old Jane has no knowledge of computers and the modern technology that would allow her to make short vignettes where she could show and tell all about each animal. What a fabulous opportunity for Fort Smith to join together and create such a situation. There needs to be some sort of a museum area where her dedicated work can not only be preserved but enjoyed by everyone. It could be a very desirable tourist attraction. Surely there are people in the Territories who have the pro- fessional andor technical skills necessary to successfully promote her collection and knowledge. Given the ever growing awareness of the value of Aboriginal heritage I hope all who have ideas about how to support such a valu- able project will set up a meeting with Jane Dragon as soon as possible and start the ball rolling. Rosemary Moskal Planning the annual fire fight to maximize benefit Fighting forest fires is expensive busi- ness and from the way drought conditions and climate change seem to be heading things may get much worse. But with so much money and effort invested in a de- fensive battle against Mother Nature there must be a wiser way to manage those re- sources that also benefits communities in the long term. Last year the NWT government spent 55 million fighting forest fires and at least 30 million will be spent upgrading the en- gines on their fleet of water bombers. Both British Columbia and Saskatchewan spent over 100 million already this summer. The combined total across the country must be approaching 500 million. That money could build a lot of schools highways and bridges but it is a necessary cost of pro- tecting people and property. Unfortunately once the fire season is over there is little to show for it. Fire fighting is a massive industrial op- eration requiring vast resources. Helicop- ters and water bombers rack up huge costs. Fire crews and the food and shelter for them plus their sophisticated gear are very expen- sive. Heavy equipment needed for pushing fire guards through the forest comes at a premium price. Then there is the bureau- cracy to support it all sustained through- out the winter. Add up all those costs and there is likely a billion dollar national price tag each year. Crews and resources have to be in a con- stant state of readiness throughout the summer. In situations where there are no fires are there not other things that can be done using those crews and resources that aid in fire prevention and making com- munities less vulnerable Could there not be a larger plan where efforts are imple- mented in ways that benefit communities The idea of applying fire resources else- where does not seem to be a consideration. They are there for one purpose - defence against wildfires - and that is all. That is limited thinking. There should be wide-ranging planning each winter that identifies threat levels near communities particularly old growth forested areas likely to burn so at times when there is little risk of fire crews that are otherwise idle could be productive. Bring in other government departments to contribute to the wintertime planning and those fireguards could be laid out in ways that double as needed road access or recreation trails. Communities could add supplemental resources to do the job even better. The way it is done now communi- ties that obviously need a fireguard only get one in a crisis when the cost is highest time is short and there is no consideration of any other need. The situation in national parks is par- ticularly strange. The fire protection ser- vice is distinct from the warden service with separate bosses and separate ways of operating. You would think in a smaller contained unit like a national park there would be more inter-agency planning but that happens little. Federal parks especially under the cur- rent national government are allotted vir- tually no program money but firefighting budgets are open-ended even generous when public infrastructure is threatened. The warden service cares about every blade of grass in every corner of the protected area to which they are dedicated. Any change or impact within a national park takes place only after lengthy study and consideration. When wildfires threaten things change. Ev- eryone reverts to crisis mode and decisions are based on expediency. Controlled burns that are not at all natural are common. Cat guards are pushed through with no thought of impact. What is perceived as necessary gets done quickly. Whether it be a province territory re- gion national park or community one would think that it would make sense with such a predictable annual threat to have inclusive planning sessions that look beyond the sum- mer defence against nature. Rather almost all decision-making is made in the moment under pressure. The immediate side benefit to any such planning would be identifying vulnerabili- ties and planning ahead in every commu- nity becoming both fire smart and fire ready as a routine. Taking advantage of resources that are otherwise idle while making our communities safer done in a way that has lasting benefits would require creative thinking leadership and good man- agement. Why cant we get more of that The way it is done now communities that obviously need a fireguard only get one in a crisis when the cost is highest time is short and there is no consideration of any other need. PhotocourtesyofNWAL For the past 50 years Northwestern Air Lease NWAL founder Terry Harrold left and his brother Brian have operated the Fort Smith-based airline. When the company celebrated its golden anniversary on Aug. 2 they made sure to include the local community some of NWALs most loyal customers. Pilots spent the day giving sight seeing tours of Fort Smith for 25 a flight. On the ground NWAL also hosted a fish fry for Fort Smith residents. Many locals took to social media over the weekend thanking the airline for their continued service and their contribution to endless community initiatives.