An Alberta First Nation is promising a legal fight against an oilsands project that the province and industry have acknowledged could contribute to the local extinction of two caribou herds, and would likely involve a wolf culling program.
Some say the wolves are being used as a scapegoat for the development.
Fort McKay First Nation Chief Jim Boucher said he wants to talk with provincial officials about the Alberta Energy Regulator's recent approval of Brion Energy's Dover Commercial Project. The First Nation will take the matter to court unless its concerns are addressed, he said.
"We have to protect and preserve our resources, and we will do whatever is necessary to accomplish that," he said. "It is a given when it comes to the effects the decision will have on local caribou herds."
The First Nation, which has worked hand in hand with oil and gas companies for decades, objected only to a portion of the project that proposes well pads within 1.2 kilometres of a preserve where members hunt, fish, trap and participate in other traditional activities.
"What we are asking for is no different than what the Alberta government recently granted Fort McMurray, which is a buffer zone to separate industrial sites from areas of community activity and residential development," Boucher said.
"We want to preserve the ecological integrity of our land and water."
A wildlife assessment conducted as part of the approval process predicted two caribou herds whose ranges overlap with the project's lease area will likely die off within 30 years. The local moose population will also dramatically decline, according to the assessment, which was introduced as evidence in the proceedings, Boucher said Friday.
In its decision, the regulator noted the company has committed to a wolf-culling program in collaboration with Alberta Environment and other operators in the oilsands.
In its submissions, the Dover Operating Corp. - since renamed Brion Energy - argued the project may help caribou and moose populations, provided a predator management program is implemented.
The Alberta government has killed wolves to mitigate the effects of development and boost the population of other caribou herds around the province, but the practice is controversial.
Carrie Sancartier, spokeswoman for Alberta Environment, deferred when asked if plans are being made for a predator management program in conjunction with the Dover project. She said discussing it was too premature because the project is still being evaluated by department officials.
"Wolf control is a bit of a distraction when it comes to the bigger issue," said Simon Dyer, policy director for the Pembina Institute.
"The root of the problem is habitat protection. Government has to improve the quality of habitat for caribou, even if it means starting to turn down projects."
Helene Walsh, a wildlife biologist and caribou expert, acknowledged that a government wolf-killing program has helped sustain Alberta's Little Smoky herd, but still calls it an "irresponsible solution."
The lease and proposed project - 95 km northwest of Fort McMurray - falls within the Fort McKay First Nation's traditional land use area and overlaps with fur management areas registered to band members. The community includes about 700 Dene, Cree and Métis, and dates to 1820, when the Hudson's Bay Company built a trading post near the current site. Owned by Athabasca Oil and Petro-China and managed by Brion Energy, about 4.1 billion barrels is expected to be extracted during the project's 65 years, providing the province with $26 billion in royalty payments and billions more in other benefits, including jobs.
Although approved by the regulator, the project still needs cabinet's consent, and requires environmental and public land approvals.
"The oilsands is being developed way too fast," said Walsh, secretary of the environmental advocacy group Keepers of the Athabasca. "You can't have a caribou population if you cut down their habitat. We are sacrificing one herd for another."
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Some say the wolves are being used as a scapegoat for the development.
Fort McKay First Nation Chief Jim Boucher said he wants to talk with provincial officials about the Alberta Energy Regulator's recent approval of Brion Energy's Dover Commercial Project. The First Nation will take the matter to court unless its concerns are addressed, he said.
"We have to protect and preserve our resources, and we will do whatever is necessary to accomplish that," he said. "It is a given when it comes to the effects the decision will have on local caribou herds."
The First Nation, which has worked hand in hand with oil and gas companies for decades, objected only to a portion of the project that proposes well pads within 1.2 kilometres of a preserve where members hunt, fish, trap and participate in other traditional activities.
"What we are asking for is no different than what the Alberta government recently granted Fort McMurray, which is a buffer zone to separate industrial sites from areas of community activity and residential development," Boucher said.
"We want to preserve the ecological integrity of our land and water."
A wildlife assessment conducted as part of the approval process predicted two caribou herds whose ranges overlap with the project's lease area will likely die off within 30 years. The local moose population will also dramatically decline, according to the assessment, which was introduced as evidence in the proceedings, Boucher said Friday.
In its decision, the regulator noted the company has committed to a wolf-culling program in collaboration with Alberta Environment and other operators in the oilsands.
In its submissions, the Dover Operating Corp. - since renamed Brion Energy - argued the project may help caribou and moose populations, provided a predator management program is implemented.
The Alberta government has killed wolves to mitigate the effects of development and boost the population of other caribou herds around the province, but the practice is controversial.
Carrie Sancartier, spokeswoman for Alberta Environment, deferred when asked if plans are being made for a predator management program in conjunction with the Dover project. She said discussing it was too premature because the project is still being evaluated by department officials.
"Wolf control is a bit of a distraction when it comes to the bigger issue," said Simon Dyer, policy director for the Pembina Institute.
"The root of the problem is habitat protection. Government has to improve the quality of habitat for caribou, even if it means starting to turn down projects."
Helene Walsh, a wildlife biologist and caribou expert, acknowledged that a government wolf-killing program has helped sustain Alberta's Little Smoky herd, but still calls it an "irresponsible solution."
The lease and proposed project - 95 km northwest of Fort McMurray - falls within the Fort McKay First Nation's traditional land use area and overlaps with fur management areas registered to band members. The community includes about 700 Dene, Cree and Métis, and dates to 1820, when the Hudson's Bay Company built a trading post near the current site. Owned by Athabasca Oil and Petro-China and managed by Brion Energy, about 4.1 billion barrels is expected to be extracted during the project's 65 years, providing the province with $26 billion in royalty payments and billions more in other benefits, including jobs.
Although approved by the regulator, the project still needs cabinet's consent, and requires environmental and public land approvals.
"The oilsands is being developed way too fast," said Walsh, secretary of the environmental advocacy group Keepers of the Athabasca. "You can't have a caribou population if you cut down their habitat. We are sacrificing one herd for another."
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