Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Liard (Mar 10/00) - The Acho Dene Koe (ADK) Band of Fort Liard and Alpine Environmental Ltd. of Calgary have formed a partnership to oversee responsible development in the Fort Liard area.

Alpine Environmental is expected to share its expertise in waste management, land reclamation and protection as well as environmental consulting in Fort Liard, which is abuzz with natural gas exploration and development as well as other construction activity.

Shane Parrish, general manager of ADK Holdings Ltd., said the formal training will complement the traditional knowledge many local people already possess.

"The environment's a big part of the business now," he said. "It's a natural kind of a spinoff for people who have an intimate relationship with the land to be involved with this kind of work. I think this is a real winner of a business opportunity for band members."

In five to 10 years from now, Parrish said it's foreseeable that six local people could be employed on the environmental front depending on how the industry develops.

Although the ADK have been involved in the oil and gas service sector for the past few years, the opportunity to be involved in a significant environmental agreement which would employ local people wasn't immediately apparent, according to Parrish. The band has sort of been learning as it goes, he suggested.

"We can't sit here with a crystal ball and understand everything that's going to happen," he said, noting that at least traditional land-use studies had been conducted in the past. "We've been working at getting into higher level opportunities, which involve more than just the construction side, for people who want to go to school and come back and go to work."

The band chose Alpine Environmental based on their track record in the North and elsewhere, he said. The corporate structure of Alpine Environmental was also clearly defined and easy to deal with, he added.

"It seemed like a good fit," said Parrish.

Ed Lambert, president of Alpine Environmental, says the agreement with the ADK band is a critical step toward creating a sustainable business climate in the North.

"The Fort Liard band has once again demonstrated its progressive policy toward carefully managed exploration in this area," he stated in a press release.

For the past several weeks, prior to finalizing the deal, band member Frank Kotchea has been working as an assistant to an independent environmental inspector hired by Chevron as they construct a pipeline tie-in project.

"What Frank's doing is relying on traditional knowledged and his ability to communicate with the people," Parrish said. "(The inspectors) are there to represent the company to ensure that practices that are carried out by the contractor, which (Chevron) has hired, are done in accordance with acceptable methods."