Jack Danylchuk
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 09/06) - A year after his appointment set off a storm of protest, Todd Burlingame is stepping down as chair of the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board.

"I will have achieved the goals that I committed to for my term," Burlingame wrote in a letter to Indian Affairs minister Andy Scott that was copied to board members and Western Arctic MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew.

His resignation takes effect March 31.

Blondin-Andrew, who described Burlingame as the best person for the job, was campaigning in the Mackenzie Delta and could not be reached for comment on his decision to resign two years before his term expired.

In an interview last Friday, Burlingame said the way the minister's office dealt with this appointment was "ham-handed," but noted that those who objected did not launch a legal challenge.

"They had the opportunity to challenge the appointment in 30 days and chose not to," said Burlingame, who plans to take a year off to pursue his passion for ocean sailing.Burlingame said that in his tenure, the board has developed a common set of bylaws that will guide resource management in the Mackenzie Valley.

"The big difference between now and a year ago is that we are all talking; the regions are together and talking," he said.

"I came into a polarized situation.

"The Sahtu and Gwich'in panels of the board had developed their own bylaws and processes and were very proud of their institutions," Burlingame said.

"There had to be fundamental changes in the way this group viewed itself and a lot of that is where the controversy came from."

Burlingame said the board is now better prepared to deal with the thousands of applications that the Mackenzie Gas Project will generate.

"A year ago we had three separate entities. For a project of this magnitude and scale to be split between different rules, I don't know if we had the horsepower to do it."

Scott chose Burlingame over three candidates recommended by the board. Challenged on the appointment at a public meeting in Yellowknife last year, he said that he didn't know Burlingame, a former oil and gas consultant who had also chaired the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board.

The Gwich'in Land and Water Board obtained a legal opinion that Scott was bound to name one of the recommended candidates.

"There was some sabre rattling, but no one acted on it," said Willard Hagen, chair of the Gwich'in board, who took a pragmatic view of the affair.

Hagen said Burlingame was "excellent" as chair.

"He came with a very professional attitude; he made some changes. The most important was getting a set of bylaws for an integrated system in the valley.

"Now we have a set of bylaws approved by the whole valley so that the same rules apply regardless of what area industry is going in," Hagen said.

Bob Wooley, executive director of the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, said the regulatory system is now "working more the way it was intended."

"There is more interaction between the separate panels. It's helped the decision-making process."