Hay River (Feb 2o/06) - A proposed expansion on the Taltson River will take into account traditional knowledge, unlike when the Twin Gorges hydroelectric dam was first built in the 1960s.

The Northwest Territory Metis Nation Economic Corporation is planning to compile the information.

When the federal government built the original dam, there were no studies of traditional knowledge, says Rob Tordiff, the president of the Northwest Territory Metis Nation.

"The government decided they were going to build the dam and they did," he says.

The expansion proposal, which has been discussed and studied for years, would not mean a new dam, but additional turbines at Twin Gorges northeast of Fort Smith.

"We want to make sure we're not messing things up out there," Tordiff says of the traditional knowledge study.

It will help develop a complete picture and allow for the smallest impact from any new development, he says. "It will help those developing the engineering plans for the project."

Trappers in the area have long complained about the negative impact of flooding from the dam and the fact they have never been compensated.

The Metis Nation gathered expressions of interest for the traditional knowledge study earlier this month, and methodologies and costs are now being considered.

Tordiff hopes to get the study rolling by March. It will look at such things as traditional ice crossings, caribou harvesting areas and various activities, especially by hunters and trappers. The individual or firm chosen to conduct the study will interview elders, harvesters and others in Fort Smith, Hay River, Fort Resolution and Yellowknife.

The Taltson River dam was built by the Northern Canada Power Commission, but taken over by the NWT Power Corporation in 1988.

The $250-million expansion is being jointly proposed by the Metis Nation, the NWT Energy Corporation and the Akaitcho Territory Government. It would expand the capacity of the site to 58 megawatts from 18 now.