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KUGLUKTUK/COPPERMINE
At least one former DEW Line site had been reclaimed by wildlife, even while its clean-up continues.

A caribou grazes at Cape Young, a former DEW Line station northwest of Kugluktuk. Kikiak Contracting workers cleaning up the site saw caribou wander through on and off throughout the summer, as well as muskox. - photo courtesy of Merven Gruben

Workers cleaning up the old DEW Line at Cape Young, northwest of Kugluktuk, were visited by large groups of caribou over the summer, some migrating straight through one of the site's old buildings without missing a beat.

"I guess they are around the site all summer, on and off, but that was apparently the closest they had seen them in a while," said Kikiak Contracting owner Grant Newman. "They had gone through the hangar and everything on site at some point."

He said a couple of caribou entered the hangar through the big doors and walked right through.

The DEW Line, short for Distant Early Warning, was a series of radar stations established in the far North during the Cold War. The stations, which were built between 1955 and 1957, were run by a co-operative effort between the Canadian and U.S. Air forces.

Cape Young, one of the auxiliary unmanned stations, was officially closed when the DEW Line was replaced by the North Warning System in 1993.

This summer, large groups of caribou were seen passing through the area and from time to time, one or two would make it inside the camp, said Newman. Muskox were also nearby.

Caribous were also seen grazing around the site throughout the season but no one would interfere with them, said Newman, and they appeared to have no fear of humans.

"It was kind of neat to see them that close for everybody, and the workers, they weren't allowed to shoot them because they were working, but it was just a nice change to see them that close up for them and not be out hunting for them," he said.

Newman said he wasn't surprised caribou visit the former DEW line site as it has been there for 50 years.

"They would be used to stuff being around there with the equipment running all summer. They weren't scared, knowing nothing was getting shot or anything," he said.

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