Wood Buffalo says consultations not required to run crane tours
Acting park superintendent says aboriginal or treaty rights not impacted
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Friday, June 5, 2015
THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Wood Buffalo National Park did not proceed with whooping crane experience tours planned for late May and will not host tours set for early June.
Whooping cranes 'an iconic endangered species' nest each year in the NWT section of Wood Buffalo National Park. - photo courtesy of Wood Buffalo National Park |
However, the change is not because of calls by some aboriginal groups for consultations on the new tours to the nesting areas of the endangered birds about 70 km west of Fort Smith.
"We are not doing our May-June delivery as no cranes have nested in the areas near our blinds," said David Britton, acting superintendent of the park, in responses to e-mailed questions from News/North.
In fact, Britton explained consultations are not legally required for the whooping crane experience tours.
"We value our relationship with local aboriginal groups and are committed to working with them but a legal duty to consult is only triggered when an activity might impact an established aboriginal or treaty right such as hunting, trapping or fishing, none of which are impacted by this visitor experience," he stated.
"However, we recognize a desire for more information on the whooping crane experience and are committed to engaging them in discussions."
When contacted for reaction, Ken Hudson, president of the Fort Smith Metis Council, was not impressed with the park's stance on consultations.
Hudson said that stance is "totally wrong" because the park and aboriginal groups have been discussing creating a co-management agreement, and that should already mean a spirit of co-management, including on whooping cranes.
"There doesn't have to be a document in place," he said. "The mere fact that the park and aboriginal people want co-management gives you co-management. Consultation is part of co-management."
Hudson said the whooping crane is an important resource for Fort Smith, adding it is "outrageous" for the acting park superintendent to suggest it doesn't affect aboriginal rights and that the park doesn't have to consult.
The Metis Council president said discussions - as opposed to consultations - would be unacceptable because they would simply involve the park telling aboriginal groups what it plans to do. Tours are still scheduled for August.
"Parks Canada remains committed to this exceptional tourism product which will highlight crane conservation efforts, provide local communities with economic benefits and offer a unique way for Canadians to build a meaningful connection to this iconic species," stated Britton.
The whooping crane visitor experiences, announced earlier this year, were to involve hikes to a blind to view cranes from a distance, fixed-wing and helicopter tours and helicopter landings on wetlands.
Several package tours for various experiences were scheduled to run from May 25 until May 28 and from June 1 to 4.
The upcoming tours are set for Aug. 17 to 20. They will involve airplane flyover trips at a cost of $1,330.
Britton stated Parks Canada conducted considerable scientific research and collected extensive data on the whooping cranes before determining the tours would have no adverse impacts on the birds or their eggs.
"Parks Canada has data from over 60 successful years of whooping crane stewardship and the flight elevations we proposed are consistent with the regular survey flights that have taken place for many years," he wrote.
"Our latest research, combined with decades' worth of experience, confirmed that our plans would meet our twin goals of ensuring that the cranes are not disturbed, while also providing an exciting and memorable visitor experience that can only be found here in Wood Buffalo National Park."
A number of media reports have indicated Salt River First Nation in Fort Smith is prepared to seek a court injunction to prevent the whooping crane experience tours from proceeding. Attempts by News/North to confirm that with Salt River First Nation were unsuccessful.
