Yellowknife (Jun 30/06) - A group of Yellowknifers sported 3-D glasses to study an environmental overview of the city last Tuesday, the first part of a project to document the city’s environmentally unique and sensitive areas.

Bob Reid looks at a 3-D map of the city during a presentation on an environmentally sensitive area survey being conducted.

Residents talked-up Pilot’s Monument, Twin Pine Hill and Tin Can Hill as areas that make the region unique. But the list didn’t stop there.

“Bristol Pit,” suggested Walt Humphries, talking about the natural sand and gravel that was located there before it was excavated by the city. “It’s a volcanic plug,” he said.

The large fault along Giant Mine just outside the city and granite deposits along the Multiplex were also suggested for a more in-depth study.

The sand depressions left by glaciers near Matonabee Street, Baker Creek, the Giant Mine township, Jackfish Lake, the peat bogs outside the legislative assembly, the dump, the ice falls at the Yellowknife Ski Club and Pillow Island were some of the other places suggested by residents.

Environmental consultants will use that information as they survey 135 square kilometres of the city.

Once identified, the city will have a better idea of what kinds of geology, vegetation and animal populations exist.

“There is an orchid only found in Yellowknife (in all of the NWT),” said Suzanne Carriere, Yellowknife Ski Club secretary and ecosystem biologist for the department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Carriere mentioned looking at the extensive amount of walking trails in the city like the Long Lake Prospector’s trail.

She brought up the issue of Taylor Road, also called Bear Alley, where many bears end up when they enter the city.

“We want to inventory, classify, rank and rate these areas and then develop protective measures,” said area manager Nick Lawson, one of the consultants from the company Jacques Whitford.

That could lead to the city taking steps to protect the areas when considering city planning and future growth.

People showed the team on a 3-D map seen through several pairs of special 3-D glasses. The map was made of aerial shots of the city combined with information on the vertical height and depths of the land to make it three-dimensional.

Lawson and his team held the meeting to give Yellowknifers an opportunity to talk about areas consultants should highlight in the study.

Though only about 11 people showed up, organizers weren’t disappointed by the amount of feedback they received.

Animals identified were wolverines, foxes, coyotes, muskrats, and several kinds of birds like gulls and eagles.

The consultants will do the field study in mid-July and will continue to interview the city’s environmental experts.

Grant White, the city’s director of community services said the team will be using other planning materials and studies to see what other spaces in Yellowknife might also be worth looking.

“Our biggest challenge that we’re going to have is how (the plans) are integrated,” said White in response to a question about the progress of the many studies the city commissioned over the past few years.

City council will have a chance to look at the full study sometime in November after reviewing residents’ suggestions.