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Susan Barnes and Daniel Pauzé pick up their
HACC Tripper in Toronto. See followup in outfits 114 and 115.
MICHAEL PEAKE
A
couple of trips of note for this summer that have passed our
way. Not surprisingly they both involve former HACC trips that
people are doing and have sought us out for info.
Daniel Pauzé and his
girlfriend Susan Barnes from Toronto are tackling the
Palmer-Korok trip that was part of our 2001 Labrador Odyssey
expedition. That Web page is still active at
www.canoe.ca/labrador
2001.
This will be a tough slog for a
two-person crew but we have told them all about the hard parts
and headed out at the beginning of August. (Ed. Note:
Funny, they don’t seem as hard as they were two years ago. But
I remember what I said to myself!) In fact, there’s a
further connection to the HACC as they even bought one of our
old canoes for good luck. Daniel notes he has renovated the
old Old Town Tripper for their trip north.
The pair plan to get a boat ride
from up the Labrador coast to Nachvak Fjord. But the
notoriously unpredictable boat operators have only guaranteed
getting them as far as Saglek Fjord with a chance of Nachvak.
That leaves a 40 mile open ocean run. It’s a tough go up the
Palmer and we wish them both the best of luck.
Also
doing another very remote river is Sylvie Michaud of
Montreal. Her group will be going down the Payne River in
northern Quebec also known as the Arnaud. Syvie said she only
had trip reports from us and Dr. Rousseau who did the crossing
in 1948 and Robert Flaherty when went through in 1912. Not a
wealth of travellers in that part of Nunavik. Sylvie promised
some photos of the trip when they are done.
And Bill Layman is at it
again with a smaller trip that’s already been on the Web at
www.out-there.com. This
year he and wife Lynda Holland paddled a smaller route that
crossed the upper Dubawnt then heading south down the wild
Porcupine River to Black Lake and Stony Rapids. As always Bill
intertwines a great deal of history in his adventures. This
year’s trip included way more white water than planned.
Stewart
Coffin, Labrador legend of paddling, has not been north
since a double knee replacement a few years ago. He wrote
recently, while renewing his subscription, to tell us that he
had found a publisher for his northern paddling memoirs titled
The Black Spruce Journals.
Natural History Press, who
recently brought out Max Finkelstein’s Crossing a Continent,
will publish Coffin’s book next spring.
Stewart described it as almost an
“annotated photo album, for it contains almost 60 of my best
black and white photos." That good news because Stew, son of a
photographer, is a great shooter in his own right and
Che-Mun has published a couple of those great images over
the years including shots of the George and Romaine rivers in
Quebec.
It was distressing to hear from
Stew that he had lost all of his negatives in a move five
years ago. Yikes! That’s a big blow to a photographer. But he
had good quality prints of most of his shots and has scanned
these into a digital format. Stewart has also promised
Che-Mun a look at some more photos and you can bet we will
keep you up to date on everything regarding this upcoming
volume.
The book will feature chapters on a number of remote and
rugged rivers including the Ugjoktok, Magpie, Ashuanipi, Ste.
Marguerite, Romaine, Naskaupi. Incidentally, the ascent of
Naskaupi was recently done by a young English woman and lone
Innu guide following
in Mina Hubbard’s tracks. Coffin’s party, which included the
ubiquitous Dick Irwin, and four others did a circuitous route
which included a stop at Churchill (Grand) Falls and a tough
grind over to Lake Michikaumau and then down the Naskaupi – a
very tough trip – and were perhaps the last group to go down
this river.
I am fortunate to have a copy of
the film of the trip made by Dick Irwin and transferred to
video. They were also among the last to view the full glory of
Churchill Falls and Dick has an awesome panning shot from the
brink of the falls. The movie also shows what a tough and
rugged river the Naskaupi is with sharp thunderous drops and
uneven terrain. |
Nahanni
This is
from Becky Mason and Reid McLachlan and while this is too late
for letters, we thought you would like info on it for suture
action.
“Currently because of a legal quirk the CanTung Mine (upstream
of Nahanni National Park) may be able to wiggle out of paying
their clean up costs when the mine closes in two years. The
hearing to rule on this matter is taking place on the July
29th and I'm told letters need to be received from the
Canadian public to sway the decision so the mine has to pay
for the future clean up costs.”
Synopsis
Your letters are needed by July 28th to ensure the clean up
costs of the CanTung Mine, upstream from Nahanni National Park
Reserve, are fully paid by the North American Tungsten mining
company. The mine is only expected to remain open for 2 more
years and the company has a current security deposit of less
than $1 million. The Federal Department of Indian and Northern
Affairs (DIAND) has identified the liability from the mine at
$35 million and independent assessments put the clean up cost
between $9.4 and $49.3 million. Without an adequate security
deposit, the cost of clean-up will likely be footed by
Canadian taxpayers.
Background
The CanTung mine operates on the Flat River, upstream from
Nahanni National Park Reserve and World Heritage Site. The
surrounding area is important to wildlife, particularly
woodland caribou. In January 2002, the mine was reopened
after a 15-year closure. Within weeks of opening, there was a
fuel spill of over 23,000 litres at the site. The mine has
never undergone an environmental assessment and consultant
reports have documented seepage from the tailings
ponds. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is concerned
about potential water contamination from the mine.
Take Action
Please write to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board and
Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, Robert Nault telling
them:
• That mine clean up is part of the cost of mining, and must
be paid for by the mining company. DIAND’s own policy requires
mining companies to post security deposits to cover the full
cost of reclaiming mine sites. In this case, DIAND is ignoring
its own policy.
• To require North American Tungsten to post an adequate
security deposit to cover abandonment and restoration of the
mine, returning the CanTung
site to its previous ecological diversity and productivity.
• That an adequate security deposit be a condition of the
company’s new water license. (Public hearing was on July
29th!)
• You want to see minimal risk to taxpayers and the
environment, and want to ensure the wilderness values of
Nahanni National Park Reserve and World Heritage Site
downstream are maintained now and for future generations.
Write to:
Ms. Melody McLeod
Chair, Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board
Box 2130, 7th Floor - 4910 50th Avenue
Yellowknife, NT X1A 2P6
Fax: (867) 873-6610
Email: melody@mvlwb.com
For more information on protecting the Nahanni wilderness
visit
www.cpaws.org/nahanni
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