CPAWS SUBMISSION TO
SASKATCHEWAN ENVIRONMENT
North Central Land Use Planning Process: Comments on Draft 2
March 2006

CPAWS, alongside many others who participated in this planning process, does not support this draft plan. .

For more information...

A brief summary of our key issues is provided below.

Please see our CPAWS submission to Saskatchewan Environment regarding Draft 2.

Follow the information links provided below to obtain details.

Summary of Key Issues:

The North Central Area

	- Nistoiak Falls draining into Churchill River

The NCLUP region is a forested landscape, much of it in pristine condition. It is hard to imagine this vast area (3.2 million hectares) being severely impacted by human activities. But a look next door to Alberta’s boreal forest shows us what can happen in a very short time frame. There, the impacts can be seen from space. It is a place that has been severely fragmented by roads, clear-cuts, seismic activities, oil and gas projects, etc., all the way to the NWT border. With a few exceptions only those places with some form of legal protection have remained intact, the largest being Wood Buffalo National Park. Last-ditch efforts are underway in Alberta to stop the woodland caribou from disappearing altogether.

The ‘ecological backbone’ of the NCLUP region is the Churchill River. Research shows the river to be ecologically sensitive and easily damaged from developments like mining, forestry and hydro. The Churchill is critically important to the overall health of the planning area (and beyond), providing for a diversity of wildlife and important genetic exchange throughout much of the forest. As with other areas in the region, many soft-footprint human activities along the river are entirely appropriate and can provide for a diversity of long-term activities and economic pursuits in the area.

Lack of Conservation Measures in the Government Plan

The draft plan has not incorporated many of the accepted principles of conservation biology, understood by scientists as necessary to maintain the long-term health of the forest. The result is a zoning structure designed to accommodate industrial forestry and mining, but which offers little to address the long-term health of the ecosystem. This in turn risks damage to the long-term sustainability of the region’s local communities both economically and culturally.

Almost 90% of the planning area is going to be opened up to industrial development. Important and highly valued places like the Churchill River, Foster Lakes/River system, and the Paull River system are being zoned to allow for commercial logging and mining. In so doing, the ecological significance of these waterways to the overall functioning of the forest and to the ongoing economic, cultural and recreational pursuits of citizens are not being considered or addressed.

The government plan proposes two protected sites (ecological reserves) known as Pink Lake and Geike River. Unfortunately the sites are not good choices to help preserve the ecological integrity of the planning area. The Geike River is a narrow 2 kilometers wide corridor. The Pink Lake site is appreciably large (342,000 ha), but conservation values were not used to select it. Both sites were selected largely for their low mineral and timber values and environmental representation was based solely on abiotic features (rocks, soils and land form).

Four years of research, data, analyses and mapping was provided to the planning process by CPAWS and our colleagues at the planning table. The results show a strong need for caution because the land is particularly fragile and sensitive to unnatural disturbances like logging and mining. This sensitivity is due to many things ranging from poor nutrient cycling in cold boreal soils, to short growing seasons and a harsh climate. The data also demonstrates that industrial forestry is both ecologically and economically unsustainable for the region. An initial look at the tourism industry reveals it to be a promising option for future economic growth in the region, but highly dependant on intact ecosystems and wilderness values. Unfortunately, government consistently refused to consider any of the information provided. They wouldn't even discuss it.

LEARN MORE:

Background on the North Central Land Use Plan Read about the planning area, the planning process and the research and analyses brought to the planning process.