DRIFTWOOD MITIGATION

One of the negative impacts of the creation of the Nechako Reservoir in the early 1950s was that huge areas of vibrant forests were flooded. There was no logging of these areas before the water started to rise behind the Kenney Dam and over time, the trees died and began to float to the surface the of the reservoir. As trees amassed on the surface, seasonal winds blew them onto the shores of the reservoir and blocked access for wildlife and caused other negative impacts to ecosystems. Cheslatta has made several attempts during the past two decades to create a commercial use for the driftwood. Area sawmills have experimented with sawing the wood to make lumber, and Cheslatta has also used some of the fiber to create paddles and other wood products through the Chief Louie Paddle Company. As Cheslatta now wants to restore Caribou populations and clean-up the shores of the reservoir, it knows that a mammoth project will be required to clear away the driftwood. This initiative is part of the Cheslatta – Rio Tinto Reservoir Stewardship agreement.

TRADITIONAL USE VILLAGES, CAMPSITES & TRAILS STUDY UPDATE

The Cheslatta Carrier Nation undertook a substantial Traditional-Use Study in the 1980s. It involved interviewing Cheslatta Elders about their recollections of villages, campsites, trails, and special-use areas that sustained the Cheslatta prior to the creation of the Kenney Dam and the Nechako Reservoir which flooded huge parts of Cheslatta territory. Cheslatta will now ‘ground truth’ the Traditional-Use Study using a combination of lidar imaging technology and teams of Cheslatta members conducting archeological studies at key sites. CCN did a lidar mapping project three years ago and discovered a few significant village sites. Plans include Cheslatta teams visiting these sites in 2021 to conduct more research.

Guardian Program

In March of 2019, Cheslatta and the BC government concluded the Cheslatta/British Columbia Reconciliation Agreement.  One of the many components is a 10-year Collaborative Management Agreement between CCN and BC Parks. The goal of the Collaborative Management is to jointly manage BC Park activities and jurisdiction in Tweedsmuir Park North and in Protected areas.  As well, CCN will integrate a Guardian Program whereby CCN members will monitor all activities in the CCN Territory. The goal is to promote and assist CCN members to achieve high levels of training and education required to become Parks Officials and Conservation officers.

NE TOO PROJECT (Kenney dam water release facility)

The Aluminum Company of Canada completed the Kenney Dam in 1952, and resulted in the inundation over 120,000 acres of forests and land.  Instead of incorporating a spillway at the Kenney Dam, Alcan chose instead to construct a release facility upstream of the Cheslatta Lake and River system at Skins Lake.  This decision caused a long portion of the Upper-Nechako River to dry up and subsequent releases from the Skins Lake Spillway caused the Cheslatta people to be forcibly evicted from their homelands and the Cheslatta River and Lake to undergo annual flooding events since 1952.

The Cheslatta Carrier Nation has long advocated for a release facility at Kenney Dam and have invested decades negotiating through various process to bring government and industry together to make the facility a reality. 

The benefits of a release facility at Kenney Dam are enormous and far-reaching:

1.      The entire stretch of the upper Nechako River, from the dam down to Cheslatta Falls will be re-watered.

2.     Annual discharges and flooding events in the Cheslatta system will essentially be eliminated forever, thus ending the annual flooding of Cheslatta cemeteries and the substantial erosion and siltation events.

3.     Temperature targets for migrating salmon (Sockeye and Chinook) will be easier to manage with water being released directly into the Nechako River at Kenney Dam.

4.     Environmental rehabilitation will commence on the 50 miles (80 km) Cheslatta River and Lake system.

5.     Environmental rehabilitation of the upper Nechako River will improve habitat for Chinook salmon and freshwater fish species.

6.     Annual Nechako River flow hydrograph can be improved to more mimic a natural Interior river.

In 2018, Rio Tinto agreed to work with the Cheslatta Carrier Nation and the Major Projects Coalition to embark on a series of studies to confirm the environmental, engineering, and economic feasibility of the project.  In August of 2020, Phase Two fieldwork commenced to gather more data.