Regions: North Slave Region, South Slave Region
Tags: biology, traditional knowledge, archaeology, winter road, topography, mapping, ecological survey
| Principal Investigator: | Hoos, Rick (7) |
| Licence Number: | 14161 |
| Organization: | EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd. |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2007
|
| Issued: | Jun 01, 2007 |
| Project Team: | Steve Moore (Fieldwork, EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd.), Jeff Matheson (Ecology, GIS, EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd.), Karla Langlois (Fieldwork, EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd.), Kelly Ostermann (Fieldwork, EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd.), Bob Draho (Hydrology Fieldwork, EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd.), Tim Abercrombie (Aquatics Fieldwork, EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd.), Jamie Slogan (Aquatics Fieldwork, EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd.), Vivian Banci (Supervisor-Wildlife, subconsultant to EBA), David Morantz (Supervisor-Aquatics, subconsultant to EBA), Nigel Cavanagh (Aquatics Fieldwork, subconsultant to EBA), Catherine Galbrand (Aquatics Fieldwork, subconsultant to EBA), Ron Jakimchuk (Fieldwork, subconsultant to EBA) |
Objective(s): To acquire airborne digital imagery for processing and integration of data for map production; to determine fish presence/absence in streams which lie along/across the route, and to determine fish utilization of habitat, potential fish habitat values; to conduct water quality sampling and streamflow measurements; to conduct Ecosystem Land Classification to provide data compatible with the existing winter road databases and GIS systems; and to complete wildlife mapping for selected species for the lenght of the new winter road.
Project Description: A new 156 km winter road is proposed, extending from the end of the Ingraham Trail to Lockhart Lake, following a route similar to that of the existing winter road. The objective is to acquire airborne digital imagery (including LiDAR and digital video) data to produce maps; to determine fish presence/absence in streams around the route and fish utilization of habitat, to determine potential fish habitat values (including benthos and periphyton), to conduct water-quality sampling and stream-flow measurement; to define eco-types, characterise the landscape, and to provide data compatible with the existing winter-road databases and GIS systems; determine Ecosystem Land Classification (ELC) for vegetation/soils/terrain mapping and for assessing the potential for Valued Ecosystem Components (VECs); to complete wildlife mapping for selected species; and to do archaeological surveys for the length of the road. EBA field programs will focus on a 1 km-wide corridor around the proposed road centreline. In addition, traditional knowledge will be incorporated into the environmental programmes. A rare-plant survey will not be undertaken until the road right-of-way is determined. Most surveys will be undertaken by helicopter, supplemented by ground sampling on foot (with crews dropped off and picked up by helicopter). Fishing will be by means of an electrofishing unit and minnow traps, conducted by two 2-person teams over 25 days. Approximately 75 - 100 stream crossings will require investigation. Sensitive habitats will be identified. Up to 50 fish species will be collected (catch and release). Meetings will be held with communities in the North and South Slave regions prior to fieldwork for input, and individuals from communities will be hired as research assistants. Research location is from "km 0" (62° 32' 18.7" N - 113° 21' 30.9" W) to Lockhart Lake Camp (63° 37' 10.31" N - 112° 06' 35.242" W), between Yellowknife (52km NW of "km 0") and Lutsel K'e (136km E of "km 0").
