Samson Cree Nation Traditional Knowledge and Use Study Specific to Nova Gas Transmission Ltd.’S Proposed Edson Mainline Expansion Project
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SAMSON CREE NATION TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND USE STUDY SPECIFIC TO NOVA GAS TRANSMISSION LTD.’S PROPOSED EDSON MAINLINE EXPANSION PROJECT Jordan Tam PhD and Firelight Research Inc. with the Samson Cree Nation June 18, 2020 DRAFT REPORT: SCN TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND USE STUDY SPECIFIC TO NOVA GAS TRANSMISSION LTD.’S PROPOSED EDSON MAINLINE EXPANSION PROJECT Samson Cree Nation Traditional Knowledge and Use Study Specific to NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd.’s Proposed Edson Mainline Expansion Project DRAFT REPORT / June 18, 2020 Prepared and authored by: Jordan Tam PhD and Firelight Research Inc. with the Samson Cree Nation Submitted to: Kyra Northwest, Traditional Land Use Lead, Samson Cree Nation Thanks and acknowledgements go to Samson Cree Nation members, elders, knowledge holders, land users, staff, and leadership who contributed. This report could not have been completed without their support and expert knowledge. Disclaimer: The information contained in this report is based on research conducted by Firelight Research Inc., as well as published works and archival research. It reflects the understandings of the lead authors and is not intended to be a complete depiction of the dynamic and living system of use and knowledge maintained by Samson Cree Nation members. Note that Section 2.1.3 of this report is authored exclusively by SCN and reflects the community’s understanding of Treaty rights and Crown obligations. The report may be updated, refined, or changed as new information becomes available. All mapped information is based on interviews with Samson Cree Nation knowledge holders conducted within constraints of time, budget, and scope. Base map data originate from Canvec and Geobase. The information contained herein should not be construed as to define, limit, or otherwise constrain the Treaty or Aboriginal rights of the Samson Cree Nation, or any other First Nations or Aboriginal peoples. 2 DRAFT REPORT: SCN TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND USE STUDY SPECIFIC TO NOVA GAS TRANSMISSION LTD.’S PROPOSED EDSON MAINLINE EXPANSION PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Samson Cree Nation (SCN) retained Firelight Research Inc. to conduct a traditional knowledge and use study (the Study) in relation to the NGTL Edson Mainline Expansion Project (the Project) proposed by NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL; the Proponent). The NGTL Edson Mainline Expansion Project proposes to expand the existing NGTL system and will support increased pipeline capacity. The proposed ~85 km of new pipeline will connect with and be closely linked to the 2021 NGTL System Expansion Project. The pipeline system will move sweet natural gas from the Peace River area to (and within) Alberta and to export markets. The anticipated timeline for construction is between November 2021 to April 2022, with an in-service date of April 2022. Primary components of the proposed Project would include: 85 km of 1,219 mm (outside diameter) pipeline loops in two pipeline sections – the Alford Creek Section (45 km) and Elk River Section (40 km); associated control valves, mainline valves, pipeline tie-ins, and a receiver facility; temporary infrastructure including stockpile sites, borrow pits/dugouts, laydown yards, and contractor yards; and temporary access roads and travel lanes. This Report provides non-confidential baseline information and anticipated Project interactions based on current and available SCN knowledge and use data collected in SCN traditional lands, with a specific focus on the vicinity of the Study Area. Primary data for this Study were collected from 25 mapping interviews completed with 29 SCN community members from February 10 to 28, 2020. Analyses of site-specific (i.e., mapped) values are based on the Project Footprint (within 250 m of Project physical works), Local Study Area (LSA; within 5 km of physical works) and Regional Study Area (RSA, within 25 km of physical works). Collectively, these are referred to as the Study Area. SCN members recorded a total of 14 site-specific use values within the Project Footprint, 17 site-specific use values within the LSA, and 148 site-specific use values within the RSA. Through discussion and interviews with SCN members, four valued components (VCs) were identified that may be impacted by the Project. These are: • Hunting; • Food Plants and Medicines; • Water and Fishing; and • Cultural Continuity. The site-specific data show that the Project is located in an area of importance for the exercise of SCN Treaty rights, culture, and way of life, including associated knowledge, use, and occupancy. The data also describes the current condition of VCs in the Study Area in the context of existing developments and other pressures. SCN members 3 DRAFT REPORT: SCN TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND USE STUDY SPECIFIC TO NOVA GAS TRANSMISSION LTD.’S PROPOSED EDSON MAINLINE EXPANSION PROJECT identified a number of Project interactions that would further impact the identified VCs. A selection of important findings for each VC are summarised below. Hunting The presence of abundant and healthy populations of wildlife species is important for SCN hunting practices, subsistence needs, and cultural uses. SCN members hunt for a variety of species – particularly ungulates – in the Study Area, and they identified many specific hunting areas, hunting access routes, and kill sites, within or in the vicinity of the Project RSAs (Alford Creek and Elk River sections). The Study Area is particularly important to SCN Hunting, in part because of the quality of animal habitat, presence of substantial Crown land, and accessibility of hunting areas compared to many other parts of SCN territory where hunting is constrained by land privatisation. Several SCN members reported that the quantity of animals and quality of habitat and hunting areas has declined in the Study Area over the last few decades. Noted causes include industrial expansion (e.g., oil and gas, forestry), and increasing amounts of industrial traffic and non-Indigenous hunters. According to SCN hunters, these factors are decreasing the availability of game as animals avoid areas of increased traffic, and as habitats are opened up by development. It is in this context that SCN members anticipate Project impacts further impairing SCN Hunting values and practices, including increased industrial and non-Indigenous hunting traffic, and safety risks. In addition, SCN members identified several other potential Project interactions with Hunting values, including: • Reductions in and displacement of animal populations valued for hunting within the Study Area due to habitat loss and fragmentation, increases in local predator populations and predation success, and human activity; • Negative impacts to animal health resulting from Project activities, including the introduction and dispersion of contaminants; and • Diminished ability of SCN members to harvest desirable quantities of quality animals in the Study Area, and increased distances that community members must travel to hunt culturally preferred animals. Samson Cree Nation members expressed that these Project effects and reductions in access to game would have long-term impacts on their ability to pursue traditional hunting activities, affecting current and future generations. Food Plants and Medicines The collection and use of a wide variety of plants for food, medicines, and ceremonial and spiritual purposes are important components of SCN members’ health and culture. The Study Area is considered by many SCN members to be less disturbed and more accessible than other parts of the traditional territory due in part to the presence of substantial Crown land. By extension, the quality of plants and their healing efficacy is 4 DRAFT REPORT: SCN TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND USE STUDY SPECIFIC TO NOVA GAS TRANSMISSION LTD.’S PROPOSED EDSON MAINLINE EXPANSION PROJECT higher in the Study Area compared to elsewhere in the territory where agriculture, industrial developments, and land privatisation limit the ability of SCN members to access important plant collection sites. Samson Cree Nation members are concerned that the proposed Project will negatively impact food plants and medicines in a sensitive region of their territory known for having unique plant species. SCN members are concerned that the Project would result in physical and chemical damage to plants, contamination, limitations to access, and other Project-related changes to important collection sites would impact their ability to obtain the plants they require. SCN members identified several potential Project interactions with Food Plants and Medicines values, including: • Destruction of valued habitat for berry picking and medicine collection due to land clearing; • Reduced health and power of plant and medicine resources due to the dispersion of industrial contaminants; and • Diminished ability of SCN members to harvest food plants and medicines as a result of both the loss of habitat and the loss of confidence in the quality of resources. Water and Fishing Water is and continues to be a fundamental resource that underpins nearly all other SCN cultural values, and as such is a primary concern for the community. SCN members continue to use the waters of their traditional territory for fishing, travel, drinking, and ceremonial purposes. Fish in lakes and rivers are a traditional source of sustenance for SCN members and several SCN Water and Fishing values were recorded in the Study Area. SCN members also emphasised the importance of water in supporting healthy animals and therefore SCN hunting activities in the