Documenting and Interpreting the History and Significance of the North West Mounted Police Peace-Yukon Historic Trails Report Prepared by: David Mills 208-1910 Renwick Crescent Prince George, B.C. V2L 1Y4 June 11, 2008 Report Prepared for: Northern Interior Region Inter-Agency Management Committee (NIR IAMC) North Peace Historical Society Halfway River First Nation Project Manager: Dr. Erin Sherry, Regional Project Officer First Nations Engagement, Inter-Agency Management Committee, Northern Interior Region Phone: (250) 565-6435 E-mail: [email protected] Photos on Cover: Photo 1: Northwest Mounted Police trail route, 1905. Source: Glenbow Museum. Photo 2: Camp of Royal Northwest Mounted Police party near Fort St. John, British Columbia. Source: Glenbow Museum. Photo 3: Peace River Trail party at Fort St. John, British Columbia. Source: Glenbow Museum. ii Executive Overviewi Erin Sherry and Veronica Cadden The Historic Northwest Mounted Police Trail The Northwest Mounted Police Trail (NWMP Trail) was initially one of numerous Aboriginal or ‘native walking’ trails that laced through the valleys and passes of the northern Rockies. Archaeological evidence indicates that some of these trails may well be thousands of years old. These trails were a vital connection between families and communities, and between hunting and gathering areas for the original inhabitants of the land. By the mid-1800s, European, Canadian, and American prospectors were entering northern British Columbia and the Yukon in search of gold and other precious metals. Small Hudson’s Bay trading posts served these new immigrants with supplies and services. However, once gold was found in paying quantities in the Yukon in 1897, the influx of people in search of fast money increased dramatically. With the accompanying frenzy of prospectors attempting to reach the gold fields overland through northeastern BC, starvation, violence, and disorder inevitably surfaced. The authorities of the day called out to the Canadian government for help. Accurately identifying the lack of a safe, fast overland route to the Yukon from Edmonton as a major cause of the problem, the federal government commissioned the Northwest Mounted Police to move into the area to find a passable trail, and to police the route. i This Executive Overview was prepared by Erin Sherry and Veronica Cadden, Regional Project Officers for the Northern Interior Region Inter-Agency Management Committee. iii It was through this process that the trail became known as the NWMP Trail or the Peace-Yukon Trail. In 1897, Inspector J.D. Moodie of the NWMP was commissioned to build a trail from Edmonton to the Yukon which would be used by prospectors and others as passage to the gold fields. With First Nation guides identifying most of the route, Moodie was successful in building a trail from Edmonton to Fort St. John then up the Peace River to the Halfway River. The trail continued up the Halfway to Cypress Creek, and up the Cypress through Laurier Pass over the Rockies to the Findlay River and Ft Grahame. From here it continued north up the trench following the Findlay and Fox Rivers, ultimately ending at Fort Selkirk, passing through Fort Liard (Lower Post) and Pelly Banks. It was, without a doubt, one of the most incredible initiatives of its time. Despite weather, terrain, conflicting personalities, and poorly fed horses and men alike, the trail was successfully built and used by prospectors and others for several years. After another trail clearing venture undertaken in 1906 and 1907 by Superintendent Charles Constantine of the NWMP, the trail was used and patrolled by the NWMP for almost another 10 years. Since that time, some sections of the trail have continued to be used by First Nation communities for travel and subsistence; by adventurers, most notably Charles Bedaux, Mary Gibson Henry, and Fredrick Vreeland; by a famous geographical surveyor for the BC Lands Department, Frank Swannell; by trappers; by hunters; and, by members of the recreating public. Other sections have been lost to development or natural processes. iv The Contemporary NWMP Trail One section of the NWMP trail, along Cypress Creek, between the Halfway River and Laurier Pass, has been substantially preserved through the efforts of a Halfway River First Nation (HRFN) Elder, Pat Brady, who owns and runs the trap line in the valley. In 1905, Pat Brady’s father, Baxter Clark Brady, built a trapline cabin at mile 114 on the NWMP Trail and subsequently worked for the NWMP, outfitting, packing, guiding, and trail clearing. Baxter Clark Brady moved to Brady Ranch in 1911 and purchased the land at the mouth of the Cypress in 1912 after it was surveyed by Land Inspector Hogan. From here, he ran an outfitting business with his ranch used as a supply and way stop for those travelling the NWMP Trail. Pat Brady was born on this ranch, and has lived there since. In the 1980s, when oil and gas exploration forays began in the valley, Mr. Brady started his now 30-year initiative to preserve the historic NWMP Trail. Over the years, several local champions have worked with him to keep the trail in the public eye. In 1998, the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area (MKMA) was approved by the provincial government and a Muskwa-Kechika Management Board was formed to manage resources in the area, which incorporates the Cypress Creek drainage. At that time, there was a push to have all or parts of the NWMP Trail designated as a ‘Heritage Trail’. Heritage trails are designated as heritage sites under Section 9 of the Heritage Conservation Act; this designation means that the site/trail has heritage value to British Columbia, a community, and/or an Aboriginal people. Heritage designation requires specific protections to be in place along with a trail management plan to ensure that the future conservation needs of the trail will be met. v The Muskwa-Kechika Management Area Recreation Management Plan (MKMA RMP) (2000) notes several resource management zones with First Nation, cultural/heritage, and recreation values related to the NWMP Trail (Table 1), as does the updated Local Strategic Recreation Management Plan for the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area: Recommended Draft (2004). The process of Heritage Conservation Act designation for the NWMP Trail was so close to completion in the early 2000’s that in the text of the Pre-Tenure Plans for Oil and Gas Development in the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area (2004), the trail is described as a designated Heritage Trail. However, the process was halted and nothing further was accomplished; the NWMP Trail remains without formal designation or protection other than a 5m corridor under the Heritage Conservation Act as a pre-1846 archaeological site. Other landscape level plans that describe the significance and value of the NWMP Trail include the Fort St. John Land and Resource Management Plan (FSJLRMP) (1997) and the Mackenzie Land and Resource Management Plan (MLRMP) (2000). The former acknowledges that several major trails follow the Chowade River, Halfway River, and Cypress Creek, such as the Mary Henry Trail and the Bedaux Historic Trail (both of which overlap with the NWMP Trail), and that these trails are associated with significant archaeological sites in the Besa-Halfway-Chowade Resource Management Zone. Likewise, the NWMP Trail is specifically noted in the MLRMP as part of several resource management zones, including: the Keh Wahkeludi “Burned Cabin” – (Braid) Special Resource Management Zone, the Nuhseha – (Fox) - Special Resource Management Zone, and the Lower Ospika. vi RMZ First Nation Important Features Estimated Current Cultural/ Estimated Estimated Current Anticipated Anticipated Environmental Values Current Access Heritage Current Commercial Future Demand Future Demand Considerations Recreation Method Values Public Activities/Use for Public for Commercail Value Activities/ Levels Activities/Use Activities/Use Use levels Levels Levels Aeroplane Davie Trail; hevy Aeroplane Lk.; Twin Moderate Floatplane; Hunt, fish, Hunt, fish, Existing/ Existing/ Critical habitat Lake Kaska TU around Island Lk.; Birches boat; horse; Davie Trail raft/canoe, raft/canoe, wildlife Low increase in Low increase in around lakes for Aeroplane Lake Lk.; Kitza and Calf raft/canoe wildlife view, camp, hike/ use use grizzly bear and Ck. Complexes; view, camp, <6 suppliers; moose unroaded low rolling hike, trail Low use forested landscape; ride/ major guide camp Low use Besa- Heavy Halfway AMA Routes; Laurier Very High ATV; aircraft; Bedaux and Hunt, fish, Hunt, fish, camp, Existing/ Existing/ Mineral licks; Halfway- River and Prophet Pass; Ten Mile; floatplane; RCMP Trails; camp, wildlife view, Moderate increase Moderate critical habitat for Chowade TU; campsites and Robb, Marion, Koller, horse; traditional wildlife photo/ in use, except for increase in use moose, caribou, burial grounds Twin, Cranswick, vehicle; human view, photo/ <10 suppliers/ significant bison, elk, sheep Colledge Lakes; snowmobile migration 3000+/yr. 500/yr. increase in and grizzly bear Loranger and Nevis route snowmobiling Cks.; Brown’s Farm; Louis’ Farm; major guide camps Kechika Heavy Kaska TU; Kechika River; Scoop Moderate Riverboat; Chee House Hunt, fish, Hunt, fish, camp, Existing plus Existing plus Mineral licks; River Davie Trail; Lake; Heart of Rocky floatplane; Post, Davie wildlife wildlife view, canoe/ canoe/ critical elk habitat; Corridor numerous Mtn. Trench; major aircraft; raft; Trail; view, camp/ trailride/ High increase in High increase in moose winter