Weber Arctic Ayr Lake Land Use Plan for April 2022

This is a proposal for the Weber Arctic Ayr Lake land use permit. This an amendment of the project proposed in 2019. Weber Arctic is committed to addressing the concerns from the Hamlet of Clyde River, Clyde River Community Joint Planning and Management Committee (CJPMC) and Clyde River HTO. Weber Arctic’s intentions are to bring positive initiatives, healthy sustainable tourism to Clyde and future employment to the community. This is the second proposal for this project to be submitted to NPC and NIRB.

The first proposal received strong opposition from a few community members, including inaccurate information posted to the NIRB web site. With the emergence of Covid-19 in early 2020 Weber Arctic was unable to address the arguments presented by the community and had to abandon the application. Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic Weber Arctic has been unable to return to the community or felt it was not socially responsible to visit the community for tourism-based reasons. The last visit to Clyde River was May 2019, several attempts were made to visit, but were postponed by the pandemic.

Summary of the Project

The purpose of this project is to launch skiing, namely cat skiing, heli-skiing and ski touring in the mountains in the Mount Wordie area west of Clyde River. This project requires a camp on the shore of Ayr Lake. The proposed dates of operation are from April 05, 2022 to May 10, 2022.

Cat skiing is defined as using a snow cat with a passenger cab on the back to transport skiers up the mountain. Skiers ski downhill, are picked up by the snow cat and transported back uphill. A snow cat is a tracked vehicle with a very low pressure foot print (less than a human), it runs on diesel fuel and maximum speed is 25 km/h. A snowcat is designed to drive on snow only, so there is no lasting environmental impact on tundra, driving over rocks or frozen ground damages the machine. From an operational point, the snow cat is less expensive than a helicopter and can be used when the weather is not good enough to fly the helicopter. It can also transport gear and people in all weather conditions.

Heli-skiing is defined as using a helicopter to transport skiers to the top of the mountain where they disembark, then ski downhill. They are picked up at the bottom and flown back up.

Ski touring is defined as when a skier walks up the mountain on their skis. Skins are attached on the bottom of the skis to provide grip. At the top of the mountain, the skins are removed and skiers ski back downhill. All the skiing that is done each day is carried out far up in the mountains. There is no skiing in the valleys (where wildlife might be found). Skiing is almost exclusively done on glaciers. Most of the flying with the helicopter is done at above 4000 feet in order to safely be above mountain peaks. The area where the skiing takes place is the mountains around Mount Wordie. There are no plans for any ski chair lifts, permanent installations or ski resort. This tent camp has a maximum of 12 guests and staff. There are no plans to expand the camp beyond this number of guests because the ski conditions in the area doesn’t support more skiers.

The Camp

The camp is built from Pacific Domes. The domes are made of a light metal frame on a plywood floor. Fabric is placed over the frame to make a tent. Everything is set up on the snow. There are six domes and staff sleep in tents. Two of the domes are heated with kerosene heaters. The other Domes are heated with catalytic type heaters. Staff tents are not heated. Cooking is done on two small household type propane ranges. At the end of the season the camp is packed into two sea containers. The Dome frames are left erected. The wood floors are stacked up and stored outside.

This is a very basic camp, camping in the true sense. The location is a low peninsula on the shore of Ayr Lake, about thirteen kilometers from the outflow of the lake and more than 50 kilometers from where the river flows into the sea. The area is flat enough for a camp and above flooding levels. The actual footprint is about 100m x 100m.

Environment

Human waste (not toilet paper) is collected using an outhouse. The outhouses have a custom containment which collects all the human waste. The human waste is frozen in containment containers. The sewage is then transported several kilometers (70°26’27.4”N -70°11’48.3”W) away from the camp and 60 meters away from any natural water course and deposited in a sump. The toilet paper is separated and brought to the municipal dump of Clyde River.

We have the same system at Arctic Watch Lodge which has been running for 20 years. This sump system has been inspected and approved by INAC and QIA inspectors for decades.

All garbage, including toilet paper is transported back to town. All cleaning products are biodegradable. Laundry services are done in Clyde River. At the end of the season, the camp packed away into the two sea containers. These are no permanent structures. There is no plan to build any permanent structure. We don’t touch the ground, move any rocks or affect the local environment. This location was chosen in order to stay away from possible erosions, floods or soft ground. The containers are locked for the season; no other materials are left on the ground. No fuel will be stored at the camp. Wildlife:

● Fish The camp takes place at a time when the lake is frozen solid. Nothing is put in the lake. The only contact with the water is to take water out of the lake, manually with buckets for drinking and washing. The presence of our camp for one month each year on the shore of Ayr Lake does not prevent and is not detrimental to community members who wish to fish. The camp is on the land. The camp is set up in an ecologically sustainable manner as described in this document. This camp will not affect any fish or fish habitat. As a result, Ayr Lake’s ecological biodiversity is not at risk. Weber Arctic does not provide fishing to our guests. Weber Arctic supports the community by buying fish from town and serving it to guests.

● Polar Bear Disturbance According to two polar bear biologists, most polar bears on den within 10 km of the coast. By April 15th of each year, most bears are out on the sea ice hunting. (Ian Stirling and Markus Dyck, polar bear biologists please see attached documentation). Mothers with cubs come out from dens in March and head toward the sea ice to hunt. The camp is 50 km inland from the ocean, skiing takes place even farther from the ocean. This project will not disturb polar bears as per the scientific data provided by the Government of Nunavut scientists and other biologists.

● Polar Bear Hunting: A review of Clyde River polar bear kills for the last few years clearly demonstrates that the camp and skiing activities are not an area suitable for polar bear hunting. Please see attached documentation.

● Polar Bear Safety Polar bear safety around camp is taken very seriously. All guides are equipped and trained in polar bear safety. They are equipped with shotguns and bear spray. We have a trained camp dog to alert us should a bear come at night. We assume the same bear safety precautions across all operations including Arctic Watch Lodge, Arctic Haven Lodge and Weber Arctic guiding. Weber Arctic has many years of experience dealing with polar bears, we have encountered / seen hundreds of bears. After 30 years of guiding in Nunavut are happy to say Weber Arctic has never had an incident resulting in bear injury or death.

● Birds The camp and skiing activities take place before any migrating birds arrive (Ian Stirling and Mark Mallory, please see attached documentation). Traditional land Use

Weber Arctic respects the traditional land use in Nunavut. The camp and activities do not impede or hinder any traditional use of land. Ayr Lake was previously an access route for caribou hunting. The camp is not on the trail. The camp is not even visible from the trail, being hidden behind a low hill.

Community members have told us that no one fishes in Ayr Lake in April or May. The camp does not prevent anyone from fishing in the lake. The area in front of the camp is not appropriate for fishing as it is a very shallow bay (most of the bay is frozen to the ground)

Skiers do not ski in the valley bottoms but up on the glaciers and mountain tops. Participants ski in the mountains above Ayr Lake and around Mount Wordie. This high alpine terrain is not caribou habitat or polar bear habitat, it is all rock and ice. In short, recreational activities take place at higher elevations, above wildlife habitat. This is not to say that the occasional bear doesn’t wander through the mountains but at this time of year, the vast majority are out on the sea ice. We do not ski or fly over the far end (west) of the Lake. We do not operate skiing on the outflow of Ayr Lake, nor do we drive on the river.

One of the considerations when choosing this spot was that it is not popular with community members. We specifically looked for an area that community members did not use regularly. It is out of the way and doesn’t conflict with their activities. This was verbally confirmed to us by several community members. Through the NIRB web site, a couple of community members attempted to use “tradition land use” as a route to stop this project. This is clearly not the case as per our consultations and communication with members of the community who actually took the time to visit the camp.

List of Equipment 1. Piston Bully 200 (Snow cat) 2. Snow machines x 4 (we also rent approximately 10 skidoos per year from community members.) 3. 2000 watt Honda generator x 2 4. Four-burner propane stove x 2 5. Drip type diesel heaters x 2 6. Catalytic diesel heaters x 8 7. 12 foot diameter Dome tents x 5 8. 30 foot diameter Dome tent x 1 Coordinates: The camp is located between 70 degrees 26 minutes 24.3 seconds N and 70 degrees 10 minutes 8.5 seconds west, and 70 degrees 26 minutes 26.9 seconds N and 70 degrees 10 minutes 15.8 seconds west.

Proponent Qualifications

Tessum and Nansen Weber are the third generation of the Weber family to work in Nunavut. Dr. Hans Weber came to Pangnirtung from Switzerland in 1953. He spent six months in what is known today as Auyuittuq Park. He did first ascents of most of the peaks. He spent his professional life as a scientist in Nunavut. Richard Weber has guided in Nunavut since 1993, the Weber family has operated Arctic Watch Lodge on Somerset Island since 2000; Arctic Haven Lodge (Ennadai Lake) since 2012. Richard has completed seven full length ski expeditions to the Geographic . Richard has skied thousands of kilometers across Baffin, Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands. The Weber family started working on this heli-skiing project in 2015, ran the first week of heli-skiing in 2018 and the camp in 2019.

Potential Environmental and Resource Impacts

Skiing is the sustainable type of activity that should be exactly what a territorial park should include. We are promoting the recreational activities for the territorial park. Skiing activities protect and promote wilderness without endangering or exploiting the biodiversity and integrity of the fragile arctic landscape. Skiing does not compete or conflict with any Clyde community outfitting. It is the only ski operation in Nunavut Skiing uses no resources from the land and has no environmental impact. There is no wildlife involved. April through early May the Ayr lake area and surrounding mountains and glaciers have little to no wildlife at that time of year.

The camp is simple. No impact is made to the water of Ayr Lake or surroundings because nothing is put in the lake and only drinking water is taken out. No permanent impact is made on the land from the camp or skiing. As tourism operators, Weber Arctic are very environmentally conscious and reputable. This is the type of activity that is sustainable in the arctic.

The snowcat is not a machine to which people in Nunavut are familiar. The snowcat is used to transport skiers up the mountain. The snowcat can carry up to twelve passengers plus two drivers. The snowcat has a very low pressure footprint, less that the footprint of a human. It has a downward pressure of 0.75 psi (0.0751 km/m2 (Piston Bully document attached) A typical snowcat produces between 74dBA and 78dBA of noise (Audra Redman document attached) while a snowmobile produces between 85dBA and 90dBA of noise (Kiera Lynn Moore noise Exposure of Recreation Snowmobiles, document attached). Suffice to say that a snowcat is not any worse for the environment than a snowmobile.

Socio-economic Community Involvement

During the brief time that Weber Arctic operated in and around Clyde River it contributed to the community with the following points.

● Weber Arctic purchased diesel, gas and jet fuel from the community ● Weber Arctic purchased food and other supplies from the Coop store ● Weber Arctic purchased crafts and art from local community members ● Weber Arctic hired local community members to check the equipment and take care of sea lift items during the off season. ● Weber Arctic hired local community members drive fuel to the camp ● Weber Arctic hired local community members to make mechanical repairs ● Weber Arctic hired local community members to do laundry ● Weber Arctic rented snow machines from local community members ● Weber Arctic hired local community members for guiding services for viewing polar bear and ice bergs ● Weber Arctic hired local community members to preform cultural shows ● Weber Arctic rented rooms at the hotel ● Weber Arctic donated more than 1500 lbs of food at the end of the season to the local food bank.

Weber Arctic future initiatives for Clyde River community: ● Weber Arctic plans to hire local community members to drive the snow cat ● Weber Arctic plans to hire local community members to build up and take down the camp ● Weber Arctic plans to hire local community members to work in the camp ● Weber Arctic plans to build a garage to house and work on the snowcat which would require a local person to take care of this building.

Naujaaraaluit Hotel

Concerns were expressed by a few individuals in the community that there will be a loss of economic benefit to the Clyde River community if the proponent moves to a camp outside of the community rather than using the community hotels. In 2018 Weber Arctic tested a two-week season based out of the Naujaaraaluit Hotel. The operation from the community hotel was unsuccessful for the following reason.

● The hotel is located too far from the mountains ● The hotel is too small to house guests and staff ● The hotel kitchen is too small and not designed for commercial cooking or with commercial appliance. It is not properly equipped to cook the right food for this type of clientele ● The hotel is not private, it is a community hotel. This means guests do not have the ability to dine or mingle in private. The hotel still has other clients that requires rooms and accommodation at the same time. ● The Naujaaraaluit hotel staff work on a 9 to 5 schedule which conflicts with operating and dining hours. (example one of our staff returned to Clyde because of a blizzard, he had to sleep the night in the van because it was past 5 pm and all hotel staff had gone home and were not answering the phone. He could not find a place to stay)

Please note the hotel would still need to be used for staff requirements at the beginning and end of the operational season. It is used by staff as staging prior to setting up camp at Ayr lake. Stopping the Weber Arctic project will not increase revenue for the hotel. The fact that the hotel is not suitable is not a good reason to stop the entire project. This project has many benefits for the community.

Fuel Management Plan We will be storing the following fuels on site at Ayr Lake during our operation.

2 x drums Jet A (410 L) 2 x drums heating diesel fuel (410 L) 2 x drums Gasoline (410 L) 3 x 100Lb propane (308 L) 5 x 25L Diesel Jerry can (100 L) 5 x 25L Gasoline (100 L) Total: 1738 L All fuel will be stored a minimum of 31 meters away from water level. The jerry cans are filled in the community of Clyde River and transferred directly to the snowmobiles or diesel heaters. The helicopter and snow cat are primarily fueled in Clyde River with the community fuel truck. In the event we fuel the helicopter and snow cat on location at Ayr Lake we have universal sorbent pads medium size (50 units) in case of a spill. When fueling vehicles on site we will be using a spill containment pallet, which supports two drums and has a containment of 40-gallon liquid capacity. The spill containment pallet is placed on secondary containment consisting of a portable containment berm. When fueling from a barrel on site at Ayr Lake we use Universal Fill-Rite hand fuel transfer pumps with in-line fuel filters (1 pump for diesel and 1 pump for gas). Two of our pacific dome tents are heated with medium size Expedition Diesel Drip Heaters. The drip heaters fuel lines are equipped with shut-off valves. The barrels providing fuel for the drip heaters have secondary berm fuel containment. All the other heaters in our dome camp are catalytic camping heaters. Any hot water produced on site is heated by melting snow or heating lake water with propane stoves. At the end of the season no fuel will be left on location at Ayr Lake. It will all be returned to Clyde River. Fuel containment, spill mitigation and fuel transportation management are important environmental procedures for Canadian Arctic Holidays ltd. We adhere at all times to leaving a minimal impact on the environment when operating in the arctic. Any fuel spills will be reported through the Nunavut Spill Line. Agguttinni Territorial Park

The proposed skiing area is partly within the Agguttinni Park and the proposed camp area is also within the Park. Currently there is no fixed management plan for the Park. Weber Arctic has been in constant contact with officials who are working on the Park management plan. Weber Arctic personnel are planning to meet with the local park planning members (CJPMC)in Clyde River in April 2021.

The following are the Vision and Mandate from the Nunavut Parks website;

“A park near Clyde River would focus on the deep fiords with glaciers flowing down to salt water and on land-based opportunities in the valleys of the fiords, on boating and camping opportunities in the summer and on sea ice-based experiences during the time the ice is reliable for travel.”

“Balance - Our Parks and Special Places contribute to Nunavut’s economy through tourism and related economic development without compromising the protection of our cultural and natural heritage.”

Weber Arctic is one of the most respected outfitters in the territory. This is an opportunity to bring worldwide attention to Agguttinni Territorial Park. Weber Arctic only practices sustainable tourism, without exploiting the fragile natural resources Nunavut has to offer. Weber Arctic is not in competition with local jobs and opportunities. On the contrary this project brings new opportunities to a season and an area which is not utilized by other local tourist outfitters. Restoration Plan The camp site is located on the shore of Ayr Lake about 55 kilometers from Clyde River. The site consists of two sea containers, six metal tent frames and six wood floors. No machinery or fuel is stored on site during the off-season. If the site were to be abandoned, Weber Arctic would use the snow cat to tow the sea containers back to Clyde River. Snowmobiles would also assist towing gear on qamutiits. This would have to take place during the April as this is the only time the ground has enough snow covered to tow the sea containers overland back to Clyde River. The tent fames can be disassembled and packed on to qamutiits and returned to town. The wooden floors could be taken apart and the wood brought back to town or burnt on site. We do not displace, move rock or ground material when erecting the camp. Everything is built using snow and ice, making it simple and easy to dissemble to return to its original state. Maps of Camp and Ski Area