Environmental Change and Traditional Use of the Old Crow Flats in Northern Canada: an IPY Opportunity to Meet the Challenges of the New Northern Research Paradigm

ARCTIC VOL. 64, NO. 1 (MARCH 2011) InfoNorth Environmental Change and Traditional Use of the Old Crow Flats in Northern Canada: An IPY Opportunity to Meet the Challenges of the New Northern Research Paradigm by Brent B. Wolfe, Murray M. Humphries, Michael F.J. Pisaric, Ann M. Balasubramaniam, Chris R. Burn, Laurie Chan, Dorothy Cooley, Duane G. Froese, Shel Graupe, Roland I. Hall, Trevor Lantz, Trevor J. Porter, Pascale Roy-Leveillee, Kevin W. Turner, Sonia D. Wesche and Megan Williams INTRODUCTION to (1) document the history of environmental change in the OCF from a unique assemblage of archives that record natu- HE OLD CR O W FLAT s (OCF), northern Yukon Terri- ral history from the last interglacial to the present; (2) assess tory, is homeland to the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation the distribution and abundance of vegetation and wildlife (VGFN) and is a Ramsar Wetland of International and identify the processes linking these to the changing T 2 Importance. This vast northern area encompasses 5600 km physical environment; (3) evaluate the impact of changes in and approximately 2700 shallow thermokarst lakes, creat- the physical and biological environment on traditional food ing a freshwater landscape that has long been an important sources of the VGFN and community adaptation options; refuge for Arctic wildlife, while also supporting the tradi- and (4) develop a long-term environmental monitoring pro- tional lifestyle of the VGFN. Observations and traditional gram for the OCF conducted by the VGFN through the IPY knowledge of the VGFN indicate that the OCF is undergo- and into the future. ing pronounced changes in temperature, precipitation, veg- This undertaking also aims to fulfill the mandate of the etation cover, lake and river water levels, and ice integrity, new research paradigm in northern Canada—one that is along with changes in diversity and distribution of wildlife. collaborative, interdisciplinary, reflective of northern pri- Of even greater concern to the VGFN is the apparent rate at orities, and policy-oriented (Graham and Fortier, 2005; which these changes are occurring. Placing these changes Wolfe et al., 2007). Much of our progress towards achiev- within the context of recent environmental change (decades ing these objectives can be attributed to the strong com- to centuries) and within the perspective of previous change munity–researcher partnership that developed at the onset under conditions similar to those projected for the future is of this project. This partnership was made possible by the necessary to formulate an effective strategy of stewardship willingness of a fully engaged, motivated, and research- for the OCF, and to ensure future food security for the resi- experienced northern community, as well as the exceptional dents of Old Crow. opportunity afforded by the NSERC Northern Research Here we describe the evolution of a community– Chair Program and Government of Canada IPY programs. researcher partnership that defines the Government of Can- Although YNNK, like every research project, is unique, we ada International Polar Year (IPY) investigation on “Envi- believe many of the project outcomes and lessons learned ronmental change and traditional use of the Old Crow are applicable to community-based, multidisciplinary Flats in northern Canada (Yeendoo Nanh Nakhweenjit research across the circum-Arctic. Generalities that emerge K’atr’ahanahtyaa; hereafter referred to as YNNK)”—one from the YNNK experience, which are described in the of very few fully endorsed programs led by northern-based narrative below, include the importance of (1) community individuals or aboriginal organizations in Canada (Church, research experience and capacity, (2) community consulta- 2009). The YNNK project, led by the Vuntut Gwitchin tion prior to proposal writing, (3) legitimate convergence Government in collaboration with Yukon Environment, of community priorities and researcher interests, (4) fund- Parks Canada, and a multidisciplinary team of southern- ing agency guidelines that reward innovative but costly based researchers, focuses on addressing the complexities approaches to community-based research, (5) ongoing com- of climate change impacts on the OCF and the nearby First munication between researchers and the community at all Nation community of Old Crow. Research expertise spans project stages, (6) planning for contingencies, including the the disciplines of Quaternary paleontology, dendroclimatol- timing of funding deadlines, (7) the informal social net- ogy, permafrost science, hydroecology, terrestrial ecology, works that populate the northern research landscape, and wildlife biology, community health, and traditional knowl- (8) the personal relationships and trust that emerge from edge of the land and its processes. Overarching goals are working closely together on shared interests. 127 128 • INFONORTH THE COMMUNITY OF OLD CROW “Weather changes a lot and is unpredictable—cold to warm, warm to cold.” Old Crow has a population of ~300, mainly Vuntut (Old Crow Citizens, ABEK Co-op, 2007) Gwitchin (“People of the Lakes”), and is the northern- most community in the Yukon Territory. It is thought that Environmental change observations of the citizens of Old the people of Old Crow may be the descendants of the first Crow are well aligned with both the instrumental record peoples of North America who migrated across the Bering and tree-ring reconstructions of past climate (T. Porter and Strait land bridge from Asia (western Beringia) into east- M. Pisaric, unpubl. data). A regional temperature composite ern Beringia (Morlan et al., 1990). They found refuge in record spanning 1930–2000 indicates that mean tempera- this non-glaciated northwestern corner of Canada, where tures have warmed during all seasons except autumn. The Ice Age wildlife, including bison, caribou, and mammoth, winter season has warmed the most (+1.9˚C), followed by existed. The timing of this migration remains controver- spring (+1.6˚C) and then summer (+1.2˚C). Autumn tem- sial, but the earliest widespread, indisputable evidence of peratures have decreased slightly during the same time human occupation is dated to ~12 000 years ago in east- period (-0.4˚C). YNNK has extended our knowledge of ern Beringia (Goebel et al., 2008). However, evidence from past climate by examining tree-ring records from eight the Bluefish Caves southwest of Old Crow suggests people white spruce sites sampled across the Old Crow region. The may have lived in the region as early as ~24 000 years ago regional ring-width chronology extends from 1700 to 2007 (Cinq-Mars, 1979), and still older evidence from the and is highly correlated with annual Northern Hemisphere Old Crow basin hints at human presence as early as temperature anomalies from 1850 to 2007. From these cli- 35 000 – 40 000 years ago (Morlan et al., 1990; Morlan, mate-growth relations and the growth record, it is evident 2003). Connections between the land and the earliest peo- that warming during the past two to three decades exceeds ples of the OCF have persisted to the recent past and remain that of any other period during the past 300 years. central to the cultural identity of the Vuntut Gwitchin Observational evidence and concerns associated with (Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation and Smith, 2009). While the environmental consequences of recent warming (e.g., the lifestyle of the people of Old Crow is closely linked to low water levels in rivers and lakes, thawing permafrost, the migrations of the Porcupine caribou herd, all families changing wildlife abundance) motivated the local commu- contain at least one member who participates in the modern nity’s interest in climate-focused research. Indeed, conver- wage economy. gence of community needs and researcher expertise was an Old Crow is a self-governing community, and the VGFN important factor that contributed to the formulation of the has a rich history of managing its natural resources, as YNNK project, as described below. well as taking an active role in scientific research within its traditional territory. For example, a long legacy of pale- ontological research in the region, conducted by Dick Har- GENESIS OF A COMMUNITY–RESEARCHER rington and others, has involved several generations of Old PARTNERSHIP Crow residents as guides and field assistants, leaving a last- ing impression that scientific research creates local employ- The initial connection between many of the researchers ment and, at the same time, international recognition. In that became involved in YNNK was the Natural Sciences 1994, the community participated in the development of the and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Arctic Borderlands Ecological Knowledge Co-op, an eco- Northern Research Chair Program (NRCP). The creation logical monitoring program for the northern Yukon focused of this program was one of several recommendations of a on the impacts of climate change, contaminants, and joint NSERC and Social Sciences and Humanities Research regional development. This unique partnership highlighted Council Task Force on Northern Research established in the importance of integrating science with local and tradi- 1998, which found that Canadian northern research was tional knowledge. From these and other past initiatives, the in crisis and that immediate action was required to train a community of Old Crow had obtained considerable experi- new generation of northern researchers and to increase the ence in collaborative undertakings in scientific research and amount of

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