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5 Impacts According to Interviewees CH11 • Permanent Loss of Landbase

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5 Impacts According to Interviewees CH11 • Permanent Loss of Landbase Impacts According to Interviewees CH11 Identification / Comments on impacts Source of impacts • Permanent loss of landbase • 3% of the trapline area (60,7 km2) has been flooded on its south eastern part: 2,2% of land and 0,8% of natural water plans. • Flooding of campsites • The campsites located along the canoe routes coming from the Kanaaupscow Post and the canoe route following the Kanaaupscow River have been flooded. • Flooding of birth site • The birth site located on the La Grande Rivière shore on CH13 has been flooded. • Flooding of valued areas • The rapids and the portage located at the south eastern extremity of Wawa Lake has been half flooded. • The storage place located on an island in the water arm south of the valued portage was flooded along with hunting equipment that was stored in it, notably the tallyman’s riffle. Impoundment of Robert-Bourassa Loss of travelling routes • Reservoir • The trapline is no longer accessible by canoe from the community. • Loss of trapping areas • The prime trapping areas along the rivers and creeks close to Wawa Lake have been flooded. • Loss of fishing sites • No more fishing is done in Bailloud Lake and along the river linking the Kanaaupscow River and Wawa Lake. • Decrease of available resources • A lot of beavers, muskrats and bears were flooded by the impoundment of the reservoir. • Loss of harvesting area • The waterfowl hunting area located along the river linking the Kanaaupscow River to Wawa Lake has been flooded. Worsened navigation conditions/Delayed access to trapline • Existence of • Travelling on the reservoir was impossible during the few years Robert-Bourassa preceding and following the impoundment. Reservoir • Travelling on the reservoir was unsafe until about 5 to 6 years after the impoundment. It took time for the debris to be cleaned FG11)by the current. 5 Impacts According to Interviewees CH11 Identification / Comments on impacts Source of impacts after the impoundment. It took time for the debris to be cleaned by the current. • The trapline users have to wait for a day or two sometimes for the wind to calm down before travelling on the reservoir, because in such a big water plan the waves are very big when it is windy. • It is impossible to travel on the reservoir in the dark because of the unreliable and unpredictable conditions. It is not like travelling on natural water plans that one knows well. • Three stumps, debris and floating islands represent navigation obstacles, more so when the reservoir level is low. • Loss of security of snowmobile trail/Adaptation to ice conditions • It is dangerous to travel on the reservoir at night because of the obstacles sticking out of the ice and because of big cracks created by the fluctuation of water in the reservoir. • They made a snowmobile trail not going through the reservoir and built a camp for the travellers along it in order to avoid the bad (slushy) winter travelling conditions on the reservoir. • Facilitated Access • Since it became safer to travel on it, to access the trapline by the reservoir became easier and less costly than by plane. • Decrease of trapping activities for the years following the impoundment • The trapping activities decreased on the trapline during two years of the impoundment and the four to five years following it, until it became fairly safe to travel on the reservoir. • Loss of income • The loss of the prime trapping areas in rivers and creeks close to Wawa Lake represent a loss of income for the trapline users and for the younger generations. • Modified fishing sites • More pikes are fished in Wawa Lake because some of the fish from the reservoir manage to pass over the half flooded rapids into the lake. • Decrease of fish (pike) consumption because of mercury • The trapline users limit their pike consumption because of mercury. FG11) 6 Impacts According to Interviewees CH11 Identification / Comments on impacts Source of impacts mercury. • Avoidance of impacted area • No fishing is done in the reservoir because of the fear of mercury contamination. • Decrease of available resources • There are hardly any muskrats on the trapline since the project. • There are no more beaver in the reservoir area. • Gain of new waterfowl hunting areas • Since the existence of the reservoirs, the geese fly further inland and more geese are found on the trapline. Geese hunting activities have increased a lot on the trapline. According to the interviewees, the increase of the geese population further inland would also be due to a natural cycle. • Broken equipment • Four years ago the tallyman had broken a motor while travelling on the reservoir. The water level was low and he hit a still standing tree stump. • Lack of consultation process • The project had been decided and done behind the people’s back and that is why they had to go to court against HQ and the government. The Crees have not been consulted and were not considered as they should have been. They had no choice but Communication to sign the JBA as the works were being done anyway. Process • Lack of impact studies on land use before the project • Studies on land use should have been done before the project and before the signing of the agreement. Interviewees Evaluation of La Grande Complex Remedial Measures and Works Measure or work Evaluation and comments • The tallyman looked for two of them but he could not Renewal cutting (south find them. Joseph Pepabano believes that the people eastern part of the responsible for making the contract did not do the work trapline) and that they keep the money without doing the works. • The tallyman found a third site where renewal cutting was done but no moose were there and he does not FG11) see the interest of such a measure in this area as it is not suited for a 7moose habitat. was done but no moose were there and he does not see the interest of such a measure in this area as it is not suited for a moose habitat. • It helped for navigation, but clearing was done only in the eastern end of the water arm south of the portage Cleared tributaries (close and should have been done in the rest of the river to the valued portage also. area) • SEBJ did not informed any body about this mitigation work. • In 1989, HQ proposed to build a kind of dyke in order to impedes the fish coming from the reservoir to enter Wawa Lake, but the talks ended at some point and the Dyke works have never been done. HQ never came out with the plans and the project still at the same point. • The interviewees recommend to go on with this project. • HQ should have asked them where to do the mitigation measures and should have give them the contracts. It would have been more useful and would Comments not have been a waste of money. • Some mitigation measures were practically of no use because the trapline users were not consulted for their realisations. FG11) 8 Interviewees Evaluation of Other Measures and Works Measure or work Evaluation and comments • They could not trap all the beavers during the trapping out program as there were too many and many of them were drowned. Trapping out Program • HQ paid for the transportation and for the equipment required for the trapping out. • There are no more beavers around the reservoir. • It occurred after the impoundment had started and they could not save all the beavers trying to escape. Beaver Relocation Joseph was very sad to see baby beavers swimming Program behind the canoes, trying to escape. They brought some to higher ground but many lodges could not be saved. • More mitigation measures should be done on their trapline to compensate for the amount of land they have lost because of the flooding. They have lost major beaver harvesting areas from which they Other comments obtained income in the past. HQ should find ways to help them use the land. • Cree people should be more involved in all the mitigation measures that are going to be realised in the future. Suggested Mitigation Measures • 1) To build goose ponds along the ex-Kanaaupscow River where geese and ducks were hunted during the spring before the project. • 2) To build a new portage, accessible by wheelchair. • 3) To do renewal cutting and cleaning of flooding debris (to be done every year) on the shorelines for moose yards, feeding areas for waterfowl, ptarmigan and rabbit. • 4) To build a dyke at the portage south of Wawa Lake in order to impede the reservoir waters (along with the pike coming from the reservoir) to flow into Wawa Lake if the reservoir level increases with the EM-1-A Project or any other project. • 5) To build shelters for emergency situations along the shores of the Robert- Bourassa Reservoir for the people travelling. • 6) To get a new motor to replace the one that was broken while travelling on the reservoir. • 7) To have a covered boat, a kind of ferry service for safe transportation on the Robert-Bourassa Reservoir. • 8) The trapline users already mentioned some works to be done to Apatissiwin Corporation such as moose yards, trails and boat routes. FG11) 9 Corporation such as moose yards, trails and boat routes. FG11) 10 Impacts According to Interviewees CH18 Identification / Comments on impacts Source of impacts • Easier access and increased presence of non-Cree hunters • The roads to the dikes on the reservoir allow many non-Cree hunters to access the trapline. • The tallyman and other trapline users have an easier access by the road.
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