Environment
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Berry Picking Program
Since 2017, Conklin remains one of the few communities in Alberta that is involved in this unique process that allow community members and representatives from Alberta Environment and Parks to work together to identify key berries and gathering locations. On an annual basis, there is one informal meeting with other Indigenous communities and one pre-field meeting. These berries are collected every summer and sent for analysis. These berries are then tested to determine if they are safe to eat.
In 2017, as a direct result of the berry monitoring program, Integrated Toxicology Solutions Ltd. finalized a technical report as a supplement to the Traditional Knowledge Report. While the Traditional Knowledge Report focuses on the importance of berries in traditional activities, cultural practices and community specific berry picking locations, the technical report focuses more on the understanding of the laboratory data and the potential risk to the community.
Monitoring Sites
In total, there are four monitoring sites that have been monitored to date: two of which near industry development referred to as test sites; and two of which are in areas not in proximity of industry development and considered to be in pristine conditions referred to as reference sites. As monitoring occurs, the data collected from test sites are then compared to reference sites.
Key Findings to Date
- Berry Harvesting continues to be a key indicator of Conklin’s wahkotowin.
- Berry group members feel industrial development negatively affects berry harvesting in the community and the community’s wahkotowin.
- Many things have negatively impacted berry harvesting in Conklin; many are difficult to measure and, in some cases, even articulate.
- An additional challenge is that many of the things that can be measured (berry pollution, for example) do not fully reflect the concerns felt by the community.
- While Berry Harvesting as an indicator is trending downward, community members felt the existence and the work could positively influence the indicator, and ultimately, the community’s wahkotowin.
Wahkotowin in Conklin
Through this project, the participation of Conklin’s Berry Group, and their engagement with Willow Springs Strategic Solutions (WSSS), the Group has contributed to defining the Wahkotowin and Indigenous Indicators in Conklin. Being a Cree/Métis community, Conklin has maintained a close connection and relations to its environment, which has become a part of the community’s “health wahkotowin”. WSSS, through its engagement with the community, has identified three key features: relatedness, reciprocity, and interconnection.
Since the development of the oil and gas industry around Conklin, the community has felt that their harvesting activities and overall environment has been under significant pressure. Through WSSS’ engagement, it was reported that berry picking provides an essential quiet time and a way to connect with family and nature. It is also recognized as one of the healing and spiritual activities deemed necessary to Conklin.
Recommendations
The Conklin Berry Group Committee provided the following recommendations:
- Seek broader community involvement;
- Take actions to protect critical areas (for example, post signs discouraging littering and pollution);
- Provide opportunities for intergenerational knowledge transfer;
- Take time to make tea in the bush and share;
- Make it more fun for everyone involved;
- Include kids and grandparents to help; and
- Ensure it is continued and done traditionally.
Community-Based Environmental Programming
There are several environmental programs that CRDAC either managed or facilitates on behalf of Conklin Métis Local 193. These programs are funded by either the provincial or federal government and allow for the collection and analysis of data, identification of traditional species, community training, and development of monitoring methods that will ultimately contribute to a regional database.
These programs aim to observe and monitor any changes noted in wetlands and water impacting Conklin Métis’ harvesting activities. They provide a baseline of environmental data that monitors changes and determines whether these are caused by oil sands development. Further, they provide local employment and participation by incorporating a capacity-building component for Conklin Métis residents to learn Western science-based monitoring techniques.
These environmental programs help our community and CRDAC better understand the impacts of oil sands activity and developments. This information feeds into the decision-making process, encouraging action to protect and conserve the environment, creating a lasting positive effect.
Community participation is key as it not only provides insights on the environmental changes throughout the year, but also what places and species of wildlife and vegetation are most valued.
Conklin Environmental Monitoring Program
The Conklin Environmental Program is a program offered through the Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) via Alberta Environment Protected Areas (AEPA). This program includes multiple field shifts annually that are attended by community members. Field work begins in the Spring with program setup and initial data collection, followed by multiple trips for Spring and Summer, fishing, and then finally a Fall takedown and site clean up trip.
Overall, the program exists to understand the impacts from and how the community views the impact through the observations of the physical environment around Conklin and how it may be impacted by the industrial projects that are in close proximity. The understanding of the impact and how the community views the impact is at the heart of these programs.
AEPA, through the OSM program, provided a grant to the CRDAC to conduct community-based environmental monitoring in the surrounding wetlands and region of Christina Lake, AB.
Monitoring Locations
There are a total of 11 wetlands sites, 13 stream sites, and 4 lake sites. All of the wetland and stream sites have a shallow groundwater well and most have wildlife cameras and ARU’s installed. The stream sites are located around the lake near tributary streams. The lake sites are located near the deepest parts of the lake. The wetland sites are dispersed around the Conklin area.
Water Quality & Quantity
It is important that water quantity remains fairly consistent over time and there are no constituents that impact the community use of the lake as well as exceed the guidelines for Alberta surface water as a metric for environmental impact.
Water quality observations remain within guidelines for surface water with exceedances of naturally occurring metals (e.g. iron). Field parameters of wetlands remain within the expected range of values based on wetland type. Water quantity continues to have seasonal fluctuations with streams seeing drier conditions in the past couple years.
Vegetation
Vegetation indicators include health, biodiversity, and traditionally valued species abundance. Vegetation assessments revealed that the health of each strata of wetland species remains in good condition with species abundance and diversity growing that is in relation to the number of sites in the program.
There is medicine everywhere you walk in the bush.
Jerry Quintal, Conklin Elder
To the right, is a photo of a Purple Pitcher Plant, a species of Trumpet Pitchers (Sarracenia). Conklin Elders refer to this plant as “Frog Pants” and is considered one of the main medicinal plants in the traditional area.
Traditionally Valuable Vegetation Species
| Rat Root (wîhkês) Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus) | Three Leaved Solomon (Maianthemum trifolium) |
| Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) | Rabbit Root “Hupic” Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) |
| Beaver Root Water Lily Roots (Nymphaea odorata) | Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) |
| Diamon Willow Fungus (Haploporus odorus) | Rose (Rosa acicularis) |
| Sweetgrass (Anthoxanthum hirtum) | Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) |
| Cedar Tree (Cedrus sp.) | Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) |
| Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) | Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) |
| Bear Root Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum) | Laboom Wild Mint (Mentha canadensis) |
| Blueberry Root (Vaccinium myrtilloides) | Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana) |
| Black Root (neep-see-wa) | Spruce (Picea sp.) |
| Senega Root Milkwort (Polygala senega) | Common Yarrow (Achillea borealis) |
| Frog Pants Leaves of the Pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpea) | Reindeeer Lichen (Cladonia rangiferina) |
| Cranberries (Vaccinium oxycoccos and Vaccinium vitis-ideaea) | Mosses (Sphagnum sp.) |
Wildlife (Cameras, ARU’s, Fish Study)
Wildlife cameras, Autonomous Recording Units (ARU’s), and fish studies are tools that are used to assess species health and prevalence.
Mammals
Wildlife cameras capture the different wildlife/mammal species present through motion detectors. WildTrax is used to aid in species identification. Here are the wildlife species that were observed in the monitoring areas:
- Moose (Alces alces)
- White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
- Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
- Beaver (Castor canadensis)
- Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
- Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
- Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis)
- Common Raven (Corvus corax)
- Coyote (Canis latrans)
- Fisher (Pekania pennanti)
- Magpie (Pica hudsonia)
- Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
- Marten (Martes americana)
- Mink (Neovison vison)
- Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
- Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
- Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)
- Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)
- Sandpipers, Curlews, Snipes and Allies
- Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus)
- Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus)
Fish
A fish study was completed to ensure the internal and external organs of the fish in Christina Lake are healthy. All fish observed were healthy.
Birds
ARU’s capture bird species present through their distinctive calls and songs. The bird species detected thus far include: Clay-coloured Sparrow (Spizella pallida), Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum), House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis), Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata), Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus), Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor), Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza Georgina).
Wetland Monitoring
Wetland site selections for monitoring have been established through communication with Elders and knowledge keepers from the Conklin community. These sites typically hold significance and incorporate both traditional understanding and western methodology. In total there are 12 wetland sites with a focus on petlands, such as fens, bogs, and swamps. Fens and bogs are predominant wetland types in the Conklin region.
Fens
Fens are highly diverse wetland ecosystems, driven primarily by surface water and shallow groundwater flow, they are sensitive to changes in the local hydrological regime (Krebs 1989).
Bogs
Bogs are almost completely dependent on precipitation and exists as hydrologically isolated ecosystems on the landscape (Vitt and Chee 1990).
Swamps
Swamps are nutrient rich and fluctuating water levels throughout the year and they may or may not have peat accumulation (Government of Alberta 2015).
Are Oil Sands having an impact on wetlands and water bodies surrounding Conklin?
The program has not observed regional-scale wetland impacts or surrounding water bodies that can be attributed to the Oil Sands to date. A robust level of baseline information has been collected which will be used to look into more acute environmental impacts as the program continues. We continue to assess various indicators for each component within the program (Wetland, Vegetation, Water, Wildlife, etc.)The program continues to work towards integrating traditional indicators that reflect observed changes to the health of the environment.
Indigenous Community Based Monitoring Advisory Committee (ICBMAC)
A program sponsored by the Government of Alberta through the OSM program, the ICBMAC focuses on gathering and centering indigenous knowledge to encourage and support indigenous led environmental projects within the oil sands region of Alberta. It supports the Oversight Committee, which provides recommendations to the OSM to help guide the overall strategic vision of the program.
Findings & Future
Through this environmental monitoring program, we have collected a substantial amount of baseline data. In the future, this data will serve as a foundation for analyzing impact of industry. As industry continues to have localized effects, ongoing monitoring is crucial to preserve the environment as a habitat to many.
Christina Lake Water Monitoring
The Christina Lake, a scenic and recreational lake, has been a part of Conklin and its history for many generations. As part of CRDAC’s mandate, it is our objective to ensure that we aim to protect the water, traditional ecological knowledge, and species ranging from walleye to yellow perch for many more generations to come.
Through this program, the CRDAC hopes to develop a water quality program including the installation of 16 shallow groundwater wells to help measure levels, identify any present contaminants, and collection of data that will ultimately help contribute to a fish health study. Residents are needed to help identify key locations around and/or on the lake as well as key items that need to be measured.
About the Lake
Christina Lake has a surface area of 21.3 km2, a mean depth of 17m and volume of 369,000 dm3 (Mitchell and Prepas 1990). The lake has tree deep basins that drop off abruptly to maximum depths of 24m, 26m, and 33m. A shallow constriction joins the west and central basins. In addition to the deep basins, there are two shallow basins with mean depths of about 1.5m and 12m. Along the shorelines, extensive areas of sand and gravel form beaches.
Christina Lake’s extensive sub-watershed area of 1,270 km2 is almost 60 times larger than its surface area. Most of its area resides south of the lake and most of this portion is drained by Birch and Sunday Creeks, which are the largest of the streams that flow into the lake. The sole outlet channel of Christina Lake, known as the Jackfish River, is located at the western end of the lake. It flows north into the nearby Christina River, which eventually flows into the Athabasca River.
Fish and Fish Habitat
There have been 15 fish species identified/reported in the Christina Lake, including (AEP 2023a; Mills 1987; Mitchell and Prepas 1990):
- Arctic Grayling (Thymallus arcticus)
- Burbot (Lota lota)
- Iowa Darter (Etheostoma exile)
- Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)
- Longnose Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae)
- Northern Redbelly Dace (Chromosum eos)
- Northern Pike (Esox lucius)
- Slimy Sculpin (Cottus cognatus)
- Spottail Shiner (Notropis hudsonius)
- Trout-Perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus)
- Tullibee (Cisco) (Coregonus artedi)
- Walleye (Sander vitreus)
Christina Lake was rated as providing moderate to high potential for spawning, nursery, rearing, feeding, and overwintering for sport fish, suckers, and forage fish. The lake contains habitats that are considered critical or sensitive, including known spawning sites for Walleye, and suspecting sites for Lake Whitefish, Cisco, Burbot, and Sucker species (AEP 2023b; Golder 1998).
Arctic Grayling’s classification has been upgraded to “may be at risk” in the most recent General Status of Alberta Wild Species Report (AEP 2023b) and the Alberta Endangered Species Conservation Committee (ESCC) has Arctic Grayling listed as a Species of Special Concern (ESCC 2023). This species may use the lake for overwintering, nursery, rearing, and feeding.