"In the delta, water is boss, change is the only constant, and creation and destruction exist side by side." The Peace-Athabasca Delta in northern Alberta is a globally significant wetland that lies within one of the largest unfragmented landscapes in North America. Arguably the world's largest boreal inland delta, it is renowned for its biological productivity and is a central feature of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Yet the delta and its indigenous cultures lie downstream of Alberta's bitumen sands, whose exploitation comprises one of the largest industrial projects in the world. Kevin Timoney provides an authoritative synthesis of the science and history of the delta, describing its ecology, unraveling its millennia-long history, and addressing its uncertain future. Scientists, students, leaders in the energy sector, government officials and policy makers, and conscientious citizens everywhere should read this lively work.
This study presents the hypothesis that the physical changes in the Peace-Athabasca Delta in northern Alberta (resulting from damming of the Peace River upstream), have favoured the wolf populations in Wood Buffalo National Park at the expense of bison (both plains and wood bison), and that there is urgent need to reverse the hydrological regime.
This compilation of data on 100 lakes in Alberta (outside the mountain areas) covers physical characteristics, water quality, wildlife, recreational opportunities and access for each lake, and includes maps, photographs, diagrams and statistical tables.
Construction of the Bennett Dam in British Columbia altered natural fluctuations of downstream flows in the Peace River in Alberta, with major implications for the ecosystem of the Peace-Athabasca Delta. In later years, downstream weirs were constructed to restore the water level regime in the Delta. This report presents the results of a modelling exercise undertaken in an attempt to assess the effect of the weirs and the dam on the Delta water levels during 1985-90, at which time Lake Athabasca water levels were low and it was not clear whether the weirs were functioning properly or if the low water levels were caused by low flows coming from the upper Peace and Athabasca river basins. The methodology uses a one-dimensional hydrodynamic model, suitably modified and calibrated. The appendices include numerous plots of water levels indicating the effects of the weirs and dam on natural conditions.
This book presents decade-long advances in atmospheric research in the Mackenzie River Basin in northern Canada, which encompasses environments representative of most cold areas on Earth. Collaborative efforts have yielded knowledge entirely transferable to other high latitude regions in America, Europe and Asia. This book complements the first volume coming from the GEWEX project, dealing with the region's atmospheric dynamics.
Hawk, a First Nations teen from northern Alberta, is a star athlete until a serious illness yanks him out of competition and into a fight for his life. Struggling to recover, he comes across a young osprey trapped in a tailings pond, helpless. Rescuing the bird gives Hawk a new purpose in life, if he can survive to see it through.
Since the 1970s, the Site C Dam in northeastern British Columbia's Peace River Valley has been touted by B.C. Hydro and successive governments as necessary to meet the province's increasing energy needs. With its enormous $10 billion price tag, the dam would be the largest public works project in BC history. It would be the third dam on the Peace River, and destroy traditional unceded territory belonging to Treaty 8 First Nations. Following the last provincial election, the newly appointed NDP government called for a review of the project, but work on the dam continues. This comes after protests by aboriginal groups and landowners, several lawsuits against the government, and federal government intervention to let the dam go ahead. More recently, there has been a call from a United Nations panel to review how the dam will affect Indigenous land. This book presents the independent voices of citizen experts describing every important impact of the dam, including: Sustainable energy expert Guy Dauncey on future energy demand, and whether there is likely to be a need for the dam's electricity An interview with aboriginal activist Helen Knott on the dam's assault on traditional lands and culture, in particular Indigenous women Agrologist Wendy Holm on the farm land impact — prime horticulture land important to food security and nutrition Family physician Warren Bell on the effect that loss of traditional way of life and connection to the land has had on the health of aboriginal people Wildlife biologist Brian Churchill with forty years' experience of studying its land and wildlife Former environmental minister Joan Sawicki on government cover-ups and smoking guns Energy industry watchdog Andrew Nikiforuk on the links between dams, fracking and earthquakes Award-winning broadcaster Rafe Mair on how party politics corrupts political leadership, and the role of activism and civil disobedience in shaping government decision-making David Schindler, one of the world's foremost water ecologists, explains the role dams like Site C will play in Canada's climate change strategy Joyce Nelson connects the dots between the Site C dam and continental water sharing plans
