Eastside

AS she surveys the bountiful boreal forest spreading out in all directions from the boulder strewn shore of Weaver Lake, Sophia Rebliauskas reflects on what this land on the east side of Lake Winnipeg means to her people.

"It is our home," says the resident of Poplar River First Nation, who is the community coordinator for Pimachiowin Aki Corporation (PAC) World Heritage Project.

Weaver Lake, which is located about 280 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg and is only accessible by float-plane or boat, has been home to a First Nations healing camp for the past decade.

I was one of a group of five media representatives invited to spend two days recently at the healing camp meeting with participants and sharing in the opening session of the gathering. The healing camp, which was attended by Ojibwa elders from four Manitoba First Nations, coincided with the first national hearing in Winnipeg of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on residential schools.

We were also taken on a boat tour of this proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site -- an area that has been touted as a better route for Manitoba Hydro's new Bipole III transmission line from northern generating stations to Winnipeg than the longer and more expensive west side route.

In 2004, the Government of Canada added the Pimachiowin Aki area to its list of "tentative World Heritage Sites," signaling the launch of the World Heritage Project, explained Gord Jones, project manager since 2007.

"I am opposed to an east side hydro line because this is intact boreal forest," said Rebliauskas, the mother of three adult children and one grandchild.

"But, an all weather road is a necessity. This year, the winter road melted quickly. We were driving through ruts."

In fact, she admitted that meetings are now being held between the First Nations communities and government representatives for an east side road planning authority.

Nevertheless, any sort of development would disrupt the ecosystem and life on the land, added the gregarious Rebliauskas, who mentions that Pimachiowin Aki is Objiwe for "the land that gives life."

Besides Poplar River, the other members of PAC include Pikangikum First Nation, Pauingassi First Nation, Little Grand Rapids First Nation, Bloodvein First Nation, Manitoba Conservation and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

The project area consists of some 40,000 square kilometres and includes Manitoba's Atikaki Provincial Park and the adjoining Woodland Caribou Provincial Park in Ontario -- both are prime canoeing and wildlife areas.

During our boat trip on a mostly sun-splashed afternoon, we stopped at a site containing the faded outlines of ancient rock paintings.

Indigenous people have been here for 5,000 to 6,000 years -- since the last glaciers receded, remarked Jones, as we stood atop a rocky ridge gazing at Thunder Mountain on the distant horizon with Weaver Lake below us and the thick forest extending as far as the eye could see.

"The boreal forest is recognized as a valuable eco-system," he said.

"It's recognized as the lungs of the Earth. It sequesters carbon and is a good place to study climate change. It also sustains indigenous people who have been part of this region for thousands of years. Indigenous people have knowledge and belief systems important for everyone."

There are 890 World Heritage Sites located in 148 countries, according to information from UNESCO. Of these, 689 are cultural, 176 are natural and 25 are mixed properties. Such spectacular sites as the Grand Canyon, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (one of 13 World Heritage Sites in Canada), the pyramids of Egypt, and Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia have all achieved the designation.

Both Jones and Rebliauskas believe that having the region declared an official World Heritage Site would help create income for the First Nations communities by stimulating eco-tourism.

"When a place gets recognized as a World Heritage Site people from all over the world will want to visit the land," said Jones, who noted that the formal nomination for a WHS will take place in February 2012 with a further 18 months for review and approval by UNESCO.

Already, some First Nations lodge owners in eastern Manitoba are planning on how they can help create jobs through eco-tourism, observed Rebliauskas, who, along with her husband, runs a lodge in Poplar River.

"For our First Nations, the forests are our heritage," stressed one elder to me back at the healing camp as I nodded my head in agreement.

Indeed, the land that gives life must be protected for all of us.

Martin Zeilig is a Winnipeg writer.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 3, 2010 h6

It is important to note that a World Heritage site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg will be a huge economic boost for Manitoba. If Bipole III is constructed through the east side, we severely reduce our chance of receiving this internationally prestigious designation and consequently the best free marketing available for promoting eco and cultural tourism -- two of the fastest-growing industries in the world. I point to recent examples.

UNESCO took the severe step of removing the World Heritage Site designation from Germany's Dresden Elbe River Valley in 2009, after construction began on a four-lane bridge through the heart of the area.

In 2009, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador reversed its decision to construct a Bipole through Gross Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, because they were informed that doing so could jeopardize the park's UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.

In the spring of 2010, the B.C. government announced a ban on mining and oil and gas development in the Flathead River Valley because a United Nations team of experts visited the region and called for a moratorium on any potential future development in the region as it would have an impact on Peace Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Keeping the east side healthy and well, without Bipole III, is a win-win! We preserve the intact east side ecosystems while local communities embrace new economic opportunities for businesses and jobs. This GDP boost and protection of our environment will be beneficial for all Manitobans.

Ron Thiessen

Winnipeg

An environmental coalition surprised Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen Tuesday with 10,000 letters urging the province to stand firm against a major transmission line down the east side of Lake Winnipeg.

McFadyen and his party have long opposed the government's stance, arguing BiPole III should be built down the east side, rather than west of lakes Winnipegosis and Manitoba, the route the government chose in 2007.

Ron Thiessen, Manitoba director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, had a brief discussion with McFadyen as he presented him with a CD version of the letters and one blank piece of paper symbolizing them.

"Debate and perspective on these issues is good," McFadyen said, noting that his party has "a respectful disagreement" with CPAWS and its partners in the initiative, including The Wilderness Committee, the Boreal Forest Network and the U.S.-based Natural Resources Defense Council.

The groups argue running BiPole III down the east side would jeopardize a bid to have the area designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, as well as compromising the ecological and cultural benefits of keeping the forest intact.

A spokeswoman for the Tories said the vast majority of the signatories to the letters are American, with only a handful coming from Manitoba.

Re: East side tourism (March 24). I was pleased to read the province will be investing $2.5 million on a new aboriginal cultural centre near Hollow Water -- the gateway to the heart of the boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. The announcement also includes a separate fund for a loans program that will kick start local tourism ventures.

Done right, eco and cultural tourism is a tremendous opportunity to create employment by keeping the region healthy and unbroken. With the upcoming World Heritage Site designation, people will come from all over the world to see the world's largest intact section of northern forest. This will be a huge economic boon for local communities in need of jobs.

RON THIESSEN

Winnipeg

The political opposition in Manitoba, Canada has revived a proposal to run a major hydropower transmission line directly through the boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. It’s an odd choice for an election issue. The current government had already made a decision to work with local communities to protect one of North America’s most outstanding sanctuaries for woodland caribou, timber wolves and songbirds – the Heart of the Boreal – as a World Heritage Site. That means that local communities make decisions about what to protect and how to encourage environmentally healthy development. It means that there can be local roads and businesses, but that the bulk of this untouched wilderness of emerald forests, marshes, lakes, and rivers is recognized for its ecological and cultural values. It means no industrial transmission line in a part of the province where the wilderness values are so high.

Manitoba has made an interesting choice around placement of the transmission line and one that should resonate in the United States as well. Our need for energy is often in conflict with our need to protect special places. Manitoba decided that the Heart of the Boreal region was so valuable that it was worth paying more to put the industrial transmission line elsewhere. In fact, what I suspect Manitoba realized, is that developed corridors should always be preferred over wildlands. Even if the cost appears to be greater, in reality developers usually fail to include the cost of the controversies that accompany efforts to build in untouched places. These can include special mitigation measures, delays, litigation, and the need for additional public relations and outreach – all of which cost money. This is a lesson to learn from as we face conflicts over how to get energy to the markets where it is needed. The on-the-face monetary cost of a project is not the only thing to consider: ecological and cultural values of the land should be considered equally with other aspects of where a transmission line goes.

The international environmental community has long supported the efforts of local First Nations communities to establish a World Heritage Site in this region – called Pimachiowin Aki. The site would span 10.6 million acres in Manitoba and Ontario and encompass two provincial parks in addition to First Nations traditional territories. A hydropower transmission line through this region would seriously jeopardize the World Heritage Site nomination.

Already several years ago, NRDC designated this region as an international BioGem. NRDC members and activists have long recognized the Boreal forest wilderness on the east side of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba as an area of global importance, sending  thousands of messages calling for protection over the last few years. Today, our Manitoba environmental partners launched a new website celebrating the Heart of the Boreal. And together with our Manitoba partners, we are once again asking the public to let Manitoba know that the Heart of the Boreal is deserving of permanent protection – and that means no industrial transmission line.

So, stand firm Manitoba. You have the right values in place and made a good decision to move forward with a World Heritage Site nomination that is based on local, First Nations community planning, instead of an industrial transmission line. I think that the opposition will learn that Manitobans value their natural heritage. And I think that they will learn that local communities appreciate having a say in what happens on their traditional lands.

Announcing Heart of the Boreal action alert/website

Canadian, Manitoban and U.S. organizations have joined together in an action alert to urge the Manitoba Government to stand firm on its commitment to not construct the BiPole III hydro transmission line on the east side of Lake Winnipeg and to protect millions of hectares of unique boreal forest as an UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS).

The Boreal Forest Network (BFN), Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), the Wilderness Committee (WC) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) are calling on the public, in Canada and the United States, to tell the province to continue to say no to an industrial transmission line on the east side and to move forward with the creation of a World Heritage Site.

• Read full news release
• Visit Heart of the Boreal

I commend our provincial government and Manitoba Hydro for their commitment to keep the proposed major hydro corridor away from the intact boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.

The assertion that a hydro line and an all-weather road would follow the same route on the east side of Lake Winnipeg has no basis in reality. Roads and hydro corridors have different terrain requirements and public access to transmission lines would be a security risk and increase disturbance to wildlife.

It’s also clear that east side communities will not receive any long term benefits from a major hydro pathway. Local communities would be unable to utilize power from the lines and any jobs created would be short-term positions such as putting up poles and clearing forest. Manitoba Hydro has stated quite clearly that sharing ownership of transmission lines is out of the question. Legal obligations with other utilities in Canada and the United States prevent this possibility.

The involved east side First Nations and the province are taking the right approach by pursuing a World Heritage Site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. This designation will put the area on the world map as an international destination for eco and cultural tourism – two of the fastest growing industries in the world. As a major hydro corridor would provide little economic or social benefits to the communities and would negatively affect the environment and emerging tourism industry, it would reduce the chances of the east side being approved by the U.N. as a World Heritage Site.

Constructing a major hydro corridor elsewhere in the province may cost more initially but the long-term payback of keeping it away from the east side will far outweigh this factor. Local communities will have more opportunity for social, cultural, and economic benefits with a World Heritage Site and a communities-approved road that meets the best environmental standards possible.

Of great importance, the east side of Lake Winnipeg is part of the Earth’s largest intact section of boreal forest. The boreal forest is the world’s largest source of fresh water, the northern lungs of the planet, and as the largest terrestrial storehouse of carbon, it plays a huge role in slowing the advance of climate change. These ecological services are life-sustaining and essential to the healthy future of all life.

Ron Thiessen
Executive Director
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – Manitoba chapter

Re: Parties debate Doer's detour (Jan. 22). I commend our provincial government and Manitoba Hydro for their commitment to keep the proposed major Hydro corridor away from the intact boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. This incredible region is Manitoba's gift to the globe.

The east side of Lake Winnipeg is part of the Earth's largest intact section of boreal forest. The boreal forest is the world's largest source of fresh water, the northern lungs of the planet, and as the largest terrestrial storehouse of carbon, it plays a huge role in slowing the advance of climate change. These ecological services are life-sustaining and essential to the healthy future of all life.

The involved east side First Nations and the province are taking the right approach by pursuing a World Heritage site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. This designation will put the area on the world map as an international destination for eco- and cultural tourism -- two of the fastest growing industries in the world. This equals sustainable incomes for local communities that will be earned by hard work in combination with keeping the region unbroken and healthy.

Attaining World Heritage status is a contest. The better the application looks, the better the chance of winning. There are many candidate sites from all over the globe competing for this internationally prestigious designation. Few will be chosen. A major Hydro corridor through the east side would not disqualify it from entering the race but it would greatly diminish its odds of passing the finish line.

Ron Thiessen

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

Winnipeg