Enewsletter

On Common Ground: Protecting Birds, Forests & Culture in James Bay and Hudson Bay

On a cold, crisp January morning, Ted Cheskey, manager of bird conservation for Nature Canada, boarded a tiny 5-seater plane bound for northern Ontario. Ted was embarking on a 3-day trip to Peawanuck, a community of 300 near the mouth of the Winisk river and just 37 km from the coast of southern Hudson Bay.

His flight took him from Ottawa to Toronto, and then on to Timmins, with a quick stop to refuel in Moosonee before touching down in Peawanuck. The ride was not forgiving, but the slight nausea was a small price to pay – the view was spectacular.

Sparse, forested wetland stretched across the land, interrupted by countless streams and small rivers flowing into James Bay and Hudson Bay. From the plane, Ted could see the snow-covered muskeg – swampy wetlands that characterize the western and southern side of James Bay – stretch all the way to the horizon. As the plane flew closer to the coast, patches of open water on James Bay, which is mostly frozen at this time of year, came into view.

“I could see this myriad of wetlands from the plane. Meandering rivers and lakes of all sizes formed these complex dotted patterns from the sky. The sheer concentration of water and wetlands just boggled my mind – the amount of wetland habitat was just incredible. Flying over this area, I could see how immense the Hudson Bay and James Bay lowlands are on a global scale, and understand why they are so important for birds in Canada,” said Ted.

This was not Ted’s first visit to the area. He had flown across this wide expanse of sparsely populated wilderness to visit First Nations communities in the past.

This time, he had come at the request of the Grand Chief of the Mushkegowuck Tribal Council, an administrative body that represents the interests of seven First Nations in the region. Grand Chief Stan Louttit was chairing a meeting of the Tribal Council, which assembled Chiefs of the Cree communities of James Bay and southern Hudson Bay. He had invited Ted to speak to the Chiefs about Important Bird Areas within their homelands.

“We felt that it was important for Ted to come speak to the Mushkegowuck Chiefs so that he could tell them about Nature Canada and its plans for Important Bird Areas,” said Grand Chief Louttit, “We also felt that it’s important for organisations like Nature Canada to collaborate with us in regards to their interests, and for us to be able to tell Nature Canada that Important Bird Areas are an important part of our culture and tradition.”

In the past year, Ted had visited Cree communities in Fort Albany, Kashechewan and Moose Factory. But this was an opportunity to speak to the greater Cree community at a time when Chiefs were discussing pressing issues that would take a collaborative approach to solve.

Connecting Bird Conservation to Cree Homelands

With 17 Important Bird Areas near or within the Mushkegowuk homelands, Ted was speaking to an audience that plays a critical role in the conservation and protection of hundreds of thousands of migratory birds and their habitats.

“We have managed our homelands for thousands of years and have our systems in place to manage wildlife and migratory birds especially. When someone else, like Nature Canada, comes along and says that this is important to them as well, we get interested,” said Grand Chief Louttit, “We wanted to listen to Nature Canada, understand their thinking, and see how we could collaborate.”

The Red Knot, Pectoral Sandpiper and Hudsonian Godwit are among many bird species that stop over along the coasts of Hudson and James Bays before migrating south to destinations in the Caribbean, Central and South America. Protecting birds along their flyway – the route between breeding and wintering areas – is the cornerstone of global bird conservation. The health and integrity of these sites are important in maintaining stable and thriving populations of migratory birds. Engaging these northern communities is an important step toward protecting these birds.

“As stewards of the land, the Cree of James Bay and Hudson Bay are the ultimate decision makers. They want to be and have a right to be consulted on any potential plans or projects that could affect the management of their homelands,” said Ted, “If we are going to make progress in protecting birds and their habitat in this area, then having the interest and support of the Cree communities is essential to the success of any conservation initiative.”

During a 60 minute presentation, Ted introduced the Chiefs to the Important Bird Areas Program, highlighting opportunities to integrate habitat and bird conservation into their land-use planning and resource management initiatives. The IBA program offers the potential to link communities in North, Central, and South America along the flyways of migratory bird species, creating a global effort to monitor and assess threats to critical bird habitat.

Ted also discussed the impact of the Gulf Oil spill on waterfowl, an issue that has caused considerable anxiety amongst Cree who harvest these birds. Their concern is based on their own experience with industrial threats close to home; right now, hundreds of rotting barrels of PCBs litter de-commissioned military and radar bases near Peawanuck.

Although many Cree communities on James Bay and Hudson Bay lie further inland – most IBAs are on the coast – this does not lessen the impact their land-use plans would have on bird conservation. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. They are uniquely positioned to manage and protect the health of two ecosystems, the shoreline ecosystem and the interior muskeg or wetlands ecosystem, through a comprehensive land use plan. The rivers and streams of the muskeg flow into James Bay and Hudson Bay, bringing nutrients and sediment as they drain one of the world’s largest forested wetlands. The quality and quantity of the nutrients and sediment affect the health of the coastal areas where IBAs are located. The two are interconnected – what’s good for the forested interior is good for the mudflats and wetlands of the coast.

Conserving Cree Culture

For the Cree of Hudson Bay and James Bay, their daily lives are intimately tied to the land. They share a common interest with Nature Canada in conserving and protecting wildlife and habitat on their homelands – it acts to protect their way of life.

“The Mushkegowuck territory is home to many species of birds and wildlife and has been home to the Mushkegowuck people for thousands of years. We’ve lived off the land, which has provided sustenance and is part of our culture, tradition and our life,” said Grand Chief Louttit, “Migratory birds are part of our livelihood in many ways – they’re an important food source and part of the ecosystem. The land and birds are both important to us, and because of that, we’re able to live in harmony with the environment and the birds.”

Many families who live off the land are keenly aware of the ebb and flow of wild geese populations, such as the Canada Goose and Snow Goose. They depend on geese and other wildlife as their principle food source, hunting to survive in a harsh environment, but also to preserve the culture of their ancestors for future generations. Nature Canada and its Birdlife partners recognise and support Cree harvesting and other traditional uses of the land.

“The fact that they harvest geese and some shorebirds is integral to the greater picture of habitat protection. Without the birds, they lose one of their key connections to the land,” said Ted, “When bird populations decline, or are impacted by something elsewhere in their range, like habitat loss or toxic contamination, this impacts the families in the communities. What it comes down to is that we have a common interest in protecting and conserving habitat that is important to migratory birds.”

As the Mushkegowuk Chief’s meeting came to a close, and Ted wrapped up his presentation on IBAs, bird conservation surfaced as an issue that could unite all the Cree of the entire James Bay basin in Ontario and Quebec. Nature Canada will be supporting a greater, basin-wide conservation effort by building on the relationships it has with members of the Mushkegowuk Tribal Council and creating new relationships with communities on the Quebec side of James Bay.

“It is just a matter of time before resource extraction companies move into the coastal communities. From my window in the plane, I could see the expanding footprint of the Victor Diamond mine in the trucks travelling along the winter ice road between Moosonee and  Attiwapiskat, crossing dozens of streams and rivers and potentially impacting their drainage,” said Ted, “Now is the time to plan and build support for conservation, so that when development does come, it is not at the expense of the ecosystems that support millions and millions of birds, and the culture that has evolved with it.”