Fort Chip chiefs alarmed by duck deaths; Previous fears about affect of oilsands on traditional land now confirmed, they say

Carol Christian, May 2, 2008, Fort McMurray Today -- Three of the five ducks rescued Monday from an oilsands waste pond have died.

The ducks were rescued Monday and Tuesday after an estimated 400 to 500 migratory waterfowl landed on the Aurora tailings pond of Syncrude Canada.

A Syncrude spokesman was unable to confirm a duck shot by a hunter 250 kilometres north in Wood Buffalo National Park was one of the birds affected. The hunter claimed the duck was covered in oil, which he originally mistook for mud.

"Regardless of where the bird came in contact with hydrocarbon, it's a sad event," said Alain Moore.

"Our focus continues on searching the area for ducks needing to be rescued, and operating and maintaining our deterrent system to ensure it's working the way we intend to."

No wildlife deterrents were yet in place on the pond at the time, hampered by last week's late spring snow storm that dumped record snow in the area. By the time the program was set to re-start Monday, the ducks were already landing.

Many quickly sunk into the pond after becoming coated in the heavy bitumen residue.

Meanwhile, area First Nation leaders have no doubt the duck killed by the Mikisew Cree hunter was a victim of the tailings pond.

The Athabasca Chipewyan and Mikisew Cree First Nations said the deaths of the up to 500 ducks “once again confirm growing concerns of tarsands development upstream from Fort Chipewyan.”

"It angers and saddens me because our ancestors have been able to survive in the region for thousands of years. We should have the same opportunity to live traditionally, but developers have taken that away from us," said Lisa King, environmental specialist for the Athabasca Chipewayan First Nation Industry Relations Corporation.

Officials have escalated efforts to determine the true state of its highly toxic waters, sediment and wildlife, including waterfowl, which some in the community say have unusually high levels of arsenic, mercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, said a statement issued this morning.

"Our fears have been confirmed by the recent incident at Syncrude Canada," said Chief Alan Adam, of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in the statement. "We have always known that our traditional ways are at risk. Today our fears are reality.

He is expecting a cleanup focusing on affected wildlife in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, and the region including Wood Buffalo National Park.

"The community of Fort Chipewyan has informed government time and again that their management of the tarsands needs to be vigilant," added Chief Roxanne Marcel of the Mikisew Cree First Nation. “Time and again, if it were not for the Mikisew Cree's efforts, the standards would be the lowest in the world at this, the world’s largest industrial development project.”

“The local finding of the oil-drenched duck and the other 500 ducks that perished is only the latest catastrophe in the tarsands development. This region is being exploited at unprecedented pace, and all in the name of economics.”