Threatened caribou on collision course with hydro dam, group says

Government maps show that a proposed hydroelectric dam and reservoir on the Churchill River are smack-dab in the range of an already-endangered caribou herd, says an environmental group opposed to the project.

The Red Wine herd, which has been estimated to have only 85 members and thus is Labrador's most threatened woodland caribou population, appear to spend much of their time in an area that would beflooded by the pending Lower Churchill hydroelectric megaproject.

Two maps marked by dots indicatethe movements of radio-collared caribou between 1996 and 2005. Most of the dots form clusters within 50 kilometres of the Gull Island rapids, whichiswhere Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro is planning to build one of two components of the Lower Churchill project.

"Here is an endangered species that could be further endangered with the development," said Clarice Blake Rudkowski, who heads the Grand Riverkeeper environmental group.

She said the risk to the Red Wine herd is reason enough to oppose the Lower Churchill project, which is currently headed for environmental review.

However, provincial Environment Minister Clyde Jackman said there is no evidence to date that flooding from the project would harm the herd.

He said the onus will be on Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro to prove that is the case.

"The proponent has to develop a plan around this herd, if indeed they are in that area, and it has to meet the standard and the expectation as it comes before my department and this government," Jackman said.

The maps were developed by the provincial wildlife division and the Institute for Environmental Monitoring and Research.

Gilbert Bennett, Hydro's vice-president responsible for the Lower Churchill, said the company is closely watching the movement of caribou in and out of the Churchill River valley.

He said, however, that it is too soon to draw any conclusions.

"I think the important point right now is that we do recognize that that herd is within the area of the project," he said.

Officials with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency say guidelines for the panel that will review the project are expected to be released soon.

Massive undertaking

The Lower Churchill project, as proposed, is a massive undertaking.

At Gull Island, about 225 kilometres downstream from the existing Upper Churchill hydroelectric station which generates more than 5,400 megawatts of power Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro plans to build a 2,000-megawatt station. A much smaller station, of about 800 megawatts, is proposed about 60 kilometres away, at Muskrat Falls.

After entertaining proposals from outside companies and provinces, the Newfoundland and Labrador government decided last year to develop the project alone.

In an energy plan announced in September, the governing Progressive Conservatives said they intended to build a transmission line from Labrador to Newfoundland to carry newly generated power. That plan angered many people in Labrador, who felt the region's resources will be exploited but with little local benefit.