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Syncrude bird deaths, Nexen pipeline spill show oilsands’ degradation of ecosystem: First Nation

August 9, 2015

Syncrude bird deaths, Nexen pipeline spill show oilsands’ degradation of ecosystem: First Nation

‘Something is seriously wrong,’ says Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation

The recent bird deaths at a Syncrude oilsands facility in northern Alberta along with last month’s Nexen Energy pipeline spill — one of the biggest in the province’s history — show the need for better oversight, a local First Nation says.

“In less than one month, we have seen two major events that clearly demonstrate that something is seriously wrong,” said Allan Adam, chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), in a news release. “These incidents, and the countless more seen in recent past, are contributing to the degradation of the local ecosystems and the treaty and aboriginal rights of nations in the region.”

Alberta’s energy regulator said 30 blue herons died earlier this week at the Mildred Lake Facility north of Fort McMurray, Alta. An investigation into what caused the birds to die is still underway.

Bob Curran, a spokesman for the agency, says a Syncrude worker found one of the heron Wednesday. The animal was alive but had to be euthanized. After the company searched the area, they found the rest of the birds dead in a run-off pond.

“We have seen irreparable damages to the environment and now death of a species that is listed with special concern,” said Adam.

Adam is correct that the fannini subspecies of the great blue heron is listed as a species of “special concern” under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, but they mostly reside on the B.C. coast. According to the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Hinterland Who’s Who website, the overall great blue heron population is healthy, and scientists estimate there are tens of thousands of the bird in Canada.

 

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