It was a bone-chilling day when Brian Churchill was called out, near -35 C by his estimation, to save the lives of dozens of moose and bears that had found themselves stranded by the rising waters along the Peace River.
"The helicopter left the airport at Fort St. John. We picked up on the river just about the Taylor Bridge, there was a moose standing on what had been an island, in right up to his belly," he told the Joint Review Panel.
"So we tried to encourage that moose to swim to shore. He would rather attack the helicopter than move further in the water."
When they flew up to Site C they saw 20 moose on the quickly-flooding flat.
"The animals move ... to the higher points of ground and they stay there. They don't want to go in the deeper part. This water is freezing as it floods. So they stand on these mounds, and it just gets deeper and deeper."
Over two days, more than 40 moose were killed because of those rising flood waters, he said.
That flat is also a home to bears and their cubs, who were woken from their hibernation by the freezing flood waters.
"If you can picture flying around a helicopter with a conservation officer with a rifle ... and a black bear comes out with her two cubs. Bam!"
She falls through the ice fog, falls through the ice fog, down & And we do that to her two cubs as well."
Although this happened approximately 30 years ago, Churchill recounted the events as if they happened yesterday.
"If I understand correctly, B.C. Hydro is proposing to fill that reservoir in the winter. That scenario will repeat, day after day after day," Churchill said, his voice cracking into tears to a hushed crowd at public hearings over Hydro's proposal in Fort St. John Thursday.
It was one of a handful of retellings of the nature of the Peace River and how previous hydroelectric development has impacted wildlife. A number of First Nations, hunting groups and area residents expressed concerns about the impacts Site C would have on wildlife and hunting in the region.
The valley is home to a rich range habitats frequented by ungulates, such as caribou and moose. These include shrub lands along its warm south-facing slopes, valley bottom riparian areas, and cool stands of deciduous forest facing the north.
If Site C is approved, its construction will create a 83-kilometre stretch of reservoir from Fort St. John to Hudson's Hope.
Keith Simpson of Keystone Wildlife Research, which conducted wildlife studies on behalf of BC Hydro, said the flooding will result in the loss of about 16 per cent of critical winter habitat for moose. Elk will see about a 20 per cent loss in habitat, and mule and white-tailed deer will see a combined 45 per cent loss.
The Peace Region is home to one of the best areas in the province for moose聽 up to 70,000 are supported in the region, according to 2011 estimates, 10,000 of them alone located in a handful of provincially designated wildlife management areas around the dam, says Simpson. However, hunters can expect to see the population decline if Site C goes through, he said, while opportunities for elk and deer will remain relatively unchanged.
"What we would expect to happen is these animals would redistribute themselves to some extent," Simpson said.
"We do recognize that loss of habitat is loss of habitat, but there is not going to be a displacement effect of animals to someplace they haven't been before."
The Site C reservoir will flood primarily floodplain and riparian habitat, Simpson said, but of a study of animals throughout the valley between Hudson's Hope and the Alberta border found only about 200 of the 900 moose surveyed were in the project's footprint.
Dr. John Nagy, representing the North Peace Rod & Gun Club, says the lands around dam will be built are home to some of the best habitat and hunting for ungulates in the region聽 up to 76 per cent of the land is considered high quality habitat for moose and deer. Average harvest numbers for moose top 600, 20 per cent of the total regional harvest. Licensed hunters and club members have harvested more than 450 elk and 702 mule deer around the dam annually, about 31 per cent and 66 per cent of the region's harvest respectively.
"This reiterates the importance of these areas not just currently, but into the future," Nagy told the Joint Review Panel.
"In the worst case, if there are significant impacts of the proposed dam on ungulates in these areas, given the magnitude of these harvests, what is probability of being able to redistribute that harvest into adjacent [areas] and maintain sustainable harvest?"
Maya Stano, lawyer for Kwadacha First Nations, said *wildlife concerns extend far beyond where Site C will be built.
There will be an increase in hunting and recreation across region, and that is likely to extend into Kwadacha territory, some 320 kilometres northwest of Fort St. John, Stano said.
For instance, Hydro has estimated an increase of only 80 licensed hunters during construction of the dam, though the number of employees in its worker camps will be in the thousands, she said. Chief Roland Willson of West Moberly First Nations noted those workers will likely bring families, and that the region is also facing a possible surge in new and transient hunters from a number of other resource projects in the region, and the camps that will be needed to accommodate workers.
Stano suggested Hydro could mitigate the issue by drafting workforce management policies that address how its workers would use the region for recreation, and limit the impact those uses would have on the exercise of aboriginal rights.
"These policies may also include cultural training programs," said Stano.
Hydro said it will not allow guns in its buildings or around the dam's construction area.
Panel chair Harry Swain pondered whether it would "make sense" to limit hunting in areas south of the Peace River to First Nations and hunting outfitters.
Jesse McCormack, lawyer for Saulteau First Nation, said the band would "strongly encourage" regulatory controls to limit hunting in the region and maintain priority for First Nations.
However, McCormack noted concerns that Hydro had failed to study moose population numbers on the south side of the Peace River in an area Saulteau deems critical for traditional purposes, in particular for hunting moose.
According to Simpson, studies are presently underway.
Outfitters not consulted
Meanwhile, one of the region's largest guide outfitting groups says it hasn't been properly consulted on the project.
Tracks B.C. and High Prairie Outfitters says it is the largest hunting tenure holder in the areas around Site C, but communication with Hydro has been sparse, and the impacts the project would have on its business remain unresolved.
"We have more questions than we have answers," said Rosemary Keutzer, speaking on behalf of owners Gary Drinkall and Blaine Trenholm.
Much of the attempted communication took place during the high peaks of hunting season, when business is in full swing, and adventure-hunting Americans are tracking down everything from bear to elk to moose to deer, said Keutzer. The organization only had one face-to-face meeting with Hydro, and the business was not considered an interested party to Site C because it had not attended public open houses on the project.
"When we're talking about meaningful consultation, you need to understand the nature of the business and how you're going to communicate with these people," she said, noting hunts often taken place in remote areas without cell or satellite phone service.
A lack of consultation meant the business received little consideration of impacts, Keutzer said, noting Hydro has underscored its impact on bears and cougars in the region, things that are "bread and butter to the outfitter," she said. Keutzer expressed concern of how a work camp would infringe on the company's tenure, and that impacts to the numbers and characteristics of wildlife will impact the company's marketing.
She demanded the panel send Hydro back to the drawing board to restart consultation on the project.
Judy Reynier, properties manage for B.C. Hydro said the organization recognized the challenges it had in communicating with the company. She added that BC Hydro will compensate outfitters in the region for lost income, and if infrastructure, such as hunting cabins, need to be removed and replaced.
