May 10, 2012         -3C, high thin cloud, calm and around the clock light. The sun does go down for about 4 hours but it doesn’t get dark. The snow has really been receding quickly this past week.

A month since I last updated and it’s been a busy month. Fiscal year-end rush to order deterrent supplies to support communities across Nunavut, preparing with others for the potential passing in the legislature of two new ground-breaking programs to help prevent and lessen the impacts of bear-human impacts and other fascinating files.

Imbetween the work there have been several significant public events in Igloolik and great trips out of town exploring the sea ice and tundra.

Here are a few highlights. I’ll insert a few pictures and there are many more posted in the Flickr photostream.

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April 14, 2012   -30sC, brilliant sunshine, NW 10-15 kmph

Circumnavigation of Igloolik Island, 75 km. 3 hours with stops.

Team Arctic Cat headed out on a beautiful morning to explore. There are 3 of us with Arctic Cat snow machines.

The light for travelling was ideal. Lots of contrast for seeing broken ice, drifts of snow and avoiding them. The opposite condition is flat light where it is very difficult to see those hazards.

 We headed south out of town and with Peter and Elizabeth in the lead we followed the shoreline.

At the south tip of the island are many cabins. Apparently as summer approaches many families head out of town to their cabins and campsites. Some spots have been used by several generations of a family. They are a number of stretches of these seasonal camps scattered around the island.

As we rounded the SW tip of the island saw a line of 5 skidoos and 2 sleds heading across the sea ice to the mainland. 5 local women (some teacher and co-workers wives) were off on a what they called the “girls” trip to collect big blocks of ice from a particular lake about an hour away on the mainland. You see these large ice blocks in piles in front of many houses. The lake supposedly has always had the best drinking water – much better than the town water so people go out often to get ice blocks. For tea they go out with a hatchet and chip some off into a pot.

We headed into a small bay as we continued on. There was something tall sticking up on shore in front of some cabins. On the coast I would have guessed it was the roots of an old growth tree washed ashore. As we drove closer it became more obvious – part of a skull of a large bowhead whale.

Nearby were some ribs draped over an old kayak. The kayak had a remnant bit of hide left attached from it’s skin covering.

Due to the cold we didn’t linker too long. Lots of island left to explore.

Team Arctic Cat. At times it was hard to determine where the shoreline. Here it was easy. Keep large ice formations on one side and watch for glimpses of rocks poking through on the other side. We missed it this day but part way around is a carved grave stone and rockpile grave of one Perry’s expedition. Another trip. We did see a very unusual monument. A bulldozer down near the SE tip of the island.

The story is that 2 men headed out from Baffin Island some time in the 50s to cross Baffin and the sea ice to Igloolik Island a distance of 100s of kms. One went through the ice and one man was lost. The other made it to the end of Igloolik Island where it ran out of gas. And that is where it sits still today. Although not that far from the hamlet, it wasn’t refueled so it is another monument to an ill-fated expedition.

Pics Success

April 13, 2012  -42C this morning. Beautiful red sunset tonight.

Success! After 3 evenings of intermittent internet connection the phots are all uploaded. Check them out by clicking on the Flickr photostream link near the bottom of the page. Have a good weekend. Planning on circumnavigating Igloolik Island by skidoo with friends on Sunday so should have more to report then.

Storms, Travel and Hamlet Day

April 9, 2012         -35 C with 35 km/h NW wind, drifting snow, sunny.

Well it’s been a long time since I posted. The last few weeks have been remarkable. The learning opportunities have been abundant and very rewarding.

Storm days

In  mid March there were 3 days of blizzards which made it look doubtful for my leaving Igloolik to head to Missoula, Montana for an international workshop on bear-human conflict management. One of the half of the days were called as “storm days”. Basically the government services, the schools, the airport and the roads are shut down. The criteria generally requires conditions of colder than -50C and winds in excess of 70 km/h. See a few pictures that I took.

The morning I was to leave it was still windy and cold but considerably better. -43 C and 30-40 km/h winds.  A co-worker, Nico, had to head up to the Wildlife Section warehouse early to snowblow out the 1 meter deep drifts from in front of the warehouse bay door to get the truck to take me to the airport. I stayed by the phone waiting to hear from 1^st Air if the flight was going to make it in from Iqaluit. Amazingly for the first time in 3 days the plane showed. In fact two planes arrived to help deal with the backlog of people and cargo. The local grocery store shelves were showing gaps by this point. I and others had to wait in the terminal to get on the 2^nd plane. It was bloody cold in the terminal. Well below zero and the wind blew in along the cargo conveyer. But after an hour we were away and I was off on a week long road trip to Missoula.   

Igloolik to Missoula

Missoula Airport

Leg one took me from Igloolik to Iqaluit to Ottawa. Arriving in Ottawa was a shock. The temperature was 60 degrees warmer at a hot 23 C above. I’d arrived in summer. I hadn’t checked ahead so it was a bit surreal when I headed out for supper with my sister-in-law that evening in her convertible with the top down.  I had a layover the next day to further enjoy the warmth and then very early the next morning proceeded on to Missoula via Washington and Denver. With brief stops the travel time was 12 hours and the long trek from Igloolik was complete.

Missoula is set in foothills very much like the Porcupine Hills of S. Alberta where I grew up. The setting is beautiful and felt like arriving back in my original home landscape of ranch and farm country. The conference center is right on the river that flows through Missoula and at meals there were usually people fly fishing in front of the windows of the restaurant.

The workshop of was a gathering of an 300 people from the international world of bear-human conflict management. Jurisdictions ranged from Slovakia to New Jersey to Montana to Norway to BC to Alaska to Nunavut and many, many places imbetween. Charles Jonkel was there for the 3 days and he spoke about how the first such gathering was almost 50 years ago in the 60’s and there was himself and 3 others. The days were full of highly thought-provoking and instructive presentations, broken up with poster sessions, demonstrations of the latest prevention equipment and coffee break discussions. The were 2 evenings of talks. Further  debates, discussions and storytelling sessions occurred over drinks. Parks Canada was well represented and there were 2 of us from Nunavut. A good deal of the talks and poster sessions dealt with polar bears and people and I met many people from across the North who I will be working with as time goes on.

On the 3^rd sunny, cool day in Missoula a group of us hiked up a slope right behind the university that gave a great view of the valley and the campus. That evening was an Ian Stirling talk at the university on global warming and impacts on Arctic ecosystems.   

Homeward Bound

Time to reverse course starting with another full day of flying with back to back flights – Missoula – Denver – Chicago – Ottawa.  Still summer like in Ottawa +25 C. Up very early the next morning and off to Iqaluit. – 50s C and 40 km/h winds, so back on with the Canada Goose parka. Met Peter, a co-worker in the airport. He’d been there all day waiting to catch a plane home to Igloolik. He’d been travelling for 2 weeks in the high Arctic doing community consultations on caribou management. His trip plan called for being away for 1 week but the weather dictated a new plan that was 1 week longer. He slowly made his way back as far as Iqaluit when during breaks in the storms. The day before I saw Peter he’d departed Iqaluit for Igloolik only to arrive over a ground blizzard in Igloolik. The plane circled at elevation for 2 hours in the hopes of a break in the visibility on the ground. After 2 hours of circling the fuel ran low and they returned to Iqaluit making for a 10 hour flight. As it turned out Peter’s road trip was to continue for yet another 7 days.

Morning I flew out of Iqaluit there was a surprise visitor at the airport, an Air India 777 with a medical emergency. The wing of the plane was bigger than the plane I was getting on. It was -50C that morning. It would have been interesting to hear the comments of passengers about the landscape outside their windows.

Touch down in Igloolik and off to Western Hudson Bay

I stayed on a day in Iqaluit and learned from my supervisor that I’d be continuing my road trip with a tour of Western Hudson Bay communities. I’d have time to fly into Igloolik on a regular flight, have  lunch, get some fresh clothes and then hop on a charter to Rankin Inlet. When I met the charter Peter was on it and he had even less time to repack and get back to the airport.

The purpose of the charter trip was to present the encouraging results of Nunavut’s aerial survey of the WHB polar bear population in 2011. Over 4 evenings presentations were made to the Hunter and Trapper Organizations in Rankin Inlet, Arviat, Whale Cove and Chesterfield Inlet. The survey was an intensive effort to systematically survey polar bears when they were mostly congregated along the coastline of WHB from Ontario in the SE to Manitoba and north up to Chesterfield Inlet in Nuanvut. 8000 kilometers of transects were flown including the coast but also near shore islands, out to sea up to 50 km and inland up to 100 kms. The result was an estimated population of between 750 – 1400 bears with the statistically most likely number being around 1000 bears. An Environment Canada model predicted a population of around 650 bears for 2011 so the higher numbers are good news.

The news was not all good. Every community reported a trend of steadily increasing encounters and conflicts with polar bears. I also heard about issues with grizzlies as they extend their range north and east. Rabid foxes are the top issue at this point in the winter and Whale Cove had just sent a young boy out for treatment. I had the opportunity to meet key people in each community including HTO board members and COs along with the various people on our charter involved in polar bear research and management.   

I was an observer on the trip but I couldn’t have had a better introduction to the scope of the challenges for my program.

On the 5th day we landed back in Igloolik and I deplaned to head into work to finish off the day. Peter though got to run home very briefly and return to the plane and take off again for Iqaluit where the team met for 3 days on the further development of Nunavut’s polar bear management plan.

Hamlet Day In Igloolik

Arrived back in town in time to catch Hamlet Day which is a 1/2 day off for everyone. It is a celebration of Inuit culture and there are all manner of competitions to tests of strength, games, races, to the harpoon throw and igloo buildling. I watched amazed as one contestent built an igloo in about 20 minutes while everyone else were only a 1/3 to 1/2 done.

Easter Weekend skidoo trip – Igoolik to Hall Beach and back

In February and early March we made plans several time to pick up my snow machine that I purchased from the Co-op store in Hall Beach. Each time we had to abort as the temperature ended up being in the         -50s. Twice there ended up being rescues of hunters on days we’d hoped to go out on.

But this past Saturday was ideal. Friday was a gray day with flat light and flurries, but as forecast the weather cleared and moderated on Saturday. The sun gave good contrast for travelling and the temp was only around -20C with wind chill. I rode on the back of Peter’s machine and Theo offered to lead us there and he brought his qamutiiq to carry survival gear and fuel. We were set. The pictures show how good the conditions were. We stopped about ½ way a the high point on the 75 km route. Theo said in the darkness of winter you could see the lights of both Igloolik and Hall Beach from that point. It’s on top of an esker and there was a distinct trail in the snow from the repeated passage of arctic foxes. Theo said they like travelling the eskers and will den in them in the spring.

An hour and a half saw us pulling in to Hall Beach. I picked up my machine as Theo visited relatives. His family was one of 5 families that established the community of Hall Beach. On the way back we stopped about ½ way and he pointed out many black rectangular lumps sticking out of the snow. We were standing on the site of the sod house where Theo spent his first years. His family travelled by dog team into Iglloolik in Jan in the early 50s where he was born. A short time later the family with new baby returned to the sod house on this spot. They were eventually a family of 5. He said it never got below zero in the house with the body heat and the heat from the seal oil lamp. Theo then pointed out scattered rocks a short distance away along the shoreline. They were tent rings. When summer came they’d move into the tents. Between the 2 sites were the scattered remains of seals and walrus. You could also see pit depressions where they buried walrus meat to ferment.

The day was getting on so we carried on to do the last leg to Igloolik.  A remarkable and memorable day.  

As the days continue to get longer and warmer there will be more and more opportunity to get together with others from work to go exploring. I’m hoping for a trip to go ice fishing for char.

That brings things up date. Happy Easter all.       

April 6th, 2012 Back in Town

March has been very eventful with blizzards, frigid temps, a trip to Missoula Montana followed by a tour of Western Hudson Bay communities, rabid foxes and Igloolik Hamlet Day. Today I caught up on sorting pictures and Sunday I'll make a longer post. Tommorrow we're off down the coast 50 km by skidoo to pick up my snow machine. Weather looks good. Clear and some of the warmest temps yet. I'll try up load the pictures tonight. Happy Easter.

 

1st week of March, an Igloo tour and Feel you Inukness

Hi All

Check out this you tube. It's been the talk of CBC North and is guaranteed to make you smile. Enjoy.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cts=1331514081593&ved=0CCYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nunatsiaqonline.ca%2Fstories%2Farticle%2F65674feel_the_inukness_on_iqaluit_filmmakers_short_film%2F&ei=NEtdT4uQLc3C0AG0rdXqAQ&usg=AFQjCNEyqjncKBCs2hObV-Pf28XBAIqwng&sig2=JUocYfu_XWldqip7L6xkmg

It's been a few days past a month since the moving van loaded up my stuff in Tofino and this week I learned that my belongings have arrived in Ottawa. This is actually not bad. One of my co-workers waited for 3 months. The most challenging legs lay ahead so I'm not going to get my hopes up. My duffle bags took 2 weeks from Ottawa.

I'm very busy at work learning the intricacies of the purchasing process as fiscal year-end approaches. No field work this week. Theo, the CO here really wanted to get to Hall Beach, 50km away to attend to some work matters. I was hoping to go with him and maybe lay eyes on my new snow machine. It's waiting in storage at the co-op for me. The forecast for the week was in the mid -30s throughout but they are not able to predict windchill more than 1-2 days ahead. Theo said "if it warms up to warmer than -40 maybe we'll go for it". Every day the wind came up and plunged the temps to -45 to -52. The last hope day it wasn't too bad here but hit -60 in Hall Beach so that took care of that week.

The dramatic events of this past week involved a polar bear and a wolf. Arviat is down the coast from us on the western shore of Hudson Bay. In recent years it has proven to be a hotspot for polar bears. For my purchasing, the Arviat COs have requested many times more hazing rounds than anywhere else. The polar bears right now are supposed to be out on the sea ice hunting their preferred prey, seals well away from villages. Unexpectedly a young male showed up in Arviat and didn't leave again. The details will be following shortly. The bear encountered some young children right in town and was shot outside a house.

The other wildlife news has been reports of tracks and one possible sighting of a wolf around Igloolik. I asked Theo when the last time there were wolves around town. He thought for a moment and said it was a while ago. Specifically it was 1979 when a pack arrived in town and started killing dogs. 3 were shot.

Time will tell if there is a wolf around. I hope for it's sake it has continued travelling. Wolf fur is prized for parka trim.

As I write this there is quite a raucus of dogs howling and yipping in the dark. There is a team staked outside of town near our street. The most likely explanation is that their owner has shown up to feed them. I don't know the way the dogs normally bark but apparently they bark differently when wildlife is stirring them up. They've gone quiet now. If it was something odd, I'm sure I'll hear from Theo tomorrow.

Yesterday I went for a ramble for a couple of hours on the tundra close to town. Town itself always seems to be buzzing with activity, even late into the night. There are always snow machines zipping around, kids out playing road hockey, people walking to from the Co-op or Northern Store. As soon as you step out of town though you are suddenly in this immense, stark, open landscape. I wandered around for quite a while with no one else in sight out of town. Finally 2 people showed up. I was up on Cemetary Hill, the view is great up there and they appeared coming in from the direction of the sea ice driving snow machines and towing qamutiiks. Despite fresh arctic fox tracks everywhere, I couldn't spot a one. I glassed for a few minutes but needed to keep moving to stay warm. On my way down the hill I came across a strange looking snow drift which turned out to be an igloo of many colours. Check out the picture.

I've posted the pictures I took this past week as albums 5 and 6. You can see them by clicking on the Flickr Photostream link on the side of the blog page. I checked out 2 other igloos that are beside the High School. The High School is named after Theo's great-grandmother who is known for amongst other things, her survival skills including one tale of successfully fending off a pack of wolves. She was alone in an igloo with a pack trying to dig through the walls. As the opening grew she went after them with her ulu and after injuring several they decide to go elsewhere. He told some other hair raising stories about his great grandmother that I won't go into here but they are part of the lore in this region.

Beside the school are 2 igloos. One is very large and unfortunately when I went by the entrance was sealed off. Reportedly on the inside it is set up just how it would be for a family including sleeping benches covered with skins, a seal oil lamp and other camping equipment. The students and any resident are encouraged to sign up and spend a night in the igloo. I'm going to check into it once my camping gear shows up from Ottawa.

Some of the other pictures are from a night with a full moon, a morning of thick ice fog, a visit to the office by a family of local carvers, an evening where a family went by pushing/pulling a qamutiiq heavily loaded with furniture, some pics of the remains of 2 giant arctic beasts and finally some shots from my living room window.

Twice I've taken the excellent camera I received as a gift out on my walks. The only way I can use the camera is to keep the battery inside my parka and then quickly take off my gloves and pop it in to quickly get some shots before the cold kills the battery. Not the easiest arrangement so I will keep it indoors until warmer weather arrrives. My small camera I can keep inside my oversized skidoo glove which works well.

 That's all for this week. Have a good one and stay warm.

Bob 

Today's news. Igloolik hunters rescued when a piece of sea ice the size of Igloolik broke away and other news

Monday, March 05, 2012 – 12:30

CBC North Iqaluit Regional Radio English News

*Lead: Igloolik hunters rescued from drifting ice

2^nd:       Nunavut has two new judges

3^rd:          Facebook page credited with boosting Nunavut's economy

4^th:         GN says it's working on updating energy strategy                                     

5^th:          Sanikiluaq hunter encounters rabid fox

                                                                                                                                                                     

*Lead: Igloolik hunters rescued from drifting ice

(*Correction: The correct name of the S&R Coordinator is Celestino Uyarak)

                                                                                                                                  

Three hunters from Igloolik are safe after being rescued from drifting ice over the weekend. The three men used a satellite phone to call for help after realizing they were drifting away from the floe edge. Local searchers left Igloolik on Saturday evening to try to reach the men. *Celestino Uyarak is a search and rescue coordinator in Igloolik.

"They were about 6 miles off from the floe edge. And we noticed the ice was drifting a bit. So we had to do something. The best option was the airlift. We couldn't use a boat because of the coldness and weather, movement of the waters."

Uyarak says a helicopter used by a mining company was able to come from Hall Beach to rescue the hunters. He says the three men were a bit cold but otherwise in good condition. They had to leave two snowmobiles and all their hunting equipment on the floating ice.

2^nd: Nunavut has two new judges

                                                                                                                                  

People who work in Nunavut's legal system are preparing for change today. Two new judges to the territory were appointed late Friday afternoon by the federal Justice Minister. Andrew Mahar and Bonnie Tulloch take over their new positions immediately. Peter Harte is a defence lawyer in Cambridge Bay. He says the new judges will help Nunavut's legal system run more smoothly.

"More important than anything else, both of these judges have a terrific work ethic. And Nunavummiut can rest assured they're going to get great service from these new judges."

Andrew Mahar has worked as a defence lawyer in Iqaluit for more than a decade. Before that he practiced law in Yellowknife and was the Director of the Kitikmeot Law Centre in Cambridge Bay. Bonnie Tulloch started working as a Crown prosecutor in Iqaluit in 2004. Before that she worked with the Nunavut Legal Services Board and the Keewatin Legal Services Centre. As judges, Mahar and Tulloch will be based in Iqaluit, which means Nunavut now has six resident judges.

3^rd: Facebook page credited with boosting Nunavut's economy

                                                                                                                                  

An auction group selling Inuit arts and crafts on Facebook has gone viral. Since it popped up in November, its membership has exploded to well over 7,000. And the page is now being credited with boosting the territory's economy with a little help from the south. Xueying Fan explains.

Liz Fulumeiter (sp) lives near Toronto. She's never been up north. But that hasn't stopped her from splurging on items on Iqaluit Facebook auction bids group.

"I bought a couple of carvings. I've also got some kamiks that I purchased and a hat."

In four short months the page has drawn more than 7,000 members. David Alexander created the group.

"The average normal cost of kamiks were running I'd say my guess is anywhere from low as 200 to 500. And now it's going as high as 1,500 now."

Alexander estimates this drives the wages of seamstresses up more than 50 per cent. And customers like Fulumeiter aren't fretting.

"When you're buying direct from the people who are making them, and it's worth it to support them."

This also supports local business owners. Lori Idlout is the owner of Carvings Nunavut.

"We've definitely seen more interest in items that are usually seen on that page."

She says the group hasn't negatively impacted her store sales - that the market for Inuit art is only growing. Xueying Fan, CBC News, Iqaluit

4^th: GN says it's working on updating energy strategy

                                                                                                                                  

The Government of Nunavut says it's working on updating its energy strategy, but no one knows when it will be done. At the Legislative Assembly on Friday, some MLAs were urging the government to reduce its reliance on imported gas and diesel. Tagak Curley is the MLA for Rankin Inlet North.

Curley says that with the increasing global demand for oil and rising prices, Nunavummiut will have to pay more for oil and gas in the future. He says the government needs to find efficient solutions.

5^th: Sanikiluaq hunter encounters rabid fox

Many Nunavummiut have been reporting rabid foxes around their communities this winter. And it's the same in Sanikiluaq. Moses Apakaq Sr. says he came across two this winter while out hunting. And one got pretty close to him.

He says he was shoveling snow off the end of his fishing net when a fox approached and started to attack him. He hit it with a shovel several times and finally the person he was hunting with shot it. Apakaq says he has heard of a lot of dogs that have been bitten and had to be destroyed.

First work trip onto the frozen land and seascape

-51C and clear. 26kmph wind. 

 

I went out with the local Conservation Officer. He was part of the expedition in the 1980s with dog teams to Greenland. He has done other expeditions and is a living legend in the Arctic. I couldn't have a better teacher and mentor. Our first stop was a summer camping area that had a walrus meat cache last Fall. We also visited where he and 2 friends were attacked by a polar bear. The bear had him by the hand at one point. As his friend distracted the bear with a hammer he got his opportunity to shoot the bear before he could do more damage to his friend. 

 

A bit surreal to be out on the barrengrounds following him tearing along by skidoos across this very dramatic frozen land and seascape. He is a real joker. He always has a smile and is always pulling your leg. We continued on to where his extended family camps and hunts and fishes out of in the summer. His family walrus caches are in an electric fence or are covered with heavy wire. They are all empty now but both measures seemed to work at that site when they did have meat. We cruised even further to check the furthest camping area and fence. There were amazing ice formations/natural sculptures - some were 2-3 meters high. See the one behind me in the picture.

 

Ran into a complication when we turned for home. I had many layers of clothing and had been very comfortable heading out - no exposed skin anywhere as you can see in the picture. As soon as we turned back to towards town and into the wind, my ski goggles fogged up, and then quickly froze up on the inside of the lens. I finally had to stop when I could no longer see. I could only see him as a black dot ahead of me. He pulled up beside one of the electric fence sites and I headed straight toward the blurry image of him and proceeded to run over the fence which I couldn't see through my googles. I quickly stopped once I heard something odd. He thought this was hilarious and it was. I'm the one who has to put the fences back up in the summer so I'll have a bit of extra work there.

 

There was solid layer of ice on the inside. He thought it was due to the peaked insulated hat I was wearing. I bought it at Mount Washington and I thought it'd be perfect. It has full ear flaps. He thought the baseball type peak was causing my moist breathe to recirculate around my face and caused the icing. Any ways I ran the rest of the way back, only about 1/2 an hour with no googles. By tightening up the park hood around my face that worked just fine.

 

So the learning about how to travel on the land and frozen sea has begun. It was a great first trip. The scenery as we sped along surrounded by ice formations and drifting snow is something I'll remember for a long time.