In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday that the spark ignited for what was to become the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources. 10 years later and UINR is the Mi’kmaq voice on natural resources and the environment in Unama’ki.

UINR is a unique and effective partnership of state-of-the art marine science and traditional Mi’kmaq knowledge. We work on a wide range of  management plans – moose, salmon and lobster – and we lead partnerships with other agencies and government departments. Our Natural Resource Officer program will be a model for effective First Nations’ enforcement.

It’s been a busy 10 years!

We have plans to celebrate our Anniversary throughout 2009 – a new website, multimedia interviews with our staff and a few parties too!

Another winter has arrived and, as it is with every season, it brings changes. All the Mi’kmaq communities in Unama’ki elected their Chiefs and Councils for the next two-year term. Cape Breton municipalities have elected their mayors, wardens and councils and, federally, we have a new order in Ottawa.

At UINR, these changes mean a new group of people to contact and inform about our activites and parnerships and an opportunity to welcome the newest member to our Board of Directors, Kenny Basque from Potlotek. Around the office we are welcoming Tonia Sylliboy who has set up a UINR office in Potlotek to coordinate Species at Risk for the whole province.

In this month’s UINR Marten issue, we give you a closeup look at one of the new species that has entered the Bras d’Or Lakes – the tunicate. It is threatening our native species like oyster and eels and has been found on eel grass, covering boating gear, oyster shells, etc. It could become a real problem.

UINR is taking an active role in preserving the Malagawatch graveyard that is having a terrible erosion problem. We discovered a huge piece of the bank eroded, uncovering an unusual stone wall. We have scientists and archaeologists looking closely to find out what has been uncovered and we are developing a plan to help slow the erosion of this important Mi’kmaq site.

charlie@uinr.ca

From UINR Marten – Vol.4. Issue.4 – Winter 2008

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Management of our commercial fisheries involves a complex range of techniques and strategies including scientific, resource, commercial, and market information. The main mechanism for communication between governments and industry is through advisory and various other fisheries committees and groups. Attendance at these meetings is critical to full participation in co-management of the fisheries.

UINR’s overall objective is to increase participation by member communities in the management and direction of integrated fisheries. Our Commercial Fisheries Liaison Coordinator attends meetings of Integrated Fisheries Management, Commercial Fishery Advisory Committee, and other related meetings and activities.

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The UINR forestry division strives for an environmentally sound way to use our natural resources while creating employment for members of our communities and further strengthening relationships between local industry and Mi’kmaq people.

In 2002, an agreement  was signed between Stora Enso (now NewPage) and UINR outlining provisions for forestry management services to be carried out by UINR on Cape Breton crown lands. This management includes forest planning, harvesting and silviculture. The contract gives UINR access to act as a contractor and harvest up to 10% of the annual allowable cut  on Cape Breton with a potential increase in the harvest volume.

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Moose have provided much to the Mi’kmaq through the years. The Mi’kmaq way of resource management includes a spiritual element that ties the people to the plants, animals and the environment as a whole. A Moose Management Plan will put into practice the responsibilities that accompany Mi’kmaq treaty rights.

UINR has the responsibility to create a moose management plan for the moose in Unama’ki. UINR is mandated to implement this plan with the support of the Mi’kmaq Grand Council and the Unama’ki Council of Elders. Further development and long-term acceptance of this initiative is supported by Mi’kmaq leadership and by resolution of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Chiefs.

UINR works closely with the Mi’kmaq community and its leadership, along with representatives of the federal and provincial governments, to develop a plan that is supported by the Kwilmuk Maw-klusuaqn, Mi’kmaq Rights Initiative.

The Moose Management Initiative developed as a result of a partnership between UINR, the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, and Parks Canada.

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At the soul of everything we do at UINR is Netukulimk.

Netukulimk is the use of the natural bounty provided by the Creator for the self-support and well-being of the individual and the community. Netukulimk is achieving adequate standards of community nutrition and economic well-being without jeopardizing the integrity, diversity, or productivity of our environment.

As Mi’kmaq we have an inherent right to access and use our resources and we have have a responsibility to use those resources in a sustainable way.  The Mi’kmaq way of resource management includes a spiritual element that ties together people, plants, animals, and the environment. UINR’s strength is in our ability to integrate scientific research with Mi’kmaq knowledge acquisition, utilization, and storage.

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UINR’s Natural Resource Officer (NRO) program began in 2006, evolving out of the 1990 Unama’ki Guardian Program.

The original Guardian Program is managed by the individual bands. UINR’s NRO project will allow coordinated work plans and targeted training under our NRO Coordinator to ensure our enforcement and conservation goals succeed.

In an effort to increase Mi’kmaq involvement in enforcement, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and UINR established a pilot that trained 2 Mi’kmaq DFO officers, who have been assigned to the Unama’ki region to work in collaboration with UINR on issues of concern to our Mi’kmaq communities.

Check back to this section on a regular basis to see if there are job opportunities, scholarships or other opportunities.

Whenever there is an opening at UINR or if there is a new project that is looking for staff, we post it here!

Across Canada over 50,000 forestry jobs have been lost over the last few years. Demand for paper and lumber is declining and unless changes are made, the 270,000 jobs remaining in forestry will be jeopardized.

Mark MacPhail, UINR’s Directory of Forestry believes that despite gloomy predictions there is hope for the industry and a new understanding of the forest as a whole. To drive that point home, UINR is hosting a one-day workshop: “Tetapuo’tmnej Nipukt–Making the Most of Our Hardwood Resources” on Tuesday March 30.

“Our workshop looks at ways we can blend traditional wood production with new uses to get maximum value from every tree. For thousands of years the Mi’kmaq used the forests in a sustainable and diverse way. We need to revisit these methods and return to a balance in the way we treat our forests.”

A diverse selection of workshop speakers include author and forester Jamie Simpson, Mi’kmaq basket makers Caroline Gould and Ursula Johnson, instrument maker Otis Thomas, woodturner Hugh Ross, herb crafter Cecila Brooks, renowned canoe builder Todd Labrador and sawmill owner David Fraser.

“The forest sustains us, we do not sustain the forest,” says Jamie Simpson, our workshop’s keynote speaker. Author of Restoring the Acadian Forest, Jamie believes that we need to return our forests to their natural, original state. Jamie holds a Master of Science in Forestry degree and has a wealth of experience as a logger and forest management planner. He is Forestry Program Coordinator for the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax and he has a wealth of experience in forest ecology, land conservation and low-impact logging.

Registration for the one-day workshop is free but attendance is limited to 40 attendees. Register today by emailing your name and contact information to: info@uinr.ca

Winter is here, but so far it’s not like any winter in recent memory. Climate change is definitely having its effect and at UINR, we are watching things very closely. One of our major concerns is the erosion at Malagwatch cemetary. We are taking an active role in preserving this culturally sensitive site that is so important to our Mi’kmaq community.
Coastal erosion is a hot topic around the province, The storm surge early this year is just the beginning. We are now seeing frequent storms that were at one time a rare occurrence. The risks associated with climate change are now being felt and all predictions are that this is only the tip of the iceburg.
It is clear that protecting our vunerable coast line is going to take a cooperative approach from all levels of government. UINR’s work with the Bras d’Or Lakes Collaborative Environmental Planning Initiative is an excellent model of all levels of government–First Nations, municipalities, provincial and federal departments–working together to achieve a common goal, the preservation and protection of the Bras d’Or Lakes.
In the new issue of UINR Marten we pay special tribute to Clifford Paul, our Moose Management Coordinator. In my early days at UINR I was heavily involved in the study of moose and it is great to see the progress that we have made in protecting and regulating this important resource.

Georges Bank is an important fishing area located between Cape Cod and Sable Island. Under the jurisdiction of both Canada and the United States, Georges Bank is a productive spawning area for fish, shellfish, marine animals and seabirds.

Map: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Unama’ki’s five Mi’kmaq bands have commercial access to Georges Bank and fishes or have licenses for groundfish, tuna, swordfish and scallops in the areas that could be negatively affected if an oil spill occurs. Profits from fishing are returned to each community to fund infrastructure, housing, education, public works, social assistance, community services, health services, community recreation, youth and Elder outreach, suicide prevention, addiction support, counselling, policing and job creation.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, oil companies drilled ten exploratory wells in Georges Bank that yielded no oil. Soon after, Canada and the United States signed a moratorium on oil exploration and production to ensure fisheries conservation. That moratorium is set to expire at the end of 2012. Now oil companies want to do more seismic testing or drill more exploratory wells to search for reserves that may be deeper.

Hubert Nicholas, Commercial Fisheries Coordinator with Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR) explains, “Offshore oil exploration could jeopardize the financial benefits that Mi’kmaq communities enjoy from the fishery. We have begun to make changes in our communities to make the lives of our community members better. We are concerned that if something were to go wrong with offshore gas exploration, it would affect the species that live there as well as in the Bay of Fundy and Eastern Nova Scotia. While oil companies claim that they are safe, oil spills continue to occur and have a devastating effect on the environment.”

Lisa Young, Executive Director at UINR, feels that the importance of the species and the environment should not be overlooked. “As Mi’kmaq we have an inherent right to access and use our resources and a responsibility to use them in a sustainable way. The Mi’kmaq way of resource management includes a spiritual element that ties together people, plants, animals, and the environment. We have been responsible stewards of the environment for thousands of years and we never under-estimate the inherent importance of every species.”

UINR is an active member in NORIGS3, a coalition of aboriginal groups, fishermen, processors and environmentalists that are working to extend the moratorium and protect the fisheries and the environment. NORIGS3 is working with Fisheries and Oceans Canada as it develops a “State of the Knowledge Report,” summarizing new information that has come to light since the moratorium was established. NORIGS3 is particularly concerned that issues from First Nation’s communities are not being adequately addressed in the report. UINR feels that the potential benefits from oil explorations are small in comparison to the the importance of the fisheries in Atlantic Canada and the United States.

NORIGS3 is encouraging federal and provincial Ministers of fisheries, environment and energy to use the 1999 panel report that set the groundwork for the moratorium as a starting point to decide if the risks and recommendations outlined in the report should be re-examined, or whether the moratorium should be extended for another ten-year period. If the Ministers decide there have been significant changes, they should initiate another impartial review panel that would be responsible for collecting relevant scientific information, coordinating further research and holding consultation sessions to gain public input before producing further recommendations on the moratorium beyond 2012.

Hubert concludes, “The fisheries in Georges Bank are important to the people of Unama’ki and our concern extends to the environmental consequences that oil exploration and production could have on the area. We feel that the benefits we now enjoy from the fisheries and the importance of the area to the species that live there greatly outweigh any perceived benefit that drilling for oil would have.”

hubert@uinr.ca