Parks Canada is weighing whether to allow an energy company to expand natural gas operations at a national historic site and burial ground in western Alberta, where fur trading once thrived and explorers gathered to seek passage to the Pacific Ocean.The Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site is home to remnants of four fur-trading posts established between 1799 and 1875 by rival traders, the Hudson Bay Company and North West Company. How many bodies are buried in the area is not exactly known, but petroleum-related construction in 1969 led to the discovery of 14 people in a dozen graves – a finding that spurred stronger archaeological and cultural protection.
Now, four decades after the federal government purchased the 233-hectare piece of Canadian history, its parks agency is faced with the question of whether to grant oil and gas producer Devon Canada approval to build a 700-metre pipeline that would cut beneath the historic site and potentially disturb unmarked graves.
The firm wants to construct the pipeline to feed more natural gas to a processing plant built before the federal government became responsible for the historic site. Devon has drafted measures to limit land disruption, but concerns are starting to spring over its little-known proposal.
A local historian who fought to save the interpretive centre from closing in 2005 wants assurances the pipeline won’t affect artifacts and tourism. And a prominent member of Alberta’s Métis community is worried about the prospect of disturbing the dead.
Both aboriginals and European settlers are buried in this stretch of grassland about 230 kilometres southwest of Edmonton.
“The Métis Nation would be very concerned about the unearthing of any bones or remains of people in that area,” said Muriel Stanley Venne, a former vice-president with the Métis Nation of Alberta. “This is about the sacredness of the bodies and the need to recognize these areas where Métis lived and exist.”
Parks Canada is accepting public input on the pipeline proposal until Wednesday. Devon completed an environment screening of the project last month.
It’s unknown how long the government review will take. Parks Canada will examine what effect pipeline construction could have on archaeological resources and the burial ground before deciding whether it should go ahead.
“The project will not be allowed to proceed unless the determination is that there are no significant adverse cultural or ecological effects,” said Sheila Luey, a land planning manager with Parks Canada’s Banff Field Unit.
Instead of digging a trench, Devon proposes to use a horizontal directional drill to tunnel through the earth and install the pipeline. It has used this drilling technique many times before to cross creeks and other environmentally sensitive areas, said Mladen Trzok, leader of facilities construction for Devon Canada.
“It’s a proven technology,” he added, noting it greatly reduces the amount of land disturbed on the surface.
At a depth of 24 metres, Devon believes the pipeline would be too deep to encounter any skeletons or artifacts. The company plans to carry out an archaeological study before beginning work and would halt construction if a grave was discovered, Mr. Trzok said.
Local historian Pat McDonald said it appears Devon’s proposal would have minimal effect on the federally protected area, but added a careful review is needed to ensure its historical value isn’t harmed.
This is the first time Devon has sought to expand the pipeline network beneath the historic site since taking over the oil and gas processing plant about a decade ago. Long before the area became a hub for energy activity, it was a significant fur-trading post.
It was also a destination for 19th-century explorers such as David Thompson, who plotted treks westward through the mountains to map safe routes to the Pacific Ocean.
The Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site has in the past suffered from neglect and poor tourism numbers, but a public campaign to save it from closing in 2005 prompted the federal government to inject $3-million to revamp visitor facilities and interpretive displays.
“We have one of the greatest historical sites in all of Canada,” Mr. McDonald said. “We need to protect it.”
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Source: Globe&Mail
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