Page 14 - Sphere No.12 (Aug 2004)

C O M M U N I T Y
scientist would. On the other hand,
we are forced into situations where you
need to act based on the information you
have, even if you feel you don’t have
enough information. It is like a patient
coming into a hospital and you don’t
know what is wrong. At some point you
need to try something. It’s a mix between
rational rigour and naïve passion.”
Spencer Shepherd, Alberta Develop-
ment Manager for Ducks
Unlimited Canada
(DUC), is equally
committed to
making a dif-
ference, in
this case
conserving
wetlands
and water-fowl that inhabit them.
“DUC is the largest environmental not-
for-profit group in Canada,” he says. “We
absolutely believe in the resource.”
Wetlands are a very important part of
the western Canadian ecosystem, filtering
water and playing a sustaining role in the
lives of 80% of all the plant, animal, fish
and bird species that live in Alberta.
Husky’s relationship with DUC
demonstrates how industry and a not-
for-profit group can achieve mutually
beneficial goals.
Husky is a major leaseholder of the
rights to drill for oil and gas in Western
Canada. To gain access, the company
must acquire surface or access rights
from landowners or from those who
have caveats on the land. By working
with organisations such as DUC, Husky
hopes to increase its ability to produce
oil and gas on the reserves with reduced
environmental impact and increased
community awareness and support.
Whether it’s the wetlands of the south
where waterfowl can seem numerous
beyond belief or the densely forested
areas of the north, home of the wood-
land caribou, getting out of the cities is
a spectacular reminder of the world that
surrounds us.
For companies in the oil and gas
industry, it can also be a reminder of the
capacity to impact and influence even
the most remote areas.
Vast herds of caribou once roamed
Alberta’s wilderness. But throughout the
20th century the caribou population
dropped steadily, and by 1984 the
Committee on the Status of Endangered
Wildlife in Canada classified
them as threatened.
Currently, it is thought that there are
only around 6,700 left in Alberta. If
numbers continue to decline, caribou
could be gone in our lifetime. There are
various reasons to explain the dropping
numbers, but the greatest threat comes
from an unlikely alliance between wolves
and man.
When areas of the vast northern
Alberta wilderness were cleared for
farming, logging or oil and gas explo-
ration, corridors were opened that made
it easier for predatory wolves to roam
and satisfy their hungry stomachs with
caribou meat.
The Right Thing
Having identified the problem, Husky and
other companies took steps to correct the
imbalance. As a result, the Caribou Range
Restoration Project (CRRP) was created.
It is comprised of eight oil and gas com-
panies, including Husky, and is partially
funded by the Canadian government.
Its goal is to help restore healthy cari-
bou numbers by reducing the factors that
SPHERE 12