The Inuvialuit Land Administration (ILA) held a Permafrost Workshop in Inuvik, N.W.T., from 24–27 February. It was attended by about 65 people in person with several more on line. The workshop was organized by the ILA and the Northwest Territories Geological Survey (NTGS). It was co-chaired by Hans Lennie (ILA) and Steve Kokelj (NTGS), supported by Tim Ensom, Jennifer Humphries, and Kumari Karunaratne of GNWT. The principal purpose of the workshop was to understand the views and perspectives held by those interested in permafrost throughout the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) in order to help permafrost research and monitoring better serve Inuvialuit needs. The ISR is an area where much visible change in the permafrost environment is apparent, especially in coastal erosion and development of thaw slumps. The threats to coastal communities’ infrastructure and the quality of the landscape and freshwater are front-of-mind for many in the region. The legacies of petroleum exploration, represented by the 223 sumps in the ISR, are a major management concern for the ILA.
The workshop was attended by many Inuvialuit representatives of boards and committees in the ISR. The workshop began with activities designed to help participants get to know each other and break the ice. Soon the room was buzzing with conversation. Then followed some overview talks and a panel discussion to set the scene and provide scientific and administrative context for the meeting. The second day was dominated by presentations on activities by researchers and agencies that indicated the need for permafrost knowledge. One key comment that day was that “we need to remember what we already know.” It is so easy to forget the results of past research when people are caught up in present activities and administration. The third day was focused on discerning the important areas where activity and work is needed in the short term, and the fourth to assigning relative priority to these tasks. Two key conclusions were (1) that the region “needs more Douggies”, that is more people like Douglas Esagok who have long experience with working alongside scientists and can interpret scientific results for community members; and that (2) a wholistic approach to the permafrost environment is needed to address the priorities of land users, which may not be the same as for individual scientists. In particular, to understand effects on the ability of streams to sustain fisheries and on the land to support habitat for caribou, moose, and other species harvested as part of the Inuvialuit way of life.
The workshop followed the North Yukon Permafrost Conference of 2022 in being accessible to all participants and including plenty of time for discussion in small groups. It was an enjoyable and stimulating meeting for all attendees and will likely be repeated in a year or two, as part of the ILA’s activities. The workshop was sponsored by several agencies and governments, especially Polar Knowledge Canada, the ILA, GNWT, Aurora College, and PermafrostNet.
Provided by: Christopher Burn, Steve Kokelj, Humphries Jennifer, Tim Ensom
