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NRBS - Home Table of Contents		Northern River Basins Study Final Report Preamble Stretching from the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia to the northern plains of Saskatchewan to the shores of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, the Peace, Athabasca and Slave River basins encompass an area of immeasurable value. Together, they cover an area greater than Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and New Brunswick combined, and support a wide expanse of relatively unharvested, aspen-dominated boreal forest. They also host two large freshwater deltasótraditional havens for wildlife and migrating waterfowl. These northern basins are still viewed by many as the "last frontier" where traditional lifestyles and cultural values can survive and prevail. Some residents believe that this way of life is being compromised to serve another societal goal; that of growing economic development. Others feel that growing economic development is a natural, desirable and justifiable process. The basins are rich in resources, predominantly oil, oil sands, natural gas, coal, commercial fish and fur, productive soils and forest products. These resources must be managed wisely to protect the environment and support the continued use of renewable resources. The Northern River Basins Study (NRBS) initiated research and gathered basic information to better understand the cumulative impacts of development. Simply put, what is the combined effect of all forms of development on the natural aquatic ecosystem? This basic question leads to a series of concerns that science must address. These concerns include the accumulation of contaminants over time and space, the effect of contaminants and nutrients on the aquatic ecosystem, and the combined effect of a number of environmental stressors on the quantity and quality of fish and water. The NRBS endeavoured to address these and other related concerns with a view to promoting wise management of the basins' resources. The Study adopted a fresh approach to both science and process. An innovative and practical science program was geared to answer 16 environmental questions that reflected societal concerns and scientific needs. The information required to answer these questions was then grouped under eight headings, each to form a component of the Study and each supported by expertise from universities, governments, industry and the private sector. A high level of coordination among these groups resulted in an integrated and flexible research program that minimized overlapping activities.
NRBS - Home Table of Contents Top of Page		Another strength of the Study was the meaningful inclusion of traditional environmental knowledge in the science program. The NRBS Board negotiated a formal agreement with the Grand Council of Treaty 8 First&nbps;Nations for researchers to collect information and chronicle the traditional environmental knowledge of many native peoples residing within the basins. Their knowledge, combined with those of other traditional and local residents, has extended the reach of the scientific information-gathering processóproviding insights into the influence of human activities. Every attempt was made to employ a comprehensive approach in the program designóone that recognizes the complex interrelationships between land, air, water, living organisms and human inhabitants of the basins. Recognizing limits to time, finances and mandate, the research program was focused on the three rivers and their main tributaries. Apart from being ecosystems in their own right, rivers act as "integrators" within the larger ecosystem. If one can imagine the ecosystem as a living organism, then flowing waters like the rivers are its veins and arteriesósupporting life and transporting nutrients and wastes between its various components. In this way, patterns of development are reflected in the rivers. The Study included approximately 150 project reports. A series of synthesis reports summarized these findings in the context of current and background information related to the impact of human activities on the basins. This report builds upon that base to make recommendations for future management of the basins. Taken together, the NRBS reports are a benchmark statement of the present state of the rivers and what steps should be taken to preserve their value as ecological resources.

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