Eskasoni Fish and Wildlife Commission voted Economic Developer of the Year

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An Aboriginal conservation company in Nova Scotia was thrilled to win CANDO'S top award-Economic Developer of the Year.

The Eskasoni Fish and Wildlife Commission was selected from among four Aboriginal economic development organizations presented with Recognition Awards.

"We were glad when we were told that we won," said Charlie Dennis, executive director of Eskasoni Fish and Wildlife Commission. "It means that we are doing a good job in what we are doing," he said.

Situated on the Eskasoni reserve in Nova Scotia, the Eskasoni Fish and Wildlife Commission houses a group of fish and wildlife conservationists. The group does environmental studies, conservation studies and animal studies at the facilities.

When Georgia Pacific Canada Limited, a gypsum mining company, approached Eskasoni's Fish and Wildlife Commission for consultation on environmental issues, the five Cape Breton chiefs sat down with them to discuss protection of sacred sites and environmentally safe procedures.

"Georgia Pacific already has three gypsum mines in Nova Scotia. They were planning to start up a third mine. This is the first time they've ever asked us Aboriginal people for our input, so we were glad that they approached us and that we were able to consult with them on environmental issues," said Dennis. "We recommended where the mine site should be; we also recommended changes in the location of the mine to make sure that the habitat around that area was protected," he said.

The chiefs went on to sign an agreement with Georgia Pacific, which gave it the right of contract work and contained a royalty clause for all natural resources that are mined in the area.

"We want to make sure that we do the best we can in keeping our hunting and fishing areas as safe as possible for our people," said Dennis. "We employ a number of the Aboriginal people in our area," he added. Of the four trained biologists on staff, three are Aboriginal.

The conservation group, which started in 1991, was formerly called Aboriginal Fisheries. Its goal was to do research on the environment and natural habitat of the region.

Now they allot fishing tags to Aboriginal fishermen in the area and have an oyster farm. They are also conducting a salmon study, and a lobster study is underway. Out of the royalty money gained through the Georgia Pacific agreement, Eskasoni Fish and Wildlife Commission will create an institute known as the Unamaki Institute of Natural Resources, which will be the first Aboriginal marine research and development laboratory. This move also has the potential to create even more resource economy for the Aboriginal people in the area.

"Right now we have a number of people employed in all of the areas in our company," said Dennis. "We are finding it successful.We are not experiencing any problems in the work areas," he said.

The Eskasoni reserve, situated on the Bras d' Ors lake, is home to more than 4,000 people. The lake, the largest in Atlantic Canada, is located 57 km east of Sydney.