Conducting a post impact assessment of a geotechnical test    location at Oo’in in the Gwich’in Settlement Area.

The 2004 program marks the third field season on the Mackenzie Gas Project.  A consortium comprised of Imperial Resources Ventures Ltd., the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, ConocoPhillips Canada Ltd., Shell Canada Limited, and ExxonMobil Canada Properties Ltd is proposing the project.

At present, the project includes plans to develop: natural gas production facilities at Taglu, Parsons Lake, and Niglintgak; a gathering system that will collect the natural gas and associated gas liquids from these three fields and transport them to facilities in the Inuvik area; a natural gas liquids pipeline from the Inuvik area to Norman Wells; a natural gas pipeline (the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline) from the Inuvik area south via Norman Wells that will connect to an existing pipeline in northwest Alberta allowing access to the market; and a number of infrastructure locations that will be required to support the construction and continued operation of the pipeline. 

A team of archaeologists from MPEG (the Mackenzie Project Environment Group) conducted the 2004 archaeological field program.  As the program is wide spread along the Mackenzie Valley numerous local assistants were also involved with the fieldwork and included:

• Inuvialuit Region: Dennis Chicksi, Tommy Chicksi, Robert McLeod, James Rogers
• Gwich’in Area: Julie Ann Andre, Andy Andre, Anna May MacLeod
• K’ahsho Got’ine Sahtu Area: Alfred Orleas, Alfred Masazumi
• Tulita Sahtu Area: Peter Horassi
• Pehdzeh Ki First Nation - Deh Cho Region: George Tally, William Williams
• Trout Lake Dene Band -  Deh Cho Region: Fred Jumbo, Ron Kotchea
• Liidlii Kue First Nation - Deh Cho Region: Edward Cholo
• Jean Marie River First Nation - Deh Cho Region: Derrick Norwegian, Raymond Minoza, Darran Gorgon

Investigations at a potential borrow source in the K'ahsho Got'ine District of the Sahtu Settlement Area.

The 2004 field program was focused primarily on a number of potential infrastructure and granular resource extraction sites that are situated along roughly 1,400 kilometres of proposed pipeline route stretching from the tip of the Mackenzie Delta to the Alberta border.  The primary goal of the 2004 program was to conduct heritage resource impact investigations at newly proposed sites as well as to further investigate sites that could not be assessed in 2003 due to snow cover.  Reconnaissance level investigations were also conducted for several pipeline re-routes in locations that were considered to be of moderate to high potential for heritage resources.  A number of post-impact assessments were also conducted in areas that were with a winter drilling program that was completed in the winter of 2003/2004.  Two crews of three people including a local assistant completed the investigations.  Ground based assessments were conducted at over 100 locations resulting in the discovery of 20 new heritage resource sites over a period of 30 days.  Thirteen previously recorded heritage sites were also re-visited.

Both prehistoric and historic sites were recorded as a result of these investigations.  All of the prehistoric sites identified during the 2004 field program are comprised of stone flakes and other debris resulting from the manufacture of stone tools.  Historic period sites were more common and include a number of trails, traplines, cabins, and camps that are primarily related to traditional land use.