First Nation urges Manitoba Hydro to change river diversion to save sturgeon population

A northern First Nation is calling on Manitoba Hydro to alter operations of a river diversion to save the sturgeon population.

A northern First Nation is calling on Manitoba Hydro to alter operations of a river diversion, which it says has “severely impacted” the sturgeon population and their habitat in the lower Churchill River.

On Thursday, Tataskweyak Cree Nation—located in Split Lake, roughly 125 kilometres northeast of Thompson—released findings from independent researchers it hired in 2018 to assess whether the Crown corporation’s operation of the Churchill River Diversion (CRD) contributed to the population decline.

A joint environmental report by Halket Environmental Consultants Inc. and AAE Tech Services Inc. concluded that altered flow regimes caused by the CRD have “driven the collapse of lake sturgeon populations.”

The report notes that diverting more than 90 per cent of the river’s natural flow for extended periods has “drastically reduced” the availability of suitable habitat, while irregular flow surges and drops have created a “highly unpredictable hydrological environment to which the downstream ecosystem cannot adapt.”

The CRD began operating in 1976 and diverts water from the Churchill River to the Nelson River basin, according to the province, increasing water flow to generating stations on the Burntwood River and the lower Nelson River. These generation stations account for about 75 per cent of power generation in the province, the province notes.

“Right now, the Churchill River Diversion works against nature,” said Tataskweyak Chief Doreen Spence during a news conference.

“All animals have a rhythm. The river has a rhythm. The diversion operates in opposition to that rhythm, and Manitoba Hydro must operate the diversion in sync with the natural flow regime of the river for the sturgeon to survive,” Spence said.

Tataskweyak Cree Nation also released studies on sturgeon movement patterns and a population assessment on the species in the Churchill River, conducted by AAE Tech Services Inc., an environmental consultant organization.

The environmental report recommends specific flow adjustments to rehabilitate the sturgeon population and the lower Churchill River ecosystem, involving a gradual seasonal increase and decrease.

Additional recommendations to restore the sturgeon population include reintroducing the species upstream of the diversion, constructing a fish passage facility, and establishing a long-term monitoring program for the species.

Lake sturgeon has been designated as an endangered species in the lower Churchill River by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, the report says.

Tataskweyak Cree Nation placed a moratorium on sturgeon fishing in the mid-2010s, according to a news release.

In a statement from Manitoba Hydro, the Crown corporation said it has worked with the First Nation to study lake sturgeon populations in the Churchill River, including providing it with $1.5 million since 2018 to undertake its own research.

“(Tataskweyak Cree Nation’s) research, like that previously undertaken by Manitoba Hydro, indicates there is a stable lake sturgeon population at the confluence of the Churchill and Little Churchill rivers,” the statement reads in part.

The Crown corporation said it has always operated the CRD in full compliance with its licence conditions, adding that it just received the technical reports and cannot yet comment on the findings or recommendations.