Deadman Valley Roads

There are 1772 km of road within the watershed and more than a quarter of that is targeted for access control. Much of the road building off the main Deadman-Vidette Road originated in the forest practices of the last century, although became popular for mining exploration and recreation. Increased traffic in the valley is noted by residents who face problems with increased vandalism, road hazards, wildlife poaching, and garbage.

Roads are a widespread and increasing feature of most developed landscapes. Studies have found that roads can be more significant agents of change than clearcuts (Tinker et al. 1998). A review of these ecological effects of roads on terrestrial and aquatic communities found 7 general effects:
· mortality from road construction,
· mortality from collision with vehicles,
· modification of animal behaviour by changing animal home ranges, movement and reproductive success,
· escape response,
· alteration of the physical environment such as soil density, temperature, patterns of runoff and sedimentation,
· alteration of the chemical environment by adding heavy metals, salts and nutrients to roadside environments,
· spread of exotic weeds and plants,
· increased use by humans which promote increased hunting, fishing and passive harassment of animals (Trombulak and Frissell 2000).

Currently, 473 km of forest access road has been proposed for deactivation in the valley (Speed and Henderson 1998 Increased vehicle access is associated with increased wildlife harvest and the band has worked on plans with the provincial government to limit hunter access to conserve wildlife populations. Limiting upper valley access into the Bonaparte and Tranquille watersheds has been managed through arrangements with the Provincial Forest Service, Ministry of Environment Lands and Parks as well as regional forest companies, to minimize through traffic and to aid in wildlife harvest management.

Current road building practices often include many additions to an extensively long network of existing roads. Often these additions parallel or duplicate the already existing road network within an area. New roads are built to very high standards in terms of alignment, design speeds, visibility etc. These new road systems often require extremely wide rights of way, huge masses of earth to be moved and excessively overbuilt ditching and drainage systems that further disrupt the natural environment. The Skeetchestn Band has been calling for minimal impact road building and the use or modification of existing roads rather than the construction of new roads wherever possible for many years.

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