by Steve Selden | Aug 8, 2016 | Churchill News
Tank farm and Port of Churchill in Churchill, Manitoba.
With all the talk surrounding the news of Omnitrax closing the Port of Churchill prior to the heart of the 2016 grain season, thus displacing nearly 200 jobs from Churchill to The Pas, nothing has come from the mouths of the company’s spokespeople.
Two weeks have passed since Omnitrax shut the port down and issued dozens of workers in Churchill alone their pink slips. However the premier of Manitoba, Brian Pallister, has not been contacted by the company or heard anything regarding the negotiations to sell the port to a first nations group. He has portrayed the lack of communication as a “mystery” and a “challenge” in the relationship between the government and Omnitrax.
Omnitrax has not made any statements or held any press conferences regarding the move and this has many officials in Canada baffled since the closure has drastically affected lives that rely on the employment as well as those in communities that live along the Bayline, also under the companies ownership. The rail line is key in supplying northern communities with goods and food products. Many settlements are not accessible by roads and rely heavily on the train as their main supplier. Omnitrax has plans to reduce the amount of freight to be shipped along its Bayline route. Although the train line remains operable, many are anxious as to its future viability in this situation
Oil transportation and shipping through the port has been a recent, hot issue initiated by Omnitrax. However, the initiative fell apart last year as overwhelming public resistance and outcry over the idea forced the company to back down. Some, including this writer, believe Omnitrax had its profit seeking sights set on this plan since day one. Now that the oil issue seems “dead in the water”, pardon the pun, the company has hit the road and headed back to Denver, Colorado.
Omnitrax had received a three dollar per tonne subsidy last year from Manitoba’s former NDP government but with the new Progressive Conservative party lead by Pallister, now in office no such bailouts were sanctioned for this year..
“The approaches that have been taken too often in the past have been alarmist and crisis in orientation, and that is not the nature of how we are going to build a stronger northern economy and stronger communities.” stated Pallister.
The situation is intriguing and continues to develop as this story is published. Stay tuned for updates from Churchill.
by Steve Selden | Aug 4, 2016 | Churchill Photography
This beautiful polar bear image was taken by Churchill photographer Katie DeMeulles. Polar bears numbers have been high this summer in the Churchill region allowing for incredible photo opportunities. Stay tuned for more exciting Churchill wildlife images coming your way soon!
Majestic polar bear resting in Churchill. Katie DeMeulles photo.
by Steve Selden | Aug 2, 2016 | Churchill Photography
Incredible wildlife sightings and bursting wildflowers have made this an awesome Churchill Arctic Summer so far! Moira LaPatourel has been guiding Natural Habitat travelers in the Churchill region and the surprises keep coming for the groups both on the water and out on the tundra.
This magnificent common loon and chick was spotted on a thermokarst pond out by the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. These majestic and haunting birds will often circle their water surroundings and give their haunting call to announce the arrival of their offspring. Always an incredible experience to see these in the sub – Arctic.
Common loon and her chick on the water in Churchill. Moira LaPatourel photo.
With the Cape Merry battery looming in the distance, a beluga sow and calf frolic in the Churchill River. Whale interaction has been off the charts this season with pods of belugas all over the waters surrounding Churchill. Snorkeling and kayaking have been particular highlights for groups as well this season.
Beluga whales in the Churchill River with Cape Merry in the background. Moira LaPatourel photo.
A rarely seen bald eagle made an appearance and perched atop this krumholz spruce on the open tundra. A perfect spot for eyeing lemmings scurrying across the ground.
A bald eagle perched on a spruce tree in the open tundra of Churchill. Moira LaPatourel photo.
A group of travelers gets more of a birds – eye view from the deck of the Sea North I on the Hudson Bay. This vessel provides more of a view above the beluga whales for slightly better photo opportunities. Venturing over to Button Bay or further into the Hudson Bay is another facet this larger jet propulsion craft provides.
Viewing beluga whales in the Churchill River from the Sea North I vessel. Moira LaPatourel photo.
Natural Habitat travelers enjoy the versatility of a zodiac excursion on the Churchill River. The small craft often can cruise the coastline and discover a gem like this resting polar bear on the Precambrian shield! Seeing polar bears in Churchill Arctic summer is such an awesome experience and often more of a thrill than seeing the king of the Arctic in polar bear season!
Travelers view a polar bear from a zodiac in the Churchill River. Moira LaPatourel photo.
Fireweed has consumed the landscape at this point of the season. The purple injects a swath of color to the landscape that blends the blues of the water and rocks with the subdued earth colors of the tundra.
Fields of wildflowers across the tundra in Churchill. Moira LaPatourel photo.
by Steve Selden | Aug 1, 2016 | Churchill Photography
Churchill photographer and guide Alex De Vries – Magnifico captured this rare shot of a polar bear and beluga whales in the same frame. As a Churchill Arctic Summer guide for Natural Habitat Adventures for over a decade, I only encountered a polar bear in the water a few times. Of those amazing encounters I never was able to frame a photo with both animals in the shot.
This sequence is rare since polar bears have little chance of catching a beluga whale in the open water. There have been some reports of polar bears nabbing a whale in the shallows when unsuspecting belugas venture too close to the shoreline. Most of the whale carcasses with polar bears scavenging seen in photos are whales that have beached from sickness resulting in death.
Alex, working as a guide for Sea North Tours, has access to incredible interactions while driving a zodiac on whale watching groups on the Churchill River and out in the Hudson Bay. When something as rare as this occurs very few have the ability to get the shot. Alex reacted and definitely nailed an fantastic image. Enjoy!
A polar bear swims towards beluga whales in the Churchill River. Alex De Vries – Magnifico photo.
by Steve Selden | Jul 22, 2016 | Churchill News
Churchill Summer Adventures – 2016
A Field Report by Natural Habitat AdventuresExpedition Leader: Moira Le Patourel
We walked across the Churchill Airport tarmac towards the waiting plane, heading back to Winnipeg. The most incredible Churchill summer experience had played out for our little band of Natural Habitat Adventurer’s over the past five days. I have been travelling to Churchill with tour groups and enjoying the sub-Arctic wonders of this area for the past three years, but I had never had an experience quite like this one.
Snorkeling with the beluga whales in theCHurchill River. Moira la Patourel photo.
Our trip started off with an early morning flight from Winnipeg to Churchill in the sunshine. Over the next five days, our group enjoyed absolutely incredible encounters with belugas; in zodiacs, the Sea North II (a larger jet-drive vessel), in kayaks and even through a snorkel mask! We were able to watch belugas exhibiting playful behavior, feeding behavior, calm-day and stormy-day activities and listen in on their incredibly active social lives in the Churchill River and the Hudson’s Bay.
Beluga whales in the Churchill River.Moira LaPatourel photo.
We were also extremely lucky to spot not one but FOUR polar bears on our five-day adventure as well! Two lone individuals, one resting on Eskimo Point and one swimming about a mile off shore in Button Bay, and one mother and cub-of-the-year onshore. I couldn’t believe our luck! The wildflowers were bursting with colour all across the landscape, with more purples and creams than I have ever seen before; it was quite a sight to behold. The bird life was also out in full force; we enjoyed sightings of Sandhill Cranes, Tundra Swans, Arctic Terns, Parasitic Jaegers, Pacific Loons with young, Snow Geese and an American Golden-Plover, to name a few.
Polar bears on the rocks at Eskimo point. Moira LaPatourel photo.
As we were headed to the airport for our departure, we were lucky enough to receive a tip from a local that the Polar Bear Holding Facility was open for tours for the next couple of hours. We only had 15 minutes to squeak in a look at the inside of the Holding Facility, but what a view it was! The Polar Bear Holding Facility has an open-house once a year, and we were just lucky enough to be there at just the right time!
As the Churchill River and the Hudson’s Bay faded out of view from the airplane windows, obscured by cloud, I looked around and could see the broad smiles on the faces of my travelling companions. This had truly been the trip of a lifetime in Churchill for all of us!
