New ‘mini-bridges’ are helping hunters in Paulatuk adapt to climate change

Small bridges around Paulatuk, N.W.T., are giving harvesters a safer way to get to their camps, as climate change makes travelling on the land more dangerous.

The flat bridges, built of lumber and plywood, are laid across some frequently-crossed creeks that have become increasingly prone to flash flooding, and are just wide enough for an all-terrain vehicle to pass.

Former Paulatuk Community Corporation employee Dianne Ruben had the idea for the project, and co-led it until recently.

“Our ancestors (have) been talking about this,” she said. “They said it’ll change, and we have to adapt.”

The project was spearheaded by the Paulatuk Community Corporation, with funding and support from the Paulatuk Hunters and Trappers Committee and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation’s Innovation, Science and Climate Change department.

It was carried out by a committee with Community Corporation and Hunters and Trappers Committee representatives. The overall budget for the project was about $32,000, Ruben said.

Ruben added there are at least six mini-bridges in Paulatuk already, and seven more bridges are planned. The spots for the bridges were identified by a team of five experienced local harvesters led by Steve Illisiak, who also served as the field leader for the project.

Changes due to climate change

Paulatuk’s mayor Ray Ruben spoke about the importance of the mini-bridges at a community meeting in November. He recalled a serious incident that occurred when some harvesters were crossing a creek while returning from a hunt a few years ago.

"A lot of rain, a lot of running water, a lot of creeks went wild and three of our bikes went into the ocean, were swept off into the ocean,” he said.

“We're lucky we didn't have any fatalities."

Diane Ruben said there are two main ways to access the traditional land around Paulatuk, with some routes along the shore of the Arctic ocean, and others inland.

In the past, she said, community members mostly used coastal routes, but permafrost slumps are creating unstable ground and making travel along those paths dangerous.

Just last summer, Ruben and her husband were walking along the beach to gather firewood for their fish camp when a huge chunk of the cliff above fell close to where they were standing.

“It’s just becoming more risky and scary,” she said, adding that she now feels “uneasy” travelling along the coast.

Ruben said it’s part of the reason people are so happy to now have the bridges to use.

She would like to see the project expand further with more bridges.

She hopes it might also inspire other communities that are dealing with permafrost slumping and other climate-related changes to the land.