Researchers, hunters study how oil sands noise could affect moose hunting

Hunters in northern Alberta are helping scientists test how industrial noise from the oil sands affects moose hunting – a food source and connection to cultural traditions for many rural and Indigenous communities.

As forest landscapes are cleared for operations, moose habitats become more open, making the animals easier to spot, but also exposing them to more hunters.

For longtime hunter and moose caller Kevin Edby, industrial development has changed the way he hunts in and around Conklin, about 155 kilometers south of Fort McMurray.

“Now you can see moose for miles, whereas before you couldn’t see anything, you had to go through a track and different strategies,” he said.

in a new mandate letter From Premier Danielle Smith Energy Minister Brian JeanThe province is aiming to produce more oil.

But this has raised concerns from some community members about how industrial noise is affecting traditional hunting practices.

That question gave rise to the Moose Calling Pilot Project, a collaboration between the Conklin Resource Development Advisory Committee, the University of Alberta and the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute.

The purpose of the study is to test whether noise from oil sands operations affects hunters’ ability to call and locate moose.

“But moose, because they are so big and their legs are so long, they are able to move very easily through the landscape,” explained Peter Fortna, a social scientist involved in the project.

“As the landscape becomes more fragmented, it becomes harder for them as more predators are able to come onto the landscape and exist.”

Fortna said community interviews revealed that industrial noise and landscape change are impacting how people hunt and how successful they are at calling moose.

A statement from the press secretary of the Environment Ministry said they were not aware of any significant increase in noise from the oil sands.

“As part of their ongoing research, the Oil Sands Monitoring Program and Indigenous partners will be exploring the impacts of sound on moose and other wildlife in the area. We will keep Albertans updated on the results of this work,” the statement said.

Use

The study is being conducted at two locations – one quiet and one near industrial activity – to measure how sound travels in different environments.

The researchers placed five autonomous recording units in a straight line 80 meters apart, while the fifth was placed 200 meters away to capture long-range sound.

Hunters record moose calls at points between points, slowly moving away from the noise source.

The existing industrial sounds act as therapy in a noisy place. In a quieter site, researchers use speakers to play recorded noise from oilsands facilities to simulate similar conditions.

The data will show how far moose calls can be detected in each setting, and how noise affects both the reach of the calls and the ability of hunters to hear the moose’s response.

“I’m very pleased to be able to work with local communities,” said Alberto De Rosa, a postdoctoral fellow in the bioacoustics unit at the University of Alberta.

“Where I’m from, it’s very rare that scientists and the community really connect. I think we have a real connection, communication, where they are experts in their part and we are experts in our part and bringing these two expertises together makes it possible.”

This project is funded through Alberta’s Oil Sands Monitoring Program under the Community-Based Monitoring Stream. After data collection and analysis is complete, results are expected in about a month.

Community members told Fortna that hunting around Conklin has become difficult due to more hunters and continued habitat fragmentation.

Meanwhile, new roads have opened up remote areas to more hunters from outside the community, reducing wildlife numbers and disrupting traditional hunting areas.

“It’s meant to prove that the industry does more harm than it says it does, more trees, more deforestation,” Edby said.

“Traplines used to be just a select group of people, but now it’s anyone and everyone involved… You’re losing more animals than you realize.”