Left: In June this fire crept dangerously close to Stony Rapids. Officers were involved in security, logistics and evacuation of the community Left: Conservation Officer Arlen Hogg inspects the catch from some local commercial fishermen Below left: Stony Rapids Conservation Officers Grant Duncan, Arlen Hogg , Fire Protection Officer Owen Price and Initial Attack crew members

The Stony Rapids District Office is located on Erickson St. in Stony Rapids, on the South shore of the Fond du Lac River, 656km North of LaRonge at 59° 15'N and 105° 50'W. The office is permanently staffed with two Conservation Officers, one Forest Protection Officer and a part-time Client Service Representative. During the fire season (May to September) the staff also includes one Fire Base Supervisor, one Fire Clerk, two Initial Attack Crew Leaders and ten Initial Attack Crew Members.

Stony Rapids District is the largest and most northerly district in the Province. It encompasses over 8.8 million hectares and borders Manitoba, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories. The communities of Camsell Portage, Uranium City, and Stony Rapids and the Black Lake and Fond du Lac First Nations all fall within its borders and comprise a resident population of approximately 2,880 people. The communities predominantly speak Dene and English, with Dene being the first language for many of the local residents. Access to the district is primarily by aircraft, and there is also a 200km seasonal road from Points North to Stony Rapids that is utilized year round and can be driven, however during the summer months the road is nearly impassable to all but large tractor/trailer rigs and 4x4 trucks. During the winter months when ice thicknesses exceed 36 inches, roads are plowed over the ice of Lake Athabasca to access Fond du Lac, Uranium City and Camsell Portage. This narrow window of opportunity (usually 2-3 weeks in February) is the only time of the year when goods can be hauled by vehicle to these areas.

In order to cover such a vast patrol area, Conservation Officers in Stony Rapids District are required to utilize a variety of methods of travel, including 4x4's, ATV's, boats and float planes in the summer, and snowmobiles and ski-planes in the winter. Many of the areas that require attention are a day's travel or more from the office, and officers are required to camp out overnight before returning to headquarters. In most instances, trapper's cabins or government patrol cabins are utilized, however officers are also equipped with a canvas tent that is sometimes necessary in the most remote areas. Also, unlike most of the Province, there is no cell phone coverage and very little radio coverage in the district, making satellite phones a necessity to communicate in nearly all areas of the district. The weather extremes in this area are also of particular concern in relation to officer safety. During the winter months, temperatures can exceed -40°C for weeks at a time, and thorough patrol planning and care must be taken to minimize the risk of injury or equipment failure.

One of the great resources found in Stony Rapids District is its lakes and rivers. There are thousands of lakes for adventurous anglers, and there are also over 400 lakes that are used for commercial purposes such as outfitted angling and commercial net fishing. Most of the lakes in the district are only accessible by air, however some can be accessed by boat via the Fond du Lac River, which is the main river system in the district. The Fond du Lac River flows north from Wollaston Lake to Black Lake, and west to Saskatchewan's largest waterbody, Lake Athabasca. Approximately 564,000 hectares of Lake Athabasca are in the province, the rest (223,500 ha) is in Alberta. Large, trophy size fish are common in the Fond du Lac River/ Lake Athabasca system, in fact, the Provincial record Northern Pike, Lake Trout, and Arctic Grayling were all caught in this area. Sport angling, particularly outfitted angling, is one of the mainstays of the local economy, and the flights to and from Stony Rapids by outfitters and anglers accessing fly-in lakes keeps both the airport and the float plane base busy during the summer months. There are no fewer than 25 major fishing camps that have extensive international clientele, and many of the camps also have an international reputation for world class angling opportunities. Commercial net fishing also provides income to local residents, usually during the winter months. The Lake Athabasca fishery in particular has an annual quota of 340,000kg of Lake Whitefish, 150,000kg of Lake Trout, 68,000kg of Northern Pike, and 68,000kg of Walleye. Conservation Officers monitor this fishery to ensure proper utilization of all commercial fish species and proper transport and handling of the harvested fish.

Another plentiful resource in Stony Rapids District is minerals, particularly uranium and other heavy metals. The mineral exploration and mining industry have provided millions of dollars to the local economy, and have also changed the nature of Conservation Officers duties in the north. With the increase in commodity prices for these precious minerals, exploration in the area has increased threefold in the last few years, which has resulted in much more activity on Crown Resource Lands than in past years. The result is that Conservation Officers are required to monitor these activities, from inspecting drilling sites and temporary work camps, to monitoring remediation activities at decommissioned mine sites. This is much different from the public's traditional view of the Conservation Officer as the “Game Warden” whose sole concern is your bag limit of waterfowl or fish. In Stony Rapids District, Conservation Officers spend a great deal of time involved in lands issues such as Crown Lease inspections, approving and inspecting new leases on Crown Land, and trespass land developments, and environmental issues such as inspecting and approving above-ground fuel storage tanks, inspecting sewage treatment and disposal on Crown Land, investigating unauthorized burning at landfills and investigating environmental spills of hazardous substances.

The local Dene culture and traditions also play a part in the regular duties of a Stony Rapids Conservation Officer. During the winter months, barren-ground caribou from the Beverly herd and the Qamanirjuaq herd migrate south from the Northwest Territories into wintering grounds in the Athabasca Basin. The caribou are an important part of local culture, and many of the Dene people will travel great distances on snowmachines to harvest these animals. Conservation Officers patrol these areas on snowmachine as well, to ensure that all of the edible parts of the caribou are utilized and that the hunt is conducted safely. Officers also check licenced caribou hunters as well during this time. A (non-treaty) resident can purchase two caribou tags and harvest two animals during the season, which runs from October 15th to April 14th each year in Wildlife Management Zone 76. Saskatchewan Environment works with local people and other interest groups to manage the herds through the Beverly-Quamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board, which is interested primarily in protecting the herds from overharvest to ensure healthy populations in future years.

Stony Rapids District has one park, Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Wilderness Park. This is a unique natural environment area found nowhere else in the province, and it contains site-specific landforms (dunes, desert pavement) and species of flora and fauna that are found nowhere else in the world. Conservation Officers patrol this special area in an effort to discourage the unauthorized use of ATV's in the park, which can seriously damage and destroy some of the park's unique landforms like the desert pavement. There are also 3 examples of Saskatchewan's “Representative Area Network” (RAN) in the district, covering 601,983 hectares in the Tazin Lake Upland and Selwyn Lake Upland ecoregions. These areas, due to their unique and fragile ecosystems, have been designated “special management areas”. These areas are still being defined in terms of land use strategies and the implications to District Conservation Officers in terms of protection responsibilities are not yet known, however, any further or enhanced designation as a “protected” or “special” area will no doubt require the attention of officers to provide monitoring to these new zones. 

From left above: Officers patrol the caribou harvest. Although waste like this is not common it does happen from time to time. Approximately 90 km in length, the Fond du Lac ice road is built in late February/early March and allows for supplies to be moved into Uranium City. Conservation Officers from Stony Rapids often team up with Fish & Wildlife officers from the North West Territories.