Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories
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Sachs Harbour is a small community (officially, a hamlet) on the southwestern coast of Banks Island in Canada's Northwest Territories. A count in 2000 indicated 153 inhabitants, but the 2001 census count listed 114 people. The two principal languages in the town are Inuvialuktun and English. The traditional name for the town is "Ikahuak", meaning "where you go across to". Bulk supplies of food and other items are brought by barge in the summer months and flights from Inuvik, some 325 miles (523km) to the southwest, operate all year. Sachs Harbour is the only permanent settlement on Banks Island.
The town was named after the ship Mary Sachs, which was part of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913. The community's economy is based largely on hunting and trapping, but tourism also plays a small role. Most of the town lies within 250 yards of the shoreline. Residents also engage in ice-fishing, harvesting fish from the Amundsen Gulf and the Beaufort Sea. There is a goose hunt every spring - Banks Island being the home to the largest goose colony in North America. The community is also home to the largest commercial musk-ox harvests in Canada. Three quarters of the worlds population of musk-oxen roam the island.
Sachs Harbour is in the Arctic tundra climatic zone, characterized by long, extremely cold winters. Since the activities of many residents of the community revolve around fishing, hunting, and travel, many residents have considerable knowledge of weather conditions, permafrost, and even erosion patterns. Because of climate changes in recent years, local residents fear their knowledge of weather patterns may not be of much use, as the weather has become harder to predict. Since the climate has been changing, sea-ice has been breaking up earlier than normal, taking seals farther south in the summer. Seals are one of the main sources of food for the town. Salmon appeared for the first time in nearby waters between 1999 and 2001. New species of birds are migrating to the island, including robins and barn swallows, and more flies and mosquitos have been appearing. Barren-ground Caribou and Musk Ox can be found on the island, as well as Polar Bears.
Oil and gas exploration has provided jobs over the years for some Sachs Harbour residents—estimates of commercially recoverable oil in the Beaufort Sea range from four to 12 billion barrels, and there is believed to be between 13 and 63 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Environmentalists would be likely to oppose oil and gas development, since the sea off of Sachs Harbour is home to the endangered Bowhead Whale.
On April 26, 2006 the world's first documented wild-born grizzly-polar bear hybrid was shot near the town.
[edit] References
- Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
- Christian Science Monitor
- International Institute for Sustainable Development
- Sachs Harbour; Statistics Canada
