Indigenous-led NWT climate research station damaged by late wildfire

The Scotty Creek Research Facility, which studies climate change in the Northwest Territories, has been partially destroyed by a late season wildfire. The station was founded in the 1990s by William Quinton of Wilfrid Laurier University, and was handed over to the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation (LKFN) in August. The station attracted researchers from across the world looking to study environmental factors and hosted camps, high school students, and community events and activities. LKFN has stated that five of the nine buildings have burned down, with total damages of over $1M. The station will not run for the next year as it rebuilds, which may damage the local economy. “It’s in our best interest to get this thing going again,” said Dieter Cazon, the director of lands and resources at LKFN.“This collaborative work we’re doing together is going to be the only way we’re going to figure a lot of these answers out.” Brandon Sun| Toronto Star| CBC Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.