In the Summer of 2021, Chu Cho Environmental returned to the Chase Caribou Range to restore another road in the area. The Goldway Road, a 19-kilometer abandoned mineral exploration access route north of Johansen Lake, is part of a migration corridor for the Chase Caribou, a sub-population of southern mountain caribou listed as threatened under the Species at Risk Act. The habitats within the range have been impacted by both natural and anthropogenic disturbances.

In 2019 and 2020, Chu Cho Environmental and the Tsay Keh Dene Nation completed restoration work across 12 kilometers of road and an area known as Caribou Flats, an area of importance for both the Chase Caribou and the Tsay Keh Dene people. The Chase Caribou Road Restoration Program aims to restore the ecological function of the mountain caribou habitat by strategically restoring roadways that may increase predator travel speeds and hunting efficiency in sensitive caribou habitat.

Luke Gleeson, a member of the Tsay Keh Dene Nation, is helping lead field work for the Goldway Road Restoration Project. One of the challenges of restoring the road is crossing streams and drainages in important salmon, steelhead, and bull trout habitat. To minimize the effects, machinery is cleaned and well-maintained, erosion control is used where possible, and crossings are carried out during low-risk windows for fish species.

The restoration is done in two phases: functional restoration and ecological restoration. The first phase includes mechanically deactivating the road to reduce human access and tree felling to reduce predator travel speeds. The second phase involves decompacting the road surface to facilitate the planting of native trees and woody shrubs, which will help the road return to its pre-disturbance state.

The restoration team uses a cat 330 excavator to decompact the road surface and create alternating pits and mounds in a method known as rough and loose soil preparation. The mounded terrain should deter predators and reduce access, while the variability and microhabitats created by the mounds and coarse woody debris provide optimal growing conditions for native vegetation.

The restoration of the Goldway Road is a critical step in the conservation of the Chase Caribou, a key species in the ecosystem of the Chase Caribou Range. The cooperation between Chu Cho Environmental, the Tsay Keh Dene Nation, and other stakeholders will help ensure the success of the project and the preservation of the habitat for generations to come.