Past is future for entrepreneurs: Northern archeologists join forces to form company.

• Author: Wareing, Andrew

For two Northern Ontario archeologists, keeping tabs on the past is the way of the future.

John Pollock in New Liskeard and Luke Dalla Bona in Sault Ste. Marie, together form Woodlands Heritage Services, a company that had its beginnings in 1999.

"Luke was working for the government doing computer-generated heritage potential maps," says Pollock. "When he left government, he had an interest in forming a new company. I was interested in going into partnership. Because of my own 28 years experience in field research in Northern Ontario, I thought it would be a good combination. We make a good complementary combination of talents."

"I've been in archeology for ever 15 years," says Dalla Bona. "I've known John professionally and worked with him informally and formally on a number of projects. One day, I said "Let's do it. Let's form a company. You'll work your part of the province and I'll work mine and we'll see what we can accomplish.""

Their job is cultural heritage impact assessments--determining which areas might hold archeological sites of Canada's pre-settlement and early-settlement history.

"Under the Ontario Heritage Act, the Planning Act and the Environmental Assessment Act, before ground-disturbing developments can proceed where there might be an important heritage site, the developer is required to have an assessment by a licensed archeologist," says Pollock.

Clients can include government and First Nations, as well as logging companies and land developers. Under government regulations, for instance, logging companies are required to make forest-management plans that include such considerations as buffer zones around potentially important heritage sites.

Technology, such as global positioning systems and computer-mapping technology, now make it possible to pinpoint those areas to within a metre, making the plans...