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Arctic Soverignty – Arctic Search and Rescue – Argo ATVs – November 2009 Nunavut SAR Volunteers Receive 12 Amphibious Avenger ATVs to Tackle Rescues in  Partially-Thawed (or -Frozen) Conditions The Government of  Nunavut displayed its recently arrived Search and Rescue vehicle to the press. Twelve Argo Avenger 750 EFi all-terrain vehicles  have been delivered  to 12  Nunavut  communities to  handle  SAR in more-than-usually difficult conditions in spring and  early autumn.  The 12  recipient communities were chosen for the locations best able to cover the widest possible SAR areas. Nunavut SAR is a volunteer activity The ATV selected is an Ontario-built amphibian.  The 8x8 Argo Avenger is normally a track-swimmer (at 4 km/h) but, as the press report notes, this ATV can be fitted with a 10hp outboard motor for slightly faster water propulsion. On land, the Avenger's 31hp gasoline engine [1] drives the ATV at 35 km/h on reasonable footing. Payload on land is 521 kg (or  6 passengers).  In the water, the Avenger will carry 454 kg (4 passengers).  The Avenger is steered (left) with a handle-  bar yoke. The front-mounted engine drives  the wheels through a continuously-variable  belt transmission to individual chain drives.  High-floatation tires minimize the Avenger's  environmental impact but Nunavut's ATVs will normally be running on 13" ( 32.5 cm ) wide rubber track segments over their tires. Nunavut's  Department of  Community and  Government Services'  Protection Services branch  is responsible for SAR in the Territory through SAROs (or Search and Rescue Organizations), community-based non-profit societies found in each hamlet and  town. Under Nunavut's Civil Emergency Measures Act, the Mayor (or similar local authority) acts as the sole agent for collecting funds for and carrying out community-based SAR. Since emergency preparedness is a way of life in the North, the real barrier to effective SAR has always been funding. This was partially addressed in 2007 with the establish- ment of a Pan-Territorial Northern Search and Rescue Strategy (as part of the National SAR Secretariat's New Initiatives Fund). This allows the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut to equip themselves for SAR missions. With funds in place, the Nunavut authorities can hire local air carriers to perform aerial  SAR  or  buy appropriate ATVs. [1] The Argo Avenger is powered by four-stroke, liquid-cooled V2 gasoline engine. In the case of the Avenger 750 EFi, the powerplant is a 31hp, 748cc Kohler Aegis LH 775. Below is a slightly edited version of the original article from  Northern News Services. New floating ATVs arrive in territory Gabriel Zarate    Northern  News  Services Published :   Monday,   02  November  2009 [ Right ]  Jimmy  Noble,  Jr. takes a new  Argo Avenger out  for a test drive.  Afterwards  he  said : " I'm  trying to keep from  smiling."  Gabriel  Zarate / NNSL  Photo NUNAVUT  –  Search  and  rescue  [ SAR ]  crews  have  a new  tool  when  operating at the most challenging  times of  year.  Twelve [ 12 ]  communities have now received new  all - terrain  vehicles  [ ATVs ]  for  use  in  difficult  snow  and  ice  conditions. "I think  it'll  be helpful  in the spring and  fall  when  we  can't  boat  or  Ski-Doo  yet," said  Jimmy  Akavak,  Iqaluit's  search-and-rescue  co-ordinator.  Akavak  said  that, in  the spring,  the slushy,  muddy,  sticky  conditions of  melting  snow  are  difficult even  for  four - wheelers  [ 4x4s ]  to travel.  In  the fall,  the soft,  powdery  snow  is risky  for  snow  machines,  which  can  be  damaged  by  unseen  rocks. Before getting these [new ATVs], search and rescue operations in the slush of spring have had to operate on foot and  by air.  Ed Zebedee,  manager of  the  Department of Community and  Government Services'  Protection  Services  branch,  said  that about forty percent [40%] of  search and rescue operations in Nunavut happen in the spring. An Argo Avenger is an 8-wheeled all-terrain vehicle, usually running on treads around  its wheels. The 12 communities receiving one of these vehicles each on the sealift (courtesy of  Community and Government Services) are: [AR] Arviat, [CB] Cambridge Bay, [IG] Iglulik, [P I]  Pond Inlet, [TA] Taloyoak, [R I]  Rankin Inlet, [SA] Sanikiluaq  [ on the Belcher Islands in the southern end of  Hudson's Bay],  [ PA] Pangnirtung, [KU] Kugluktuk [or Coppermine], [ IQ] Iqaluit, [RB] Repulse Bay and  [BL] Baker Lake. The Avenger ATVs also float, making them suitable for use in unstable ice conditions. They can be equipped with an outboard motor [ for longer over-water journeys ] , but the ATV will also move - albeit slowly - through water  just by  spinning  their  treads. The vehicles will be further equipped with radios and portable GPS systems, and with a detachable canopy and internal heaters  –  the vehicle can be a place to warm up for someone who has been stranded on the land for hours or days. Iqaluit was the last community to get its Avenger. But they have already been used in search and rescues in some communities. Zebedee said that the communities receiving Avenger ATVs were chosen to cover as much area as possible.  For example,  the unit in Iglulik will also be used for operations around  Hall Beach, and  the one in Taloyoak will also cover Kugaaruk and  Gjoa Haven. The 12 vehicles together cost the government $280,000, not including sealift. Zebedee said the usual market value for Avenger ATVs was $30,000 apiece, but the Government of  Nunavut  got a deal  on these vehicles, because of  the numbers  they were buying. The Avengers can operate on challenging terrain.  During a test drive, Zebedee drove Iqaluit's Avenger up a rocky embankment beside the Nunavut Court of  Justice on the way from the Department of  Community and  Government Services garage on Federal Road to the wildlife office where the Avenger will be stored when not needed for SAR.