Four kayakers who made headlines last year for completing the first-ever single-season kayak journey through the Northwest Passage are facing charges which put a sour note on their achievement.
The team – West Hansen and Jeff Wueste of Texas, Eileen Visser of New York, and Mark Agnew from the UK – collectively known as the Arctic Cowboys, were actually arrested last year on August 25, for camping on Bylot Island, a protected bird sanctuary, without permission, although this was not made public as the time. Now, however, legal action against the quartet is underway in Nunavut courts.
