be illustrated through the animal migration patterns, salmon spawning, and destruction of wildlife habitats. The significant loss of wetlands and the blocking of passageways to those wetlands that remain has inhibited salmon spawning and migration in the James Bay area. Additionally, diverting rivers towards the James Bay could cause changes in the geographical pattern of river water discharge into the sea.[36] Caribou populations, which have been expanding since the 1950s, have adopted migration routes throughout much of the Quebec-Labrador Peninsula and have thus been increasingly abundant in the James Bay area, the valley of the Caniapiscau, and around George River (Quebec).[37] Variations in the water flow of the Caniapiscau River from 1981 to 1984, during the period when the Caniapiscau Reservoir was being filled, may have contributed to the death by drowning of 10,000 migratory woodland caribou in September 1984, representing about 1.5% of the herd at that time. On the other hand, the reduced flow of the Caniapiscau River and the Koksoak River has permanently reduced the risk of natural floods on the lower Caniapiscau during the period of caribou migrations, giving hunters greater access to caribou than ever before. About 30,000 caribou are killed each year by Inuit, Cree and American and European hunters. Seasonal reversal in the flow of rivers can potentially rob the rich nutrients that thrive in various mudflats and coastal marshes, affecting millions of migratory birds such as waterfowl, Canada geese, and various inland birds that use the coastlines of both the James and Hudson Bays during their spring and fall migrations.[38] Social impact The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement provided considerable financial and administrative resources for the Cree and Inuit communities to deal with the environmental and social consequences of the project and provide for future economic development, such as the creation of the local airline Air Creebec. The James Bay Project also was an impetus for the forging of a collective identity among the Cree of Quebec and for the establishment of the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee). The Agreement notably provided for major institutional structures for local government, economic development, schools and health services, mostly under the control of the Grand Council of the Crees and the Kativik Regional Government, in Nunavik. Yet, the social consequences of the hydroelectric project itself pale in comparison to the social impact of the Cree coming into direct contact with the society