Media Centre

Press Releases

2004

Senator urges immediate expansion of Nahanni National Park Reserve and World Heritage Site to protect the entire South Nahanni Watershed

March 30, 2004 - Ottawa

Today, in the Senate of Canada, the Honourable Consiglio Di Nino is expected to introduce a motion urging the Government of Canada to expand Nahanni National Park Reserve to include the entire South Nahanni Watershed, and to stop all industrial activity within the watershed of this internationally renowned wilderness national park. Nahanni National Park Reserve is a key area for conservation in the boreal forest region and in the mountainous Yellowstone to Yukon corridor. Located in the Northwest Territories, it was the first natural World Heritage Site to be designated by the United Nations.

"Expanding Nahanni National Park Reserve now to protect the entire watershed is critical if we are to seize this great opportunity to protect clean water, wildlife and wilderness into the future," says Harvey Locke, Vice President of Conservation for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. "This motion in the Senate shows that conserving this magnificent place is not a political issue, but an opportunity for all Canadians to work with First Nations to achieve a world class conservation outcome. All that is needed is for the federal government to move boldly on its commitment to expand the park. The risk of waiting is high."

"Nahanni is a crown jewel of ecological and cultural importance in the boreal forest region. Its protection would support the goals of the Boreal Framework which aims to conserve the natural values and human communities of Canada's boreal region -- one of the largest intact forest ecosystems left on earth," says Cathy Wilkinson, Director of the Canadian Boreal Initiative.

Nahanni National Park Reserve was established in 1976 to protect the river from hydro-electric development, after the late Prime Minister Trudeau visited the area. However, the current park protects only one seventh of the drainage basin, or watershed of the South Nahanni River, leaving the park vulnerable to environmental impacts of industrial activities upstream. In addition, recent studies have shown that only parts of the core habitat of the park's grizzly bears ,woodland caribou, Dall's sheep and mountain goats are protected within the current park boundaries.

The Deh Cho First Nations, in whose traditional territory 80% of the South Nahanni Watershed is located, have urged the government to protect the entire watershed. The headwaters of the watershed are found in the Sahtu region, where the local community of Tulita support protecting the area in an expanded park.

In the fall of 2002, the federal government announced a new Action Plan for National Parks that included a commitment to expand Nahanni National Park Reserve. While progress has been made towards that goal, current plans would leave 15% of the watershed unprotected, and vulnerable to the impacts of mining activity upstream from the park.

"Senator Di Nino paddled the river and was touched enough by the magic of the place to table this motion in the Senate urging action." notes Harvey Locke "Now the federal government needs to grasp the opportunity at hand and act to expand the park to protect the entire South Nahanni Watershed."

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is Canada's grassroots voice for wilderness conservation with chapters across the country including the NWT. It works to protect the boreal forest and is a supporter of the broad-based Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.

The Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI) works with a wide range of conservation organizations, First Nations, industry and other interested parties to link science, policy and conservation activities in Canada's boreal region. CBI is convenor of the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework partners, an alliance of conservation organizations, First Nations and resource companies proposing a vision of balanced protection and sustainable development to ensure conservation of the entire boreal region. Both CPAWS and the Deh Cho are founding signatories of the Framework.

Related Backgrounders

• Expanding Nahanni national Park Reserve to protect the entire South Nahanni Watershed

-30-

For more information:
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society:

Harvey Locke, Vice President, Conservation
cell (647) 225-7438

or

Alison Woodley, Northern campaigner
(613) 569-7226 ext 227

Canadian Boreal Initiative:

Kelly Acton, Communications Manager (613) 230-4739, ext 222