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CPAWS’ Comment Guide: Kitaskino Nuwenëné Expansion Consultation

A significant expansion to the Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Park, first established in 2019, was recently proposed by the Government of Alberta in early February. “Kitaskino Nuwenëné” is Cree and Dene for “our land” and reflects the intention of this area to safeguard Indigenous Peoples’ way of life through protection of the land.

There is a government-led open public consultation for the proposed expansion that ends March 15, 2021, at 9:00AM. This is an exciting opportunity to voice your support for Indigenous-led conservation and growing our province’s protected areas network—not dismantling it.

NORTHERN ALBERTA CHAPTER

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Firebag River

Marguerite River

McIvor River

McLellandLake

LakeClaire

Birch River

LakeAthabasca

Birch River

Kitaskino NuwenënéWildland Provincial

Park

Namur RiverNo. 174A

Wood BuffaloNational Park

of Canada

Kitaskino NuwenënéWildland Provincial

Park

Devil's GateNo. 220

Allison BayNo. 219

Dog HeadNo. 218

ChipewyanNo. 201A

ChipewyanNo. 201B

ChipewyanNo. 201

ChipewyanNo. 201E

Old FortNo. 217 Chipewyan

No. 201C

ChipewyanNo. 201D

ChipewyanNo. 201F

ChipewyanNo. 201G

Namur RiverNo. 174A

Athabasca DunesEcological

Reserve

Fidler-GreywillowWildland

Provincial Park

MargueriteRiver WildlandProvincial Park

Kazan WildlandProvincial Park

Birch RiverWildland

Provincial Park

Birch MountainsWildland

Provincial Park

RichardsonWildland

Provincial Park

FortChipewyan

Kitaskino Nuwenëné WildlandProvincial Park - Proposed Expansion

Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park - Proposed Expansion Area (143,800 HA)

Parks and Protected Areas

Wood Buffalo National Park

First Nations Reserve

Water Body

´0 5 10 KM

© 2021 Government of AlbertaAlberta Environment and Parks

Coordinate System: NAD83 10TM AEP ForestPrepared By: Policy Systems Branch (21-012)Date of Completion: February 03/2021

Where applicable:Base data provided by the Government of Alberta under the Alberta Open Data License (2021).

The Minister and the Crown provides this information without warrantyor representation as to any matter including but not limited to whetherthe data/information is correct, accurate, or free from error, defect,danger, or hazard and whether it is otherwise useful or suitable forany use the user may make of it.

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Map Extent

Proposed expansion of Wildland Park in northeast Alberta, Kitaskino Nuwenëné, is a great win for Indigenous-led conservation and caribou

The proposed expansion area is shown in the hatched blue shading above.

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The expansion will add to the largest contiguous collection of protected areas in the boreal forest in the world. It will protect important woodland caribou habitat and carbon-storing wetlands. The park buffers the southern edge of Wood Buffalo National Park, enhancing its protections from harmful cumulative effects that grow outside its borders in the oil sands area.

The park and its expansion have been tirelessly pursued by the Mikisew Cree First Nation, who have strong cultural ties to the area and the animals that depend on it. The Government of Alberta states that the management intent for the area is to cooperatively manage it with Indigenous communities. You can learn more about the proposed boundaries and its management intent here.

Feel free to use this comment guide to help craft your responses for this important public consultation for the Kitaskino Nuwenëné expansion. You can use these points to inspire your responses. Continue to the next page for our step-by-step comments on the survey questions.

We encourage participation in the Government of Alberta survey!

Photo of Peace-Athabasca Delta by Garth Lenz

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Question 1

Question 2

Our suggestion:

I support the proposed expansion. Permanent protection of critical caribou habitat is key to achieving their recovery. The expansion also adds to a protective buffer around Wood Buffalo National Park, as recommended by UNESCO to help conserve the park.

Question 3

our suggestion

our suggestion

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Question 4

Our suggestion:

I support the intent to cooperatively manage the area with interested Indigenous communities, including the Mikisew Cree First Nation, who identified this area as a conservation priority. The management plan must be made collaboratively.

Question 5

Our suggestions:

In this section, please include any other important thoughts or feelings you have about Indigenous-led conservation in Alberta and the importance of protected areas in conserving Alberta’s natural heritage. Here are some important points worth considering:

• Cooperative management: This is a significant step forward for Indigenous-led conservation in Alberta. Building on this momentum, the Government of Alberta should continue growing its collaborative relationship with the Mikisew Cree First Nation by prioritizing the development of a cooperative management plan, which includes joint decision-making with Indigenous communities, once the final boundaries are approved.

• Caribou conservation: The expansion will protect over 140,000 hectares of critical caribou habitat from destruction. Protected areas will be a key tool for recovering declining caribou herds that depend on intact boreal habitat. I support additional protected areas, much like this expansion, that are co-managed with Indigenous Peoples across caribou ranges in Alberta.

• Wood bison conservation: While the expansion focuses on protecting caribou habitat, there is still a lot of unprotected wood bison habitat in the surrounding area. With the Ronald Lake wood bison herd facing imminent threats to their recovery, I encourage consideration of protecting wood bison habitat to the east, building on the great success so far from collaborations between the Mikisew Cree First Nation, the energy industry, and the Government of Alberta.

• Importance of protected areas: I strongly support the creation and expansion of protected areas in Alberta. Protected areas are one of the strongest tools to ensure long-term, permanent protection of ecologically and culturally important areas, while also safeguarding our lands and waters against the effects of climate change by increasing resiliency.