by Anne-Marie Jennings
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 06/98) - The creation of a territorial park near Yellowknife helped improve the NWT's grade in an environmental report card from the World Wildlife Fund.

The NWT won a C this year for its efforts to protect "endangered spaces," up slightly from last year's C-.

In its 1997-98 Endangered Spaces Progress Report, the WWF recognized the creation of three new territorial parks, including the 2,000-hectare Hidden Lake Natural Environment Recreation Park, about 40 kilometres east of the city.

The NWT also established the 1,400-hectare Blackstone Outdoor Recreation Park on the Liard Highway and the 8,800-hectare Gwich'in Outdoor Recreation Park near Inuvik.

Completion of a draft for the NWT protected areas strategy and the joint GNWT-DIAND-WWF project to map conservation areas within the Slave Geological Province, which encompasses the BHP diamond mine, were singled out as well.

But the fund's report stressed there is still work to be done.

"The NWT makes up one-third of Canada's land area," fund president Monte Hummel said. "With so much territory still in its natural state, there is a real opportunity to do things right and ensure that critical areas are protected.

"We must see completion of the protected areas strategy by the end of 1998, so the NWT can proceed with getting sites protected by the year 2000."

Bill Carpenter, co-ordinator of the endangered spaces campaign for the western NWT, said there is a chance for progress in the near future.

"In spite of the unique and complicated federal and aboriginal jurisdiction issues, the year ended on a positive note," he said. "Progress was made by all partners in the development of the territory's protected areas strategy.

While considerable progress has been made in the protection of lands, protecting endangered water areas was not as promising. The WWF divided the country into different regions. The Arctic Region -- which includes the NWT -- received an overall grade of D-.

No new marine protected areas were established in the NWT last year, and the only proposed project is still not complete. The project, designation of the Igaliqtuuq national wildlife area on Baffin Island as a marine protected area, has been in the works for the past 10 years, but there has been no recent progress.

The Endangered Spaces campaign was launched in 1989 in an effort to establish a network of protected terrestrial areas by 2000, and a similar network for marine areas by 2010.

The total area of Canada permanently protected stands at nearly six per cent. To date, only one marine protected area has been established in Canada, the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park in Quebec.