OTTAWA - Dehcho First Nations has been honoured with a national award for its work to protect part of Canada's boreal forest.

During an awards ceremony in Ottawa on Dec. 1, Chief Lloyd Chicot of the Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation and Herb Norwegian, a former grand chief, received a Boreal Award for outstanding leadership by a community on behalf of the Dehcho First Nations. It was the third annual awards ceremony conducted by the Canadian Boreal Initiative, an organization that is working to conserve Canada's boreal forests.

Chief Lloyd Chicot, left, and Herb Norwegian, right, stand with Robert Stark, an adviser to federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice, during the Canadian Boreal Initiative's awards ceremony in Ottawa. Dehcho First Nations was honoured with a Boreal Award for outstanding leadership by a community for its work to protect the South Nahanni watershed. - photo courtesy of Natasha Moine

The Boreal Awards recognize leadership, innovation, co-operation and excellence by those who have made outstanding contributions to protect boreal forests.

Members of the Boreal Leadership Council determine the recipients, of whom there are five to seven every year. The Dehcho First Nations was chosen for an award for achieving its goal to protect the South Nahanni watershed through the expansion of the Nahanni National Park Reserve by working with the federal government and other groups, said Larry Innes, the executive director of the Canadian Boreal Initiative.

"We're very pleased to have recognized the tremendous contribution the Dehcho First Nations has made to conservation in Canada's boreal region particularly in relation to the Nahanni National Park Reserve and the balanced vision in the Dehcho Land Use Plan," said Innes.

"The accomplishments the Dehcho have made are a model for collaboration between First Nations and government and other stakeholders that is increasingly being recognized by Canadians from coast to coast."

Canada's boreal forests need to be protected because they are one of the world's last large intact boreal ecosystems, said Innes. The Boreal Initiative believes Canada can provide models to the world for balancing conservation and sustainable development.

The organization's goal is to protect at least half of Canada's boreal forest while supporting world-leading standards for development in the remainder. The boreal ecosystem covers 1.6 billion acres in Canada, stretching from the Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador.

It was inevitable that the Dehcho First Nations would receive a Boreal Award because the organization is doing a lot to protect both the land and the water in the Deh Cho region, said Herb Norwegian, a former grand chief of the Dehcho First Nations (DFN).

"We're at the cutting edge of the stuff," Norwegian said.

DFN has withdrawn a lot of land in the region from development through the Dehcho Land Use Plan, the former grand chief said.

"The Nahanni is the jewel in the crown so to speak," he said.

DFN established a mandate to protect the entire South Nahanni watershed through the expansion of the park and the leadership and elders fully endorsed the initiative, he said.

"Everyone was just on side," said Norwegian, adding that Canadians from across the country also seem quite excited about the park expansion.

With the watershed now protected, Norwegian said he hopes the First Nations leaders stay on course to protect other key areas, including the Sambaa K'e watershed, an area identified around Kakisa, and Edehzhie.

DFN was one of two Northern winners of a Boreal Award this year. Deline was also given an award for securing the permanent protection of the Saoyu-?ehdacho Parks Canada National Historic Site.