Yellowknife (Aug 01/03) - Justin Trudeau had the top three buttons of his shirt undone, and the full attention of the audience as he mused about paddling the waters of the South Nahanni river, Tuesday night.

Sporting a woodsman's beard, Justin Trudeau spoke to dozens of listeners about his recent experience on the Nahanni and reminisced about canoeing with his father, Pierre Trudeau. - Merle Robillard/NNSL photo

Trudeau spoke at a benefit for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, NWT chapter.

He was relaxed and tanned as he remembered his father, Pierre Trudeau, as a canoeist first, prime minister second.

The non-profit conservation organization approached Trudeau this spring to join 10 other Canadians in Boreal Rendezvous 2003,a campaign to protect the boreal forest.

"My family has a huge history of canoeing," said Trudeau, citing the love of paddling his father instilled in him and his brothers as one reason to undertake the adventure.

He joined Herb Norwegian, Suza' Tseto, Ed Stuzik, Gerald Butts, Bruce Lourie, and several CPAWS conservationists for the seven-day trip down the South Nahanni.

After a visit to the river in 1970, Pierre Trudeau directed his government to create the Nahanni National Park Reserve, established in 1976, protecting one-seventh of the watershed of the South Nahanni River.

Justin is quick to state his own reasons for revisiting the site, but admits that "there's a sense of completing something he started.

"Wild areas have the power to unite the people (of Canada)," he said, a smile still on his face from his recent journey.

Nahanni National Park Reserve only protects the narrow corridor of the flowing river. Outside the park, industrial development threatens the future of the ecosystem, according to CPAWS-NWT.

The Boreal Rendezvous is a summer-long celebration, with this trip being one of seven river trips nationwide.

"The goal is to help us all understand the beauty and importance of the boreal region," said Katherine Robinson, executive director for CPAWS-NWT.

"The energy in the place is apparent through and through," said Trudeau.

"With a lot of luck and crazy frantic paddling, I made it through without flipping," he says with a laugh.

When asked if he considers himself an environmentalist, Trudeau said "probably."

Of the trip, he said he was "reminded of how comfortable I am in wilderness... it felt so good, so natural."

The campaign will culminate in a final gala at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que., for all the trip participants.