Fort Simpson (Aug 29/03) - If the Deh Cho First Nations have their way, Nahanni National Park Reserve will expand up to seven times its current size in the coming years.

Herb Norwegian: DCFN protecting the Nahanni watershed to ensure people are not drinking "poisoned water."

The DCFN and Parks Canada announced the signing of two agreements last week that will lead to a feasibility study on park expansion. The study, which will include community consultations, will recommend a final park boundary. The report is to be completed in about three years.

Herb Norwegian, Deh Cho grand chief, said the agreements will further empower aboriginal people and help safeguard the Nahanni.

"We (won't) have to worry about development taking place in those areas that we've identified," said Norwegian. "It will protect the water and the land and animals of the ecosystem, and make sure that people all over the world have something to enjoy."

He said those are goals the DCFN and Parks Canada share.

The Deh Cho have already set aside much of the watershed under interim protection measures. Norwegian added that, ideally, the entire South Nahanni watershed will be protected, but the upper portion lies within Sahtu territory so a joint effort would be required.

Two mines, CanTung and Prairie Creek, lie near current park boundaries. As existing third-party interests they would not be forced to shut down due to park expansion. Norwegian noted that the mines will "peter out," at some point.

"We'd want to make sure that government and the (mining) company that was there are able to reclaim the area back to its original state," he asserted.

Sheila Copps, minister of Canadian Heritage, who signed the park memorandum of understanding, referring to the initiative as an "historic occasion."

"We will work together to achieve expansion of Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada, while at the same time proceeding with initiatives that will involve the Deh Cho First Nations in an increased role in the management of this spectacular northern park," Copps stated in a press release.