Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Apr 30/04) - The Deh Cho First Nations have worked towards protecting close to half of Deh Cho land from development, but that's just a starting point, according to Stan Sanguez.

Chair of the Protected Areas Strategy (PAS) advisory committee, Sanguez said he's encouraging communities to take another look at sites they want to preserve. Areas with spiritual or cultural value or that are ecologically sensitive are prime candidates, he explained.

"The Deh Cho land is our supermarket," Sanguez said of the vegetation and wildlife. "We're trying to find the balanced approach to our (traditional) way of life and development."

The Edehzhie area, 25,000-square kilometres between Jean Marie River and Fort Providence, was granted

interim withdrawal status in 2002 under the PAS. Sanguez noted that Wrigley's Pehdzeh Ki First Nation has been seeking to protect the Blackwater Lake area and Jean Marie River wants to safeguard five lakes near the community: Ekali, Gargan, Deep, Sanguez and McGill.

Community-driven process

While the PAS is a "community-driven process," each community requires a sponsoring agency to move forward with the initiative, Sanguez noted. Sponsoring agencies include the World Wildlife Fund, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and Ducks Unlimited. There are eight steps to completing a PAS and it can take years to complete, he acknowledged.

The PAS advisory committee has applied for $17 million in federal funding to carry out its five-year action plan, Sanguez said.

Over the past few years, he said there's been talk of protecting several areas within the Deh Cho, but then changes in leadership deflate the momentum.

Pending development has also preoccupied some communities, according to Sanguez.

"The pipeline consultations and discussions have been taking over everything," he said.