Fort Simpson (May 05/06) - Senator Nick Sibbeston is critical of expanding the Nahanni National Park Reserve's boundaries seven-fold and he is telling everyone about it.

Sibbeston published his views in a newsletter, on Senate letterhead, which was distributed by mail to all residents of the Deh Cho.

Dehcho First Nations has proposed extending the park boundaries with the goal of protecting much of the South Nahanni watershed.

In the newsletter, Sibbeston argues that expanding the park would cut off resources that are needed to build a self-sufficient economy.

"I think there is a real danger we could end up with a huge park the people of the Deh Cho will not benefit from," said Sibbeston during an interview.

Future governments in the Deh Cho will need the money from the resources to function, he said. He questions whether people will have a future living beside a larger park.

Chief Eric Betsaka of the Nahanni Butte Dene Band said the Senator hasn't been listening to the Deh Cho. Nahanni Butte is the community closest to the park and residents wouldn't mind living next to it if it expands.

Betsaka said councillors have told him the band is in favour of park expansion. People in the community will be upset about the newsletter, said Betsaka.

Most of the senator's support is for the Prairie Creek Mine, which is located inside of the proposed park expansion boundaries, said Betsaka. He disagrees with the senator's view that the park would only be for southern tourists.

"The Deh Cho is all about the environment," said Betsaka.

In his newsletter, Sibbeston speaks out against what he sees as a "land grab" by officials from Parks Canada.

An increase in the park's boundaries by half or three times at the most would be large enough, he said.

"Using a national park to protect the interest of the Deh Cho people is like using a hammer to kill a mosquito biting your hand," he writes in the newsletter.

Sibbeston argues that inside an expanded park, traditional activities would be limited.

The expansion project was inspired by the Dehcho First Nations (DFN), said Chuck Blyth, superintendent of Nahanni National Park Reserve. The park is managed co-operatively through a consensus team with members of the DFN and Nahanni Butte.

Blyth pointed out that the expanded park would only cover 45 per cent of the mountainous regions in the Deh Cho - not 80 per cent as Sibbeston's newsletter states.

Traditional harvesting has never been hindered in the park or the South Nahanni and the DFN have their own protocol for harvesting in the watershed, said Blyth.

Sibbeston also criticizes the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), claiming they are a southern environmental group that is only promoting a vision of parks from the Yukon to Yellowstone.

Jennifer Morin, the senior conservation co-ordinator for CPAWS-NWT in Yellowknife, said the comments in the newsletter do not reflect who CPAWS members are and what they do.

The organization has been Northern based out of Yellowknife for 10 years and has a partnership with the Dehcho First Nations, said Morin.

The Nahanni park expansion is part of a national campaign, but it is being driven from the North, Morin said.

CPAWS has conservation values, but supports aboriginal rights and traditional uses of the land, Morin said. The organization also recognizes the need for a balance between jobs and conservation. The Deh Cho Land Use Plan will balance the two needs and the Nahanni National Park Reserve is just one piece of the plan, Morin said.

Sibbeston said this is the first time he's put out a brochure. He published it in his role as a senator because the expansion is in the realm of public policy, so it's part of his responsibilities, he explained.

Sibbeston said the newsletter was intended to get people thinking about what they believe in, so they will express their views to their leaders. Since the publication, Sibbeston said he's been approached by a number of people who have had positive comments.

"It's surprising the number of people who agree with me," said Sibbeston.