Yellowknife (Oct 16/06) - There was much to celebrate in Lutsel K'e Friday as the community inched one step closer to establishing a national park in their region with the signing of a memorandum of understanding.

The deal, inked by Rona Ambrose, federal environment minister and Lutsel K'e chief Adeline Jonasson, will move ahead work on a feasibility study, firming up boundaries and assessing potential impacts and benefits of the proposed park.

"It's a very special day for us in the community," said Jonasson, who earlier declared the day a civic holiday for residents. "There has been a dream from the community for a long time about protecting the land in this area."

During Ambrose's address, the minister noted that the effort to bring the park to fruition, "Was started before I was born."

The 39-year-old minister went on to say that Canada had an obligation to protect its natural areas.

"And this government is acting on that obligation to build our nation-wide heritage," she said. "The ancestors of Lutsel K'e entered into Treaty 8 and the words that struck me were that it 'was for as long as the sun shines, the rivers flow, and the grass grows.' This is an important step to ensure these words are honoured."

Ambrose was in Yellowknife the previous day for the Canadian Councils of Resource and Environment Ministers meeting.

Of the involved departments, including fisheries and forests, parks was part of the overall strategy for transboundary agreements to clean up and help maintain the country's fragile environment; particularly in the North.

The preliminary area of interest for the proposed park is more than 33,000 square kilometres, covering a portion of the East Arm of Great Slave Lake and stretching to the border of Nunavut.

While dignitaries - both aboriginal and government - appeared pleased at the prospect of moving towards establishing a park, James Marlowe, a representative of Lutsel K'e's Wildlife Committee, cautioned that nothing was written in stone. "Just because we sign an MOU doesn't mean we have to do a national park, it could be some other protected area," he said. "Our treaty rights have to be respected and we have to be able to maintain what we do today. We don't want restrictions (on traditional use of the land) and if we don't have them I think it will be very difficult to have an agreement."

Discussions are to take place over the next three years before a final agreement on the park can be reached.