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Staying firm on Edehzhie
Dehcho First Nations against any development in the area

Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 1, 2013

DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
Dehcho First Nations is standing firm on its goal to see Edehzhie fully protected.

NNSL photo/graphic

Elder Ted Landry of Deh Gah Got'ie First Nation speaks about the importance of protecting Edehzhie during Dehcho First Nations' annual assembly that was held in Fort Providence from June 25 to 27. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

"We will be relentless," said Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian. "We'll ensure Edehzhie is well protected."

The culturally- and ecologically-valued area was one of the topics that leaders and delegates from across the Deh Cho discussed during the Dehcho First Nations' annual assembly that took place in Fort Providence from June 25 to 27. The gathered representatives heard that while there has been progress on Edehzhie in the past few months, new challenges have also arisen.

Dehcho First Nations (DFN) has been working since 1999 to get permanent protection for Edehzhie through the NWT Protected Areas Strategy. Edehzhie is an area on the Horn Plateau that contains the headwaters for the Rabbitskin, Willowlake and Horn rivers as well as Mills Lake, which are considered important fish and wildlife habitat. The original study area was approximately 25,000 square kilometres.

In March, the federal government agreed in writing to complete the final stages of the strategy to establish 14,250 square kilometres of Edehzhie as a national wildlife area.

The agreement, however, came with a caveat. Although, as a national wildlife area, Edehzhie would be given surface and sub-surface protection from mineral development, the federal government wants to keep the sub-surface of Edehzhie open to oil and gas development with the understanding that the resulting infrastructure would be placed outside the national wildlife area's boundaries, said Larry Innes, who provides legal council to DFN, during a presentation at the assembly.

DFN has already made it clear in a letter sent to the federal minister of the Environment that they won't support that condition. It's not right for Canada to be coming forward with a new condition at this late stage, said Innes.

DFN wants to ensure it will be part of the management of the national wildlife area through an agreement like the one that created the consensus team for the Nahanni National Park Reserve, Innes said. DFN also wants all land that was part of the original study area - land that won't be part of the wildlife area - protected until the

Dehcho Land Use Plan is completed, so that it can be protected under the plan.

Canada is currently consulting internally on the terms for establishing Edehzhie as a national wildlife area.

The federal government's desire to allow companies to drill under Edehzhie didn't come as a surprise to Norwegian.

"They would have done anything there to make sure they got to those resources," he said, speaking after the assembly.

Norwegian said DFN will continue to press the federal government and will be involved in the process of protecting Edehzhie until the end.

A number of elders spoke to the assembly about the importance of protecting Edehzhie.

"When we look at our land, we love our land," said elder Ted Landry of Deh Gah Got'ie First Nation during the assembly in Fort Providence.

Landry spoke about how his father created a trail to Edehzhie for trapping and the abundance of animals in the area.

"We need to hang onto this for our young generation," he said.

In addition to Edehzhie, major topics at the three-day assembly included the Dehcho Process and the Dehcho Land Use Plan.

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