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DEH CHO
A Deh Cho resident will be sharing Dehcho First Nations' experience in park co-management with a newer park that has ties to the region.

George Tsetso, left, of Nahanni Butte, who has been appointed to the management committee for the Naats'ihch'oh National Park Reserve, and Dehcho First Nations' Grand Chief Herb Norwegian attended a commemorative ceremony at Moose Ponds in the park on July 17. - photo courtesy of George Tsetso

George Tsetso of Nahanni Butte was officially appointed to the Naats'ihch'oh Management Committee last week.

Naats'ihch'oh National Park Reserve, located in the Sahtu, was formed in March 2012. The 4,841-square-kilometre park protects 70 per cent of the upper water shed of the South Nahanni River.

The park also shares a border with the Nahanni National Park Reserve, which the South Nahanni River flows into.

Tsetso has 11 years of experience as a member of the Naha Dehe Consensus Team, through which Dehcho First Nations and Parks Canada co-manage the Nahanni National Park Reserve.

The management committee will have a similar role between the Sahtu and Parks Canada.

Tsetso said he was pleased to be appointed to the committee.

"I thought it was a good opportunity to share the knowledge I've learned sitting on the board," he said.

Tsetso plans to share his experience with how different organizations can work together to co-manage a park. By sharing the experience Dehcho First Nations' has gained, it will make the path a little easier for the new park reserve, he said.

Tsetso said he's also interested in seeing how the committee will do things in the Sahtu park.

"We learn from them and they learn from us," he said.

In the end, both the Dehcho and the Sahtu are working toward the same goals through the parks, said Tsetso.

"It's all about the water and saving the land for the future generations," he said.

Tsetso said he's happy Naats'ihch'oh National Park Reserve was formed because it is protecting the same animals and water the Nahanni National Park Reserve does. The more the Sahtu is able to learn from the Deh Cho, the more the region will benefit from the clean water that will flow down from Naats'ihch'oh, he said.

The two regions also have a lot of shared cultural history, said Tsetso.

"They are our neighbours."

The Naats'ihch'oh Management Committee is comprised of four members from the Sahtu appointed by renewable resource councils as well as four members appointed by the minister responsible for Parks Canada, including Tsetso, who is the Deh Cho representative from the Naha Dehe Consensus Team. He was recommended by Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian.

Having a member of the consensus team on the management committee is a reflection of the fact the two parks share an ecosystem as well as the close ties that will have to be formed, said Cam Zimmer, a co-operative management co-ordinator with Parks Canada based in Fort Smith.

"There's obviously going to have to be some strong co-ordination between the two parks," he said.

Many of the people who go to Naats'ihch'oh National Park Reserve will likely start canoe trips that will end in the Nahanni, said Zimmer.

There will be some similarities between how the consensus team and the management committee will function, he said. Tsetso will be able to share what the team in the Deh Cho deals with and how.

Parks Canada has between 25 to 30 co-operative management boards across the country with aboriginal people who have traditionally used the areas that are now parks. The boards are part of a long-term commitment toward relationship building and providing First Nations with a say on how the parks are managed, said Zimmer.

Tsetso has already been to the Naats'ihch'oh National Park Reserve. On July 17, Tsetso and Grand Chief Herb Norwegian joined representatives from the Sahtu and Ross River, Yukon, in a commemorative ceremony at Moose Ponds in the park.

The ceremony honoured the elders who were strong advocates of the creation of the park and contributed to naming the park.

"It was a beautiful trip," said Tsetso.

"I got to meet some beautiful people."

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