Our Vision for the Mackenzie Valley

CPAWS' vision for the Mackenzie Valley is to achieve large landscape conservation that protects healthy ecosystems over the long term, while meeting the needs of northern communities. Our work is based on the principles of conservation science, and grounded in collaborative work with communities across the NWT.

Our Work

CPAWS is working closely with our conservation partners (WWF Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Canadian Boreal Initiative) and Aboriginal organizations in the Dehcho and Sahtu regions of the Mackenzie Valley. Together we are helping to establish a network of protected areas before any major projects, including the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project, are approved.

Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy

Much of our work takes place within the framework of the Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy (NWT-PAS), an eight step process used for planning and establishing protected areas. The NWT-PAS is a partnership between Aboriginal organizations, the federal and territorial governments, industry and conservation organizations. It promotes a balanced approach to land use decisions by including the best available traditional, ecological, and economic knowledge. With this information, communities are able to make decisions that balance development and conservation, and are right for present and future generations.

Mackenzie Valley Five-Year Action Plan

Given the urgent need for action in the Mackenzie Valley, the PAS stakeholders initiated the Mackenzie Valley Five-Year Action Plan (2004-2009). The Action Plan describes what needs to be done over five years (2005-2010) to help communities in the Mackenzie Valley work through the NWT-PAS process, to protect the land in advance of the proposed pipeline. While a network of lands that need protection have been identified in the Valley, none of the proposed sites have received permanent protection yet, and only a handful of them have temporary protection from development.