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6 Tuesday August 4 2015 ENVIRONMENT PROTECTED AREAS The Town of Fort Smith is proud to have Northwestern Air Lease Ltd. as an essential and active member of our community. Congratulations on your 50th year in business CONGRATULATIONS Northwestern Air Lease Ltd. on 50 years of operations.Industry Tourism and Investment THE NORTHERN JOURNAL WISHES NORTHWESTERN AIR LEASE LTD. A HAPPY 50TH THE NORTHERN JOURNAL WISHES NORTHWESTERN AIR LEASE LTD. A HAPPY 50TH www.nwal.ca Tel 867 872-3030 Fax 867 872-2214 Email chartersnwal.ca For Charter Reservations Call toll free 1-877-872-2216 Tel 867 872-3030 Fax 867 872-2214 Email chartersnwal.ca For Charter Reservations Call toll free 1-877-872-2216 Thaidene Nene map reveals much smaller federal park By MEAGAN WOHLBERG The federal government announced the ex- pected boundaries of the new Thaidene Nene nationalparkreserveontheEastArmofGreat Slave last week revealing a much smaller fed- eral area than negotiated prior to devolution. Originally contemplated at over 33000 square-km the new federal park will be just 14000 square-km and surrounded by ap- proximately 12000 square-km of territorial parks and protected area for caribou. The shrunken federal jurisdiction was a target for territorial negotiators who entered into the process with Parks Canada and the involved Aboriginal governments last year following the federal transfer of powers over lands water and resources to the NWT. TwoinstructionsweregiventomeMakesure youleavethesmallestfederalfootprintpossible... and make sure you use Northern tools to keep the other land under the control of the people oftheNorthwestTerritoriesanddoeverything we can to protect as much of the East Arm as possible said NWT Environment and Natu- ral Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger. Not only did the GNWT reduce federal control over the area by 57 per cent it also knocked the total size of Thaidene Nene down to around 26000 square-km in order to leave out certain areas with high mineral potential - primarily diamonds and uranium. The areas that are to remain under NWT control will include both territorial parks and oneareaofcaribouhabitatprotectedunderthe Wildlife Act. While the parks will remain per- manent xtures the caribou area will remain in place only as long as it is needed by caribou. First Nations co-management ThecreationofThaideneNenehasbeenunder discussion between Canada and the Lutsel Ke DeneFirstNationLKDFNforoverfourdecades. The two parties had agreed the First Nation would be able to co-manage the national park. With Wednesdays announcement that re- lationship with the First Nation stands mark- ing the rst time in Canada that an Aboriginal government is guaranteed a role in planning managing and operating a federal park. It will not be your grandfathers version of a national park Steven Nitah lead ne- gotiator on behalf the Lutsel Ke Dene First Nation said of Thaidene Nene. Lutsel Ke is going to work with both parties to manage Thaidene Nene the way we want to. Apart from giving First Nation control over the protected area the creation of Thaidene Nene will not affect Aboriginal and treaty rights including traditional land use activi- ties like hunting trapping and gathering. This isnt a Wood Buffalo National Park kind a situation where rights are going to stop and all activities are going to stop in the park were trying to do the exact opposite of that actuallysaidMerrell-AnnPharetheGNWTs chief negotiator for Thaidene Nene. Furthermore the Northern lifestyles of non-Aboriginal land-users will also be protected in Thaidene Nene including the use of boats and oatplanes. Concerns over size Still there are some concerned about the decrease in size of Thaidene Nene for possible mineraldevelopment.DeneelderFrancoisPau- lette who was involved originally on the le as an advisor to LKDFN during talks with Parks Canada said the current proposal is a far cry from the original agreement with Canada. Theeldersthatwereinvolvedinthatwanted to have this set aside as a national park to be protected. This is quite different he said. Paulette expressed skepticism that territo- rial laws even following the necessary amend- ments would offer the same level of protection as federal ones and questioned the GNWTs motivations in becoming involved on the le. Itseemslikeyourprincipleistokeepthings small as a dime Paulette said. Nitahsaidthemovetoexclude7500square- km of land from the current proposed bound- aries for mineral development was reluctantly accepted by the First Nation. This is a negotiating process and its some- thing that Lutsel Ke reluctantly agreed to he said. At the end of the day the govern- ment of the Northwest Territories is very de- pendent on industrial development so weve agreed to this. Once consultation is done we can reevaluate our role and get back to the GNWT with where we stand. Public meetings ended last week with stops in Fort Smith Hay River and Fort Resolution. The nal details of the park will be pre- sented to cabinet in the 18th Assembly. Lutsel Ke lead negotiator Steven Nitah addresses questions on the park during a public consultation meeting in Fort Smith on Monday July 27. PhotoMeaganWohlberg