Edéhzhíe
Last updated: June 2010Edéhzhíe (eh-day-shae), includes the Horn Plateau, Horn River, Mills Lake and Willowlake River and is approximately 25,000 km² in size.
Edéhzhíe Status Update
The Edéhzhíe Working Group met in February 2009 and reached agreement on a proposed boundary that is 57% of the original candidate area size (interim withdrawal area shown on the map). A draft Recommendations Report was prepared and circulated for public comment in August and September 2009. The Working Group finalized and submitted the Recommendations Report in November 2009.
In June 2010, the Dehcho First Nations and Tłįchǫ Government sent a letter to the Minister of Environment asking that Edéhzhíe be formally protected as a National Wildlife Area. The letter is based on the Edéhzhíe Working Group Recommendation Report, with the boundary 57% of the original study area (14,250 km²) and co-operative management between Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) and the First Nations. The First Nations requested a subsurface land withdrawal for the 14,250 km² National Wildlife Area.
Importance of Edéhzhíe
- The Horn Plateau is a unique ecosystem. The headwater lakes and muskeg on the Plateau feed the Rabbitskin, Willowlake and Horn Rivers and Mills Lake, which are important fish and wildlife habitat, and sources of clean water.
- The richness and diversity of Edéhzhíe have made this area a central cultural and spiritual gathering place for the Dehcho and Tłįchǫ peoples and figures prominently in Dene legends.
- Edéhzhíe hosts numerous cultural sites, trails and harvesting areas, and has always been used for hunting, fishing, trapping, and other traditional uses. Mills Lake is a key northern wetland on the Central and Mississippi continental flyways for migratory birds.
Status
- The Canadian Wildlife Service has sponsored Edéhzhíe as a Candidate Protected Area and is seeking to protect the area through the Canada Wildlife Act as a National Wildlife Area.
- Edéhzhíe is currently protected through an interim land withdrawal that expires in October 2010.
- Documentation and assessments of the area's ecological, cultural and economic values are complete.
Context
- Edéhzhíe falls within the area covered by ongoing land, resource and governance negotiations involving the Dehcho First Nations, the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories. The Edéhzhíe PAS process will be taken into account in these negotiations.
Edéhzhíe Working Group
- The Edéhzhíe Working Group was dissolved once the recommendations report was completed. It included representatives from the Dehcho First Nations and Tłįchǫ Government, the communities of Wrigley, Willowlake River, Fort Simpson, Jean Marie River, Fort Providence, Whatì and Behchokǫ̀, the Canadian Wildlife Service, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, the Northwest Territories Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the World Wildlife Fund, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chamber of Mines. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers was invited to participate on the Working Group.
Edéhzhíe Vision Statement
- Edéhzhíe is a spiritual place that is ecologically and physically unique. It is where the ancestors of the Dehcho and Tłįchǫ Dene went to sustain themselves when food was scarce. The waters are pure and the animals abundant. The Edéhzhíe National Wildlife Area will be managed using the best available knowledge to protect the watersheds, vegetation and wildlife that are necessary for sustaining the culture of present and future generations of Dehcho and Tłįchǫ Dene, as well as for the enrichment of all Canadians.
Reports
- 2008 - Edéhzhíe | Socio-Economic Assessment Baseline (summary pdf | full text pdf)
- 2008 - Edéhzhíe | Socio-Economic Assessment Development Options (summary pdf | full text pdf)
- 2008 - Edéhzhíe | Non-Renewable Resources Assessment Phase 2 (link)
- 2008 - Edéhzhíe | Non-Renewable Resources Assessment Results and Interpretation (link)
- 2006 - Edéhzhíe | Ecological Assessment (summary pdf | full text pdf)
- 2006 - Edéhzhíe | Hydrocarbon Assessment Summary Report (link)
- 2006 - Edéhzhíe | Renewable Resources Assessment (summary pdf | full text pdf)
- 2004 - Edéhzhíe | Non-Renewable Resources Assessment Phase 1 (link)
Working Group Reports
- 2009 - Edéhzhíe | November 2009 Final Recommendations Report (full text pdf)
