Edéhzhíe Dehcho Protected Area and National Wildlife Area (Canada)

Photo credit: Ducks Unlimited

Beginning in 2018, the Wyss Foundation made a three year, $750,000 commitment to help the Dehcho First Nation in Canada’s Northwest Territories establish an Indigenous guardians program to conduct on-the-ground co-management of the proposed 3.5 million acre Edéhzhíe National Wildlife Area. Edéhzhíe, which the Dehcho First Nation identified for protection through an Indigenous-led land use planning process, includes a unique wetland ecosystem that provides essential habitat for migratory waterfowl, moose, bison, wolverine, and caribou. The Indigenous guardians program created through this grant enables a year-round team of staff to monitor, patrol, and care for the land, and also ensure that the Dehcho people benefit economically from the management of this area. Of the three-year commitment, $275,000 was immediately granted and administered by Ducks Unlimited as a partner in the International Boreal Conservation Campaign. An additional $250,000 was granted in early 2021 to support continued on-the-ground stewardship for Edehzhie. A final $225,000 was granted in 2022 to continue support for this work. 

Thanks in part to the success of the Dehcho Guardians program, Edéhzhíe continues to attract attention as a model for Indigenous-led conservation in action. The Government of the Northwest Territories permanently withdrew the Edéhzhíe area from mineral claims on June 2, 2020, clearing the way for final designation of the National Wildlife Area. On May 11, 2022, the Edéhzhíe National Wildlife Area was formally established. Establishing Edéhzhíe as a National Wildlife Area fulfills Canada’s commitment to the Dehcho First Nations and is a positive step towards reconciliation. Edéhzhíe National Wildlife Area also contributes to Canada’s ambitious commitment to protect 25 percent of its territory by 2025, a benchmark on the path to 30 percent by 2030.

The Dehcho First Nations and Environment and Climate Change Canada continue to manage Edéhzhíe together to protect its lands and wildlife for the purposes of conservation, research, and interpretation.