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On Feb. 2, the provincial government of Alberta announced that they have expanded Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park, the largest contiguous area of protected boreal forest in the world.
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In the process, the park land dedicated to conservation and recreation has almost doubled.
This expansion increases the acreage of the park by 375,000 acres, making Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park a total of 775,000 acres, which is six times larger than the size of the next largest park, Wakerton Lakes National Park.
The park expansion was only made possible due to the collaboration between the Alberta government, federal government, and Indigenous communities, primarily the Mikisew Cree, who Nation led the first discussions in 2019. At this agreement several companies relinquished their lucrative Crown mineral agreements.
On the agreement, Minister of Environment and Parks, Jason Nixon had to say, “The lasting legacy of Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park is an example of how Alberta’s energy companies and Indigenous communities, working together, can help achieve desired outcomes on Alberta’s Crown lands .”
This expansion of Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park is a part of Alberta Crown Land Vision, which set out a detailed plan for preserving the provinces natural Crown lands.
Alberta’s government has invested over $300million between 2020 and 2021 to improve the outdoor activities and maintain the park’s natural qualities.
The in increased funding which provided for the new expanded Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park will “support Indigenous People’s traditional activities, including the exercise of treaty rights; protect the Peace-Athabasca watershed south of Wood Buffalo National Park; conserve critical habitat for woodland caribou and bison.”