Edéhzhíe National Wildlife Area Established

Summary#

These final regulations add the Edéhzhíe National Wildlife Area to the federal Wildlife Area Regulations and to the Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations. The change gives Edéhzhíe legal protection under the Canada Wildlife Act and allows monetary penalties for people who enter or carry out banned activities there without authorization. The regulations came into force on May 2, 2022.

What it does#

• Adds the Edéhzhíe area in the Northwest Territories (about 14 218 square kilometres) to Schedule I of the Wildlife Area Regulations, formally creating the Edéhzhíe National Wildlife Area.
• Lists the area with precise map coordinates and a boundary description (Horn Plateau and surrounding lands, including part of Mills Lake).
• Prohibits entry or many activities in the area unless a person has a permit. Examples of banned activities include:
  • hunting, fishing or trapping;
  • camping, hiking, swimming or other recreational activities;
  • operating most vehicles (other than aircraft) or remotely piloted devices;
  • bringing livestock or certain domestic animals, or having animals run at large;
  • lighting fires, dumping waste, removing soil or natural objects;
  • selling goods or carrying on industrial activity.
• Confirms that people exercising Indigenous rights under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, in a way that follows Dehcho law, can enter Edéhzhíe without a federal permit (as set out in the Edéhzhíe Establishment Agreement (EEA)).
• Adds Edéhzhíe to the federal list that allows Environmental Violations administrative monetary penalties (AMPs). AMPs can be issued for unauthorized entry or for breaking the listed prohibitions.

Who's affected#

• Dehcho First Nations and nearby communities (Wrigley, Fort Simpson, Jean Marie River, Fort Providence, Whatì and Behchokö): the area is co‑managed with the Dehcho and their treaty/constitutional harvest rights are preserved under the EEA.
• People who visit, hunt, fish, trap, run tourism or guide services, or plan recreational trips into the area: many activities now require a federal permit or could lead to an AMP if unauthorized.
• Local conservation and stewardship programs, including the Edéhzhíe Management Board (EMB) and the Dehcho Ke’hodi Edéhzhíe Guardians, which will help manage, monitor and enforce the area.
• Federal enforcement and management staff at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), which expects additional costs for staffing, enforcement and signage (estimated at $210,000 per year for management; $200,000 per year for enforcement; a one‑time $25,000 for compliance materials; total about $440,000 in the first year and $410,000 in later years).
• The mining, oil and gas sectors are not expected to be affected, as there are no active mines or current mineral tenures inside the boundary according to the regulatory analysis.

Why it matters#

• The designation gives Edéhzhíe a durable legal layer of protection under federal law to conserve wildlife and habitat in an ecologically important and culturally significant area.
• Edéhzhíe contains important habitat for species such as Woodland (Boreal) Caribou and Wood Bison, and supports internationally important bird habitat (for example, Mills Lake hosts about 12% of Canada’s eastern Tundra swan population and 14% of a goose population).
• The rules balance conservation with Indigenous rights by explicitly protecting the Dehcho First Nations’ ability to continue traditional harvesting and cultural uses under the EEA.
• For ordinary people, the practical effects are: fewer open-access recreation or commercial uses in the area, a new permitting requirement for most activities, and possible fines (AMPs) for unauthorized entry or prohibited actions.