Mikisew Cree celebrate expansion of Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park

The Mikisew Cree First Nation is celebrating the expansion of the Kitaskano Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park, which the nation says will help protect the animals and watershed surrounding Fort Chipewyan. 

Another 375,000 acres were added to the park, bringing it to 775,000 acres.

This park is part of the largest area of protected boreal forest in the world. 

Three oilsands companies — Athabasca Oil Corporation, Cenovus and Burgess Canadian Resources — contributed land for the expansion.

Chief Peter Powder said the Mikisew Cree First Nation started talking to industry in 2015 about creating the park. 

Elders wanted some land preserved south of Wood Buffalo Park as a buffer from the oilsands, to protect the watershed and wildlife, including caribou and bison, Powder said. 

"There's no activity, no oilsands activity, no forestry, no nothing going on there," he said. "I'm actually quite proud… It makes me feel good that I leave that as the chief of today for the future generations."

Almost 98 per cent of the expansion area overlaps with caribou habitat and a small portion overlaps with the Ronald Lake bison herd.

"If we don't protect the area for them to roam and be healthy, then they'll just go extinct," Powder said. 

The expansion is only Phase 2 of the project which started in 2019, according to Powder.

He's now working with other oilsands companies to expand the park further. He believes the park could be completed within a few years. 

The First Nation is planning a celebration in the park this summer. 

Karla Ingoldsby, vice president of Thermal Oil for Athabasca Oil Corporation, said the company relinquished 230,000 acres of mineral lands to the park, land that would've been used by the company for future development.

"We appreciate the value of helping the government as well as the First Nations protect the environment," Ingoldsby said. "And so we wanted to be a part of this expansion."