Níh boghodi: We are the Stewards of our Land (2012)

An Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) stewardship strategy for thunzea, et’thén and dechen yághe jere (woodland caribou, barren-ground caribou, and wood bison)

This project involved drafting a caribou and bison protection plan to address the restoration of barren-ground caribou habitat, dwindling woodland caribou herds in the vicinity of industrial activities near the oil sands, and the pressures on a small but culturally important bison herd near Poplar Point in Alberta. The strategy was based on interviews with community members completed as part of a traditional knowledge study in 2010 and was endorsed in meetings with Elders and with Chief and Council in 2012. The strategy identifies an area for caribou and bison protection from the Firebag River north to the provincial border, including the Birch Mountains. The plan also recommends a stewardship zone in the rest of the ACFN territory in Alberta with guidelines to reduce impacts on caribou habitat.

The project was funded by the Environment Canada Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk.