Since 2020, Firelight has supported the development and implementation of the Tłı̨chǫ Highway Wildlife Monitoring Program. To meet the requirements of the Environmental Assessment measures for the Tłı̨chǫ Highway, the Program focuses on collecting information to support the Tłı̨chǫ Government in considering and negotiating mitigations related to habitat and harvest of boreal caribou, barren-ground caribou, and moose. In particular, this work aims to determine changes in harvesting pressure following construction of the road, determine effects on the road to habitat, and to develop a Tłı̨chǫ monitoring and reporting program. Firelight’s role has been to support Tłı̨chǫ Government in organizing and facilitating knowledge holder advisory committee meetings, developing monitoring and harvester reporting methodologies, training community researchers, in-field data collection support, data management, and drafting Program reports.

After Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) and Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN) leadership identified that it is a critical time to move forward with a plan for protecting and recovering boreal caribou within their traditional territories, Firelight was selected to work alongside the two Nations to develop a joint boreal caribou stewardship plan based in Indigenous knowledge. The Tâdzié-Atihk Stewardship Plan is the result of these efforts, and was developed by ACFN and MCFN with guidance from Dené and Cree knowledge holders and elders. This work included focus groups, direct-to-digital mapping interviews, site visits, and spatial data analysis to delineate stewardship zones and actions, drawing on Indigenous knowledge and underpinned by the best available scientific information. As an Indigenous knowledge-based plan, the Tâdzié-Atihk Stewardship Plan fundamentally upholds and respects the rights of ACFN and MCFN to steward values and resources within their territories in northeastern Alberta, while ambitiously meeting federal boreal caribou range planning requirements. The Nations are now working to implement the Tâdzié-Atihk Stewardship Plan in their shared homelands.

Since 2018, Firelight has continued to provide support for Blueberry River First Nations in the development, coordination, and implementation of independent freshwater monitoring and collaborative data collection for the Blueberry River Watershed. The foundation of this work is based in BRFN knowledge and use – building on the outcomes of a traditional knowledge study focused on characterizing cultural use and impacts along streams, and the development of criteria for healthy streams and waterways based on BRFN cultural values and indicators. This work has since expanded to include the implementation of monitoring activities by BRFN staff and field technicians, using a combination of Indigenous knowledge indicators and standardized western science methods. Through partnerships with the STREAM Program and iTrackDNA Project, BRFN members have received training and certification in Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) protocol for wadeable streams, and environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling. The outcomes of this work are intended to help inform reciprocal restoration – the mutually reinforcing restoration of land and culture - for streams in BRFN territory.

The Vuntut Gwitchin Government (VGG) is currently (as of May 2018) evaluating their research priorities and approach towards environmental monitoring on their lands. The project Nanh kak ejuk gweedhaa nakhwaandèe hah gwanaa’in “Watching Changes on the Land with our Eyes” was initiated by the VGG to better understand environmental change in their traditional territory, and how this change has been tracked over time. Informed through a comprehensive literature review and a collaborative, community-informed workshop, this report documents the emerging trends and priorities of community members and VGG staff for future community-based monitoring in VGG territory. 

In addition to identifying specific monitoring goals for key species that are relied on by community members, there were five overarching goals for a VGG approach to future environmental monitoring research: 

1. Engage youth: Ensure youth are being educated on these topics and are trained to carry on the work in the future; youth need to be given the opportunity to learn about Vuntut Gwitchin values, culture and carry on their traditional way of life;

2. Support harvester monitoring: Develop a robust harvesting reporting program in the community to have a better understanding of what community members are seeing on the land, and aid in developing management plans;

3. Community-based monitoring plans: Continue to finalize and implement all community-based monitoring programs, while updating the plans on a regular basis;

4. Study climate change locally: Climate change is having impacts on all aspects of the ecosystem, and needs to be monitored closely on an annual basis; and

5. Engage traditional knowledge: Continue to have Vuntut Gwitchin traditional knowledge, values and priorities guide environmental monitoring work and research agendas.

There is a groundswell of interest in Indigenous-led Protected Areas (IPAs) and stewardship initiatives in British Columbia and Canada. Firelight initiated a preliminary study of selected IPAs, and other Indigenous conservation efforts in British Columbia, and the challenges they share. This report identified Indigenous communities in BC that are engaged or interested in establishing IPAs, synthesized community priorities, challenges, questions, and needs, then identified gaps in available resources, recommending actions and funding strategies to support future work. Wilburforce Foundation funded this work. A preliminary scoping study, this report helped to inform the Indigenous Circle of Experts (ICE) for the federal Pathway to Canada’s Target 1 protected areas initiative.

The Indigenous Traditional Knowledge Framework is a policy guide to establish standards and best practices for including Indigenous Traditional Knowledge into environmental decision-making in Northeast Alberta. Firelight supported the process and authorship of the Framework, alongside 14 Indigenous communities, industry and government representatives.