News Release

National tour to protect Nahanni wilderness stops in Whitehorse

January 9, 2006 – Whitehorse – Dr. John Weaver, Harvey Locke and Neil Hartling will appear at 7:00 pm at the Beringia Centre, Sunday January 15th 2006 as part of a cross-country tour to encourage Canadians to help protect the Northwest Territories’ spectacular Nahanni wilderness. The current boundaries of the Nahanni National Park Reserve – also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site – protect only a small part of the watershed, leaving a significant portion threatened by mining.

“The federal government needs to commit right now to protecting the entire watershed of this globally unique and delicate landscape,” said the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Senior Conservation Advisor, Harvey Locke. “Allowing this type of development to proceed in this earthquake and flood-prone, sensitive region is just too great a risk, and collectively we need to send that message out loud and clear.”

Organized by CPAWS-Yukon, a chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, this event offers Yukoners a chance to learn more about the effort to save one of Canada’s spectacular wilderness areas. The evening will include speeches, personal anecdotes, and stunning images of one of Canada’s great boreal landscapes.

Nahanni National Park was established in the 1970s by former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who was awed by its magnificence. The federal government committed to expanding Nahanni National Park Reserve in 2002 but the process for assessing the boundary expansion is still underway and could take Parks Canada another year or more to complete – too late to stop some of the harm that industrial development might cause.

CPAWS is urging Canadians concerned about the Nahanni’s fate to contact the Prime Minister and other Members of Parliament to demand an immediate commitment to protect the South Nahanni watershed. More information is available at www.cpaws.org. The “Nahanni Forever” national tour is part of CPAWS” ongoing efforts to conserve Canada”s remaining wilderness. In the Yukon, CPAWS is working for protection and conservation of areas such as the Three Rivers of the Peel Watershed, and the upper Coal and Beaver valleys in southeast Yukon.

For more information, contact:

Theresa Gulliver
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Yukon Chapter
Telephone: (867) 393-8080 ext. 8

CPAWS is a nationwide, non-profit conservation organization with chapters in every major region that are working to conserve Canada’s wilderness. In partnership with local communities, industry and governments, CPAWS’ staff and volunteers work to create new parks and protected areas, and to promote sustainable resource practices. Since 1963, CPAWS has helped to protect over 40 million hectares of Canadian wilderness.

Nahanni Forever is an initiative of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS). CPAWS thanks its sponsors: Mountain Equipment Co-op and Nahanni River Adventures. It also thanks the Royal Canadian Geographic Society for co-hosting the Fraser Lectureship in Northern Studies at five southern Ontario universities as part of the tour.

Note: B-roll and still photographs are available.

View event details at: www.cpawsyukon.org/events/index.html#nahanni and www.cpaws.org.

 
Download a Nahanni Forever backgrounder in Acrobat (PDF) format:
nahanni-backgrounder.pdf
(~55K)