Nahanni and Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserves
In June of 2009, CPAWS celebrated the expansion of Nahanni National Park Reserve to over 6 times its original size. National Park status is one of many national and international conservation designations that have recognized the extraordinary natural and cultural values of the Nahanni region, including World Heritage Site (1978) and Canadian Heritage River (1987).
Nahanni National Park Reserve was created in 1972 to protect a 4,766 km2 corridor along the South Nahanni and Flat Rivers from hydroelectric development. Unique in the North, the Nahanni region provides habitat for a rich variety of vegetation and wildlife, including woodland caribou, grizzly bears, mountain goats, and Dall’s sheep. For countless generations, the South Nahanni watershed has been an important cultural and natural area for the Dehcho First Nations and the Sahtu Dene and Métis.
CPAWS worked collaboratively for nearly a decade with the Dehcho First Nations and Parks Canada to more meaningfully protect the natural and cultural values of this spectacular and globally-significant area. The final step needed to secure the entire watershed is to establish the proposed Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve upstream, to protect the Nahanni headwaters in the Sahtu Settlement Area.
Learn more about Nahanni and Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve and the Mackenzie Mountain Watersheds here.
