Manitoba Wildlife Federation hopes to ensure anglers and hunters have ongoing access to the Seal River watershed

To ensure licensed anglers and hunters continue to have access to a vast swath of northern Manitoba slated to become a new Indigenous Protected Area, the Manitoba Wildlife Federation wants a seat at the stakeholders’ table. Spearheaded by a partnership of four Manitoba First Nations and supported by the provincial and federal governments, the proposal to protect the Seal River Watershed is currently undergoing a feasibility study.

The ultimate goal is to permanently protect the 50,000-square-kilometre region from industrial development, as well as create community-driven ecological and cultural tourism ventures. It’s an ambitious project that would help Manitoba achieve its goal of expanding protected areas from 11 per cent of the province today to 30 per cent by 2030. It would also contribute to the goal of Canada as a whole to protect 30 per cent of lands and waters by 2030. The largely untouched wilderness area stores 1.7 billion tons of carbon; it’s also home to 23 species at risk, including barren-ground caribou.

While the MWF is supportive of the conservation initiative, it’s worried that fishing and hunting will be curtailed if the area is turned into a national park. “If they go to a Parks Canada designation, which we’ve seen in other spots, then the province can lose control of management,” says the MWF’s senior policy advisor,  Chris Heald. “We fully support having these protected areas with a caveat that hunting and angling continues for us.”

To make sure its members’ voices are heard, the MWF is asking to be involved in any decision-making that would affect angling and hunting in the area. Heald laid out the MWF’s position in a letter sent to the Winnipeg Free Press in early March.

“Withdrawing the opportunity for licensed hunting and angling in this large area of northern Manitoba will directly impact not only hunters and anglers,” Heald wrote, “but also lodges and outfitters, putting at risk the revenue and employment opportunities that these lodges contribute to Manitoba’s economy.”

Learn more about the MWF’s programs and positions at

www.mwf.mb.ca.