Cree and Quebec governments announced the creation of Nibiischii National Park November 29. Located near Mistissini, the province’s first national park to be operated by a Cree community is a significant milestone for Eeyou Istchee’s protected areas.
As well as conserving old-growth forests and the habitat of 15 at-risk species, the new park will promote Cree heritage by protecting about 50 archaeological sites. It will provide access to some of the region’s most spectacular features, including Lake Mistassini, the largest natural lake in Quebec.
“It is an honour to act as partners with Quebec to establish a park that is administered by the Cree community,” said Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty. “This process will help create a space that all visitors can enjoy and that will showcase the beauty of the Eeyou Istchee region.”
The park will have a budget of $67 million over the next 10 years. As well, legal protection status is granted to 16,000 square kilometres in four areas adjacent to the park. This achievement culminates more than 20 years of discussions between Quebec and Mistissini, which Chief Michael Petawabano called “a testament to the strength and resilience of our people.”
Environment Minister Benoit Charette said the initiative aligns with Quebec’s 2030 Nature Plan, a framework for biodiversity conservation intended to involve First Nations and promote wilderness access.
The Cree Nation Government is launching a new round of community consultations for its ongoing work with the province to expand protected areas. In November, the CNG began the first of four phases of visits to each Cree community, which will continue until early 2026.
CNG protected areas coordinator Chantal Otter Tétreault said community input is vital for the process –held in collaboration with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) – of boundary refinement, expanding the protected area network and developing a management structure.
It continues the conservation process started in 2015 to ensure Cree priorities were upheld as Quebec pursues a development strategy to establish various categories of protection over half the province by 2035. For example, some areas may allow mines while limiting their environmental footprint and ensuring pathways for caribou and other wildlife.
About 80,000 square kilometres, or 30% of Eeyou Istchee, were tagged for potential conservation in 2018. Subsequent negotiations with Quebec through the Grande Alliance resulted in a 2020 announcement that 39,000 square kilometres would be designated protected areas.
New consultations framed by ecological and cultural knowledge also feature more supporting materials and specialized tools. Discussions will use previously developed maps as a starting point to refine selected areas and propose new ones.
Faten Kikano is principal director for research and international development at Montreal’s land-use consultancy firm BC2, which is helping design and guide the tour.
“First we ask communities to express their level of engagement in the management and governance of these protected areas,” Kikano explained. “Our role is to support the CNG in the moderation of engagement sessions and to produce reports that document the aspirations and needs of the communities.”
BC2 works with the CNG and other Indigenous groups on numerous files, supporting a community-informed approach in the development of local initiatives. Representatives from NCC and the province will also attend meetings to hear concerns and help explain the decision-making process.
“In Chisasibi, people expressed frustration that their opinions were not heard or decisions weren’t taken into consideration,” Kikano observed. “Our message is you need to be there despite your frustration and it’s a kind of a top-down process. It’s important to document what you want and your relation to the land.”
Site data gathered by land users will be fed into NCC’s spatial modelling tools to produce various scenarios. Those will then be brought back to communities to confirm which areas best reflect their priorities. Different aspects can be weighted according to their relative significance.
“If a moose calving ground is rated a 10 versus a 6 for a water source, gathering spot or hunting route, we’ll integrate that data into these spatial tools to produce scenarios,” said BC2’s Jill Anne Lance. “There are other things to take into consideration – like wildlife habitat, species at risk and other criteria that even the Quebec government is looking at.”
Lance said it’s essential for tallymen whose traplines were selected in the initial process to participate in refining the protected area boundaries. Although land users often identify areas with personal or family significance, the consultations seek to validate whether these represent general community interests.
“We’ll be honing our methodology so data really reflects the community at large, not just one or two people,” Lance said.
Initially agreeing to provide expertise in geographic information system (GIS) applications, the NCC became a close partner in defining Cree protected areas, meeting with leaders and land users in each community to fully understand their values and preferences. A different spatial planning tool was employed in the more pristine north, compared to the more industrially disturbed southern territory.
Since the first round of conservation planning, these GIS tools have become more robust and user-friendly. They offer interactive maps with visual information summaries to explore multiple options. These are accessible to a wider range of professionals to help make adjustments related to biodiversity or species distribution, watershed connectivity and other constraints.
“The decisions are entirely made by the Cree community members participating in and leading this planning process,” emphasized NCC’s Christie Macdonald. “NCC hopes that these data-driven tools help make the process easier and more efficient, ultimately leading to better conservation outcomes for the biodiversity and people of Eeyou Istchee.”