On behalf of the many individuals who contributed to the Cree Regional Conservation Strategy, Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty was named the co-recipient of the Conservation Visionary Award October 17 by a prestigious international organization.
Alongside Rappahannock Chief Anne Richardson, who returned her tribe to their ancestral lands in Virginia, the International Land Conservation Network honoured Gull-Masty in Quebec City at the ILCN’s Global Congress. The event is a flagship program of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, co-hosted by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), that is held every three years.
“It is tremendously important that conservationists around the world take note of the passion and skill that Indigenous leaders bring to the field of land and cultural conservation,” stated ILCN director Jim Levitt.
With carbon-dense forests and key wildlife habitats, Eeyou Istchee is being increasingly recognized as globally significant for both its ecosystems and Indigenous self-determination. Grand Chief Gull-Masty was acknowledged for playing a key role in the Cree Nation’s efforts to protect 39,000 square kilometres across the region.
“The protected areas file is the culmination of years of work,” Gull-Masty told the Nation. “To have the recognition in an international congress was the highlight of the year, probably my career. This award is an international recognition of who we are as a nation.”
Developed in 2014 with input from all communities and key entities, the Cree Regional Conservation Strategy’s interconnected network of protected areas was implemented in partnership with the NCC and important funding support from the Metcalf Foundation and Canada’s Challenge Fund.
The NCC integrated Cree values with leading-edge planning tools and scientific knowledge. What began with geographic information system management to measure species distribution and land-cover types evolved into extensive meetings to analyze scenarios based on each community’s priorities.
“NCC visited nearly all communities alongside CNG staff to really understand their lens,” said Christie Macdonald, who manages NCC’s Indigenous conservation partnerships. “This collaboration was a true partnership with both organizations resourcing this work and growing together based on shared objectives.”
Spatial prioritization tools were employed according to how intact or industrially disturbed was the selected area. More pristine northern areas enabled a greater emphasis on cultural significance, water proximity or resilience to climate change and fires.
These included “portages, historical areas where people hunt, spawning grounds, where we gather medicine, even areas attached to Cree legends,” explained Gull-Masty. “So much data, it would drive the average person crazy.”
From about 80,000 square-kilometres or 30% of Eeyou Istchee identified for potential conservation in 2018, negotiation with Quebec through the Grande Alliance resulted in 39,000 square-kilometres of newly protected areas announced two years later.
Having met its Plan Nord target of protecting 20% of the province north of the 49th parallel by 2020, Quebec’s next target is 50% by 2035. The ultimate objective is to establish biodiversity reserves with some portions receiving the status of a national park.
“There’s going to be different categories of protection throughout Eeyou Istchee,” Gull-Masty explained. “We’re also exploring self-declared protected areas. We need the participation of our members to build this next step of the puzzle – up to 50% of Eeyou Istchee is going to be protected.”
The day after Gull-Masty’s ILCN award, the CNG demonstrated that these protections would extend to the region’s coastal waters. A press conference with Parks Canada announced a formal agreement to establish a proposed Wiinipaakw (James Bay) Protected Area and national marine conservation area.
The Eeyou Marine Region is a unique environment where freshwater and saltwater fish mingle, migrating birds are plentiful and beluga whales spend their winters. Communities consulted during the feasibility study anticipate a tourism influx, infrastructure upgrades and job opportunities.
Discussions with the federal government stemmed from Wemindji’s Tawich project launched in 2007 and may lead to a joint conservation table with the Mushkegowuk Council on western James Bay. Gull-Masty praised the “phenomenal” work of Deputy Grand Chief Norman A. Wapachee for leading the initiative’s steering committee.
“I’m so proud of his leadership to continue building on our legacy of protected areas,” said Gull-Masty. “Land users will forever have access to this territory that is untouched. You still have the ability to hunt, fish and trap in these areas.”
Before her political career, Gull-Masty worked to protect the Broadback River Valley, one of the last havens of untouched forests in Quebec. She later campaigned with Greenpeace as Waswanipi Deputy Chief for Broadback protection, before managing the CNG’s conservation file as Deputy Grand Chief.
“That drove me to go into politics,” Gull-Masty revealed.
by Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter