The Protected Areas Strategy is one that’s under review with both ourselves and the federal government. There are currently six candidate areas that we’re looking at
that have reached, I think it’s about step five or so of an eight step process, consolidating all of the information. As we move towards devolution, the issue of how do we manage this is becoming more critical.
We’re pulling together all of the work and reports and recommendations. There are national wildlife areas that are being proposed. In some cases we have a major area, Edehzhie in the Deh Cho that has been under discussion now for some time. We are, we believe, very, very close, if not in agreement with all parties on that particular site. There are five other ones that are under discussion and review. We’re working with the federal government, who has some money in their base, to deal with those particular areas. What’s the best way to proceed which gets us, if I may, back up to a higher level here?
One of the things in the Deh Cho, for example, that we want to look and focus on, is coming to grips with the land use plan. The land use plan will set the plan for the region and will help inform what the best way to proceed with those various sites that have now been nominated. We need that plan so that we’re clear that we’re not just doing protected areas strategies and over here we’re going to have some development, we think we’re going to have a park over here. We have to get our thinking clear.
Then if I can back up one more step, the Land Use and Sustainability Framework that we’re doing as a government is providing us with a frame to be able to approach with clear thinking, and clear policies and guidelines on how we approach the table for land use planning. It also captures the economic strategy that Mr. Ramsay is talking about, the Mineral Resource Strategy that he’s talking about. Even the Water Strategy fits under that broad Land Use Sustainability Framework.
The protected area is one piece and we’re going to get to that and deal with it in due course. We have to get some of these other pieces sorted out and clarified so that we make the best informed decision possible.