The investments were announced Feb. 26 at a meeting in Yellowknife, where the agreement\u2019s partners gathered to review progress.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an exciting announcement,\u201d Dahti Tsetso, the trust\u2019s chief executive officer, told The Narwhal. With the agreement finalized and funds transferred<\/a> to the trust\u2019s account, money is now flowing to Indigenous governments to support conservation work at the community level: protecting diverse ecosystems, culturally and spiritually important areas and wildlife habitats.<\/p>\n That, she says, \u201cwas always the vision.\u201d<\/p>\n In this first round of funding, Tsetso says each of the 21 Indigenous partner governments is getting resources to work toward area-based conservation goals as well as Guardian and stewardship goals.<\/p>\n In some cases, this will mean managing existing protected areas, such as Ed\u00e9hzh\u00ede<\/a> in the Dehcho region or Thaidene N\u00ebn\u00e9<\/a> near \u0141uts\u00ebl K\u2019\u00e9. In other cases, funds will support communities looking to explore or advance protected areas. Both Ka\u2019a\u2019gee Tu and Sambaa K\u2019e First Nations, for example, have been working to establish protected areas that would conserve culturally and ecologically significant zones, home to wildlife such as moose, fish, waterfowl and caribou.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a number of initiatives that have been ongoing for quite some time,\u201d Tsetso says. \u201cNow the trust can help support their efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n She adds that all of the Indigenous partners have ambitions to either initiate or expand their Guardian work. For instance, the K\u2019ahsho Got\u2019ine Guardians in Fort Good Hope are looking to expand, while the Gwich\u2019in are developing a regional Guardian program.<\/p>\n Protecting roughly half of T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb lands<\/p>\n The Our Land for the Future agreement covers existing protected areas in the territory, but it\u2019s also expected to support 200,000 square kilometers of new protected and conserved areas, contributing to the federal government\u2019s commitment to protect 30 per cent<\/a> of Canada\u2019s land and water by 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s announcement recognized a big step toward that goal. In November 2025, three protected areas on T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb lands were officially recognized as Indigenous protected areas by the federal government and added to a national database<\/a>. The online database is currently being updated to reflect more lands and waters protected as of the end of 2025, according to a spokesperson from Environment and Climate Change Canada.<\/p>\n The three protected areas are known as T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb N\u00e0owo\u00f2 K\u2019\u00e8 D\u00e8t\u2019\u00e0hot\u2019\u0131\u0328\u0131\u0328, Gowha\u00e8hd\u01eb\u01eb\u0300 Yek\u2019e Aet\u2019\u0131\u0328\u0300\u0131\u0328 K\u2019\u00e8 and T\u0131ts\u2019a\u00e0d\u0131\u0300\u0131 N\u00e0d\u00e8e K\u2019\u00e8 Wexoed\u0131\u0131.<\/p>\n Altogether, they span 22,565 square kilometers\u2014 equivalent to about three times the size of Banff National Park, and encompassing about half of T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb lands.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a great piece of work,\u201d T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty says.<\/p>\n He adds that there are also large areas where development is being promoted to support economic self-sufficiency. \u201cIt\u2019s a balancing act,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re doing what we can to conserve and also develop.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb N\u00e0owo\u00f2 K\u2019\u00e8 D\u00e8t\u2019\u00e0hot\u2019\u0131\u0328\u0131\u0328 is aimed at preserving Chief Monfwi<\/a>\u2019s trails: traditional winter and summer travel routes that connect the four T\u0142\u0131c\u0328h\u01eb communities as well as important cultural and harvesting areas, Brett Wheler, senior policy advisor on sustainability and resource management with the T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb Government, says.<\/p>\n Similarly, Gowha\u00e8hd\u01eb\u01eb\u0300 Yek\u2019e Aet\u2019\u0131\u0328\u0300\u0131\u0328 K\u2019\u00e8 prioritizes the preservation of the ancestral \u012eda\u00e0 Trail, which connects Great Bear Lake to Great Slave Lake. There are important waterways and watersheds situated roughly halfway along the route.<\/p>\n Finally, T\u0131ts\u2019a\u00e0d\u0131\u0300\u0131 N\u00e0d\u00e8e K\u2019\u00e8 Wexoed\u0131\u0131 extends along the shoreline of the north arm of Great Slave Lake, and will protect habitat for birds and other wildlife such as caribou.<\/p>\n \u201cThese areas have been important for T\u0142\u0131c\u0328h\u01eb people for a long time, basically forever,\u201d Wheler says. Although T\u0142\u0131c\u0328h\u01eb people have protected the areas since time immemorial, a lack of resources to get people on the land had kept them from fully realizing their vision of stewardship.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The funds from the trust will support the \u201cpeople component\u201d of the protected areas, Wheler says, including Guardian work, environmental monitoring and cultural programming. One intention is to hire people full time \u2014 though the T\u0142\u0131c\u0328h\u01eb Government already has several monitoring programs, patchy funding has meant most employees work on a part-time or casual basis.<\/p>\n The trust served as a catalyst for having the areas officially designated and recognized by the federal government, Wheler explains. In anticipation of funds flowing from the Our Land for the Future, T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb law governing land protection was updated in 2023. In 2025, the federal government deemed the three areas equivalent to other protected areas, such as national or territorial parks, for achieving conservation goals. As a self-governing nation, the T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb Government is the sole decision-making authority on its 39,000 square kilometres of land. A land claims and self-government agreement<\/a> signed in 2003 gave the T\u0142\u0131\u0328ch\u01eb Government ownership of surface and subsurface rights on these lands.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Stephanie Behrens, the T\u0142\u0131c\u0328h\u01eb Government\u2019s manager of lands protection and renewable resources, echoes Wheler.<\/p>\n \u201cOur Elders have always said that the wildlife and the land need us to be out there,\u201d she says. \u201cHaving this pot of money really ensures that we\u2019re able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Guardians funding will bring jobs, protect culture\u00a0<\/p>\n Behrens says the intent is to hire two full-time Guardians in each of the four T\u0142\u0131c\u0328h\u01eb communities, along with a Guardian manager.<\/p>\n Employing Guardians full-time will also provide jobs in an economically challenging time for the region, Behrens says. The territory\u2019s three diamond mines have long been major employers, but are all expected to close<\/a> by the end of the decade. One is shutting down<\/a> this month, and the two others are struggling<\/a> financially<\/a>.<\/p>\n T\u0142\u0131c\u0328h\u01eb Guardians will help implement work set out for the protected areas, including stewardship, monitoring and harvesting. The work will support the T\u0142\u0131c\u0328h\u01eb Government\u2019s language and cultural programs, but also provide opportunities for individuals to exercise their culture, Wheler says. Elders will provide Guardians with guidance on how to re-establish and maintain cultural trails, along with a network of camps and cabins.\u00a0<\/p>\n A lot of that cultural knowledge might otherwise be lost.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are only a handful of people that actually know these historic trails,\u201d Behrens says, adding much of her work is guided by her late grandfather\u2019s vision. As an Elder, he was involved in negotiating the T\u0142\u0131c\u0328h\u01eb self-government agreement.\u201cTo be able to utilize these trails once again in the way that our Elders and ancestors used to do, I think he would be extremely proud,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary The first round of investments from a $375-million fund for Indigenous-led conservation in the territory is being…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-542583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Dahti](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/KANE.NWTPFP_056-2048x1365-1-1024x683.jpg\"\/)
Dahti Tsetso, chief executive officer of the Our Land for the Future Trust, says the funds will support both new and ongoing work led by 21 Indigenous partner governments. Photo: Pat Kane \/ The Narwhal<\/p>\n![\"Jackson](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/KANE.NWTPFP_051-1024x1280.jpg\"\/)
Jackson Lafferty, Grand Chief of the Tlicho First Nation, says development is taking place alongside conservation. \u201cIt\u2019s a balancing act,\u201d he says. Photo: Pat Kane \/ The Narwhal<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Brett-Wheler-Tlicho-Government-IMG_0791-1024x768.jpeg\"\/)
The three protected areas encompass several historic trails and waterways used by the T\u0142\u0131c\u0328h\u01eb people since \u201cbasically forever,\u201d says Brett Wheler. They will also protect critical habitat for birds and wildlife. Photo: Supplied by the T\u0142\u0131c\u0328h\u01eb Government<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Brett-Wheler-Tlicho-Government-IMG_0280-1024x1365.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Brett-Wheler-Tlicho-Government-IMG_0276-1024x1365.jpeg\"\/)
\nRestoring and maintaining cultural trails will be a key part of Guardians work, Brett Wheler told The Narwhal. Eight new Guardians will be hired, along with a Guardian manager. Photos: Supplied by the T\u0142\u0131c\u0328h\u01eb Government<\/p>\n