March 24, 2025
Protecting Nature, Honouring Tradition: The Future of The Seal River Watershed
by Ron Thiessen
I recall several years ago as I stood on the shore of Tadoule Lake, marvelling at its beauty and feeling deeply grateful for the privilege of being in the Seal River Watershed, I tried to feel in my heart what I knew in my mind – that I was standing in one of the last grand places on earth where nature was still operating without the constraint and pollution of human developments.
Every stream, lake, and river in the 50,000 km2 Seal River Watershed runs free and runs clean. There was nothing but this cozy community and a handful of lodges to potentially alter the path of caribou migrating through the watershed’s forests, wetlands, and tundra. No roads. No hydro lines. No mines. It is one of the largest remaining intact landscapes on the planet – exactly the kind of place the world so desperately needs to protect as we face the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
More than 70% of earth’s surface and two-thirds of marine environments have been significantly altered by human activity. If you were to parachute into the middle of 70% of the world’s forests you’d land within one kilometre of the forest edge. Over a million of earth’s species are threatened with extinction.
This is what most of the world looked like at the turn of the last century, when industrial development was rare, electric lighting was for city folk, and just 15% of the world’s land area was used for agriculture.
The science is clear. What we’ve heard from Indigenous leaders is true. Our survival is dependent on the forests, wetlands, peatlands, and other natural areas that produce the oxygen we breathe, filter the water we drink, and capture the carbon we are emitting into the atmosphere. We need to permanently protect large-scale areas of high conservation value to help mitigate the impacts of climate change and to stem a devastating collapse of global biodiversity.
Moving forward on protecting the lands and waters of the Seal River Watershed in northern Manitoba is a giant leap towards safeguarding nature, advancing reconciliation, and preserving land-based traditions and lifestyles.
Conserving the intact Seal River Watershed landscape will be a huge win for nature, reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, and for those who embrace outdoor recreation and subsistence activities.
CPAWS Manitoba is proud to partner and follow the leadership of the Indigenous Nations of the Seal River Watershed Alliance. We welcome the support of the Governments of Canada and Manitoba in seizing this historic opportunity.
A Probe Research poll found a remarkable 83 per cent of Manitobans supported the Alliance’s efforts to conserve the Seal River Watershed.
Let’s keep moving forward with efforts to balance conservation with sustainable development. Future generations of people and wildlife are depending on us.