More than 166,000 hectares of boreal forest in Wood Buffalo has officially been designated as a wildland conservation area, making the Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland the province’s newest provincial park.

Meaning “Our Land” in both Cree and Dene, the park is located just south of Wood Buffalo National Park near Fort Chipewyan.

It preserves the Peace-Athabasca watershed, and habitats for the Ronald Lake Bison herd and woodland caribou.

The area itself being preserved is larger than the combined footprints of Fort McMurray, Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary.

“This new park will help conserve areas that are important to our people and provide greater certainty that Mikisew ancestral lands can be monitored and better protected,” said Chief Archie Waquan of the Mikisew Cree First Nation.

The wildland initiative received strong support from the Athabasca Tribal Council, the Athabasca Chipewyan and Fort McKay First Nations, and the Métis locals representing Fort McKay, Fort Chipewyan and Fort McMurray.

Cenovus Energy, Teck Resources and Imperial Oil voluntarily gave up oilsands and mining leases in the area.

“This is a truly remarkable accomplishment and I’m thrilled that industry, government and Indigenous communities worked together to make this boreal protection plan a reality,” said Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips in a statement.

The park was first proposed by the Mikisew Cree First Nation as a way of addressing concerns raised in a UNESCO 2016 report on Wood Buffalo National Park, as well as preserving traditional Indigenous practices.

The report found some areas of the park were healthy, but impacts from industrial development and climate change forced UNESCO to declare it an endangered site. The organization gave the federal government 17 recommendations to preserve the park.

A federal study found Peace River flows have fallen nine per cent since the Bennett Dam was built in British Columbia. Flows from the Athabasca have declined 26 per cent. Ice jams that once flooded wetlands and isolated lakes no longer occur.

With so much less water in Wood Buffalo National Park, the bison habitat is shrinking while invasive species gain a foothold. Migratory birds avoid the area. Trappers report dead fish from stagnant, oxygenless water and a disappearance of muskrats.

“The creation of this new protected area shows what is possible when Indigenous communities, government and industry build strong relationships and work together,” said Kieron McFadyen, senior vice-president for energy with Teck.

“This area of high biodiversity potential supports the ecological integrity of Wood Buffalo National Park and promotes the long-term stewardship of areas and resources that are critical to the continuation of Indigenous rights and cultures,” said John Whelan, senior vice-president of upstream operations for Imperial.

-with files from Emma Graney and the Canadian Press

vmcdermott@postmedia.com