A vast and biodiverse ecosystem in Manitoba’s north is one step closer to long-term protections that the province and Ottawa have been talking about extending for years.

The federal and Manitoba governments first announced at the United Nation’s COP15 biodiversity conference in 2022 that they would partner with the Seal River Watershed Alliance to come up with a long-term management plan for the Seal River, a 260-kilometre-long river that flows through northern Manitoba into Hudson Bay.

Both governments and the alliance, made up of four First Nations that share the watershed as ancestral lands, collaborated on a study beginning in 2024 to figure out how best to protect the river’s pristine waterways, wetlands and boreal forest ecosystems teeming with wildlife.

On Friday, Manitoba Environment Minister Mike Moyes, leaders from those First Nations and federal officials announced a joint $4-million endowment to support the Seal River into the future.

They issued a call for public feedback about Seal River plans being considered by Manitoba, Parks Canada and the Seal River Watershed Alliance that propose managing the watershed through a series of protected areas.

“Protecting and conserving more nature has been one of the biggest priorities since I became minister a little over a year ago,” said Moyes, whose NDP government was elected in October 2023.

“This release of the proposal to Manitobans is an exciting day. I’m so looking forward to hearing the feedback.”

The proposal suggests protecting the watershed through a “network of protected areas that will sustain lands and waters, honour Indigenous ways of life and welcome visitors to the region in northern Manitoba,” according to a joint statement by both governments on Friday.

The announcement comes weeks after Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government unveiled its $3.8-billion strategy to protect nature.

The plan includes $74.7 million over 11 years, and $7.9 million in ongoing funding, for establishing the Seal River Watershed Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area and a national park reserve.

The watershed gets its name from the fact that harbour seals are found up to 200 kilometres inland from where the Seal River drains into southern Hudson Bay.

A vital carbon sink

The Seal watershed covers a 50,000-square-kilometre area — larger than Denmark and among the largest on Earth.

Its land hosts polar and grizzly bears, wolverines, barren-ground caribou, birds like olive-sided flycatchers and at least another 20 other known species at risk.

On top of supporting Inuit, Dene and Cree communities for thousands of years, the network of wetlands connected to the river perform an important function in the fight against climate change.

As so-called carbon sinks, the marshes, soggy meadows and shallow ponds spilling off the river suck up and trap carbon dioxide from the air that is then stored in the soil and vegetation.

Some of the tiny phytoplankton in the wetlands can then also feed on the inorganic dissolved carbon in the water.

Not conserving those ecological services adds up.

Manitoba is expected to hemorrhage $4 billion annually in direct economic losses, equivalent to $2,235 per capita, due to climate change by 2050, according to the provincial 2025 Health Status of Manitobans report released last month.

Members of the Barren Lands and O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree, Sayisi Dene and Northlands Denesuline communities make up the Seal River Watershed Alliance efforts to protect the Seal River.

“My nation knows first-hand the importance of safeguarding the land. I need that water,” said O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation Chief Shirley Ducharme.

Manitoba Hydro developments have left a mark on her Cree Nation, Ducharme said, and she is proud to see the long effort to protect the watershed press forward.

“Parts of our traditional territory are sick, and it threatens our way of life, our subsistence and our economy,” she said through tears on Friday. “The proposal in the investment we celebrate today offer[s] a different path.”

All four nations hope to expand eco-tourism opportunities, according to the province.

Sayisi Dene First Nation Chief Kelly-Ann Thom-Duck said it’s the youth who will be charged with guiding Seal River’s protection into the future.

“Already, young land guardians are monitoring caribou seals, testing water quality and conducting research out on the land,” she said.

“The investments announced today will create more opportunities for these youth, opportunities to find jobs in stewardship and tourism, to gain knowledge and training, and to feel pride in who they are and the work that they do.”

Public consultation opens

The protection proposals recommend forming a joint board consisting of members of the Indigenous, federal and provincial governments to oversee management.

In the big picture, the plans would result in the entire watershed being classified as an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area. Two-thirds would be designated a provincial park, and the rest would become a national park reserve.

The province needs to give Manitobans the chance to share their thoughts before it can establish a new provincial park. The changes would also mean Manitoba would have to transfer a third of Seal River Crown lands back to the federal government.

The public window to weigh in runs April 17 and June 6.