On April 17, 2026, the Seal River Watershed Alliance, the Manitoba authorities, and the federal government of Canada launched a joint proposal to designate certainly one of our planet’s largest intact watersheds as an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Space (IPCA). Audubon celebrates this historic milestone and congratulates the 4 First Nations who’re main this initiative—referred to as Seal River Watershed Alliance—on this necessary step in the direction of completely defending 12 million-acres of biodiversity-rich habitat in northern Manitoba, Canada.
“The Seal River Watershed is among the largest ecologically intact watersheds on the earth, sustaining extraordinary biodiversity and offering important habitat for roughly 22 million birds,” mentioned Marshall Johnson, chief conservation officer on the Nationwide Audubon Society. “We’re proud to assist this Indigenous-led effort and acknowledge this as a pivotal second for Canadians to guard a globally important panorama—one that can ship lasting advantages for wildlife, communities, and the planet.”
Audubon applauds the common sense method outlined within the proposal of making three layers of protections by establishing an IPCA, which incorporates each a provincial park and nationwide park. This ends in a collaborative course of for co-management by the 4 First Nations, the Manitoba authorities, and Parks Canada and ensures entry for all.
The Seal River Watershed is a vibrant panorama of forests, wetlands, lakes, streams, and rivers—waters that circulate for greater than 200 miles till they attain their vacation spot of Hudson Bay. The Seal River has no dams on its size, which permits harbor seals to comply with fish up the river, touring far inland and giving the river its title. The watershed helps 32 at-risk species together with polar bears, wolverine, and belugas. Additionally it is a critically necessary breeding and migratory stop-over location for tens of millions of birds of a whole bunch of species together with many species that migrate to the watershed from areas all through the U.S. and throughout the hemisphere.
