Report by WCS Canada
2022
The Fawn River Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) Ecological Atlas is the product of a collaboration between Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada. Our goal in producing the Atlas was to continue to advance scientific support for the Fawn River IPA in order to complement and advance KI’s vision for protecting their homelands. We are grateful to the community and leadership of KI and their neighbouring First Nation communities who have taken care of these lands, fish, wildlife, waters and relatives since time beyond memory.
Cheryl Chetkiewicz is particularly grateful to Jacob Ostaman who was the KI Director for Lands and Resources during the initiation of this project and provided support and encouragement. This Atlas attempts to describe some of the relationships to the land maintained and cultivated by KI and their neighbours from a scientific perspective.
The purpose of the Atlas is to:
1) advance the scientific case for the Fawn River IPA by reviewing, synthesizing, assembling and sharing the available scientific information on species, ecosystems and ecosystem services in the Fawn River IPA;
2) describe the ecological diversity of the Fawn River IPA;
3) support KI jurisdiction, stewardship and keeping the land1 (conservation and protection) within and around the Fawn River IPA; and
4) share recommendations for research, monitoring and conservation in the Fawn River IPA to spur community-based research and monitoring of fish, birds, mammals, peatland and freshwater functions, as well as further research of the impacts of land use, such as mineral exploration and climate change.
While the primary audience for this work is KI community members, leadership and staff, this work complements KI’s Cultural Atlas and will likely be of interest to different groups focused on conservation and development throughout northern Ontario.
Chapters

Webequie Supply Road presents: Indigenous Knowledge – Part 2
Join us next week when we’ll be continuing our discussion on Indigenous Knowledge (IK) with a discussion on weaving IK into environmental / impact assessment. This is the second in a three-part series on IK.

Minister Guilbeault: Respect all Treaty 9 peoples’ relationship to the watershed! (ft. Chief Wayne Moonias)
“Today’s part of the Treaty Peoples’ Briefing comes from Chief Wayne Moonias, of Neskantaga First Nation. In this video, Chief Wayne talks about how integral the river system is to all communities in Treaty 9, and how interconnected these neighbouring communities really are.”

Minister Guilbeault: “Green Mining” is a false solution! (ft. Jamie Kneen)
“You’ve probably heard that ‘critical minerals’ are essential in a just transition to a green economy. But there’s more to the story. Today’s part of the Treaty Peoples’ Briefing comes from Jamie Kneen, of MiningWatch Canada.”