The Ross River Dena Council is doubling down on work to establish an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area, according to the First Nation's chief. "It's a pretty important area that we need to conserve to protect our interests for future generations," Dylan Loblaw told CBC News. "We need to have that balance." According to a funding proposal to the Canada Nature Fund, the First Nation wants to protect roughly 41,000 square-kilometres in central-east Yukon. The proposed area would extend from the Pelly River valley to the Selwyn-Mackenzie Mountains along the continental divide. The First Nation's group trapline — used by community members for generations — comprises a significant portion.

The Délįnę Got'įnę government and its federal and territorial counterparts have agreed on further protection for Great Bear Lake or TsáTué, a UNESCO-recognized biosphere reserve. The new agreement will enhance conservation of the area and will lead to long-term funding. It also formally recognizes the Sahtugot'ine's millennia-long stewardship in the Northwest Territories region. "It's a step in the right direction," said Danny Gaudet, the Délįnę Got'įnę government's Ɂek'wahtı̨dǝ́ or chief. "It's finally given us the ability to actually sit at the table to talk about the preservation of water, the lake, and the water bed and the land in and around Great Bear Lake."

North Bay's Canadore College has received $750,000 from FedNor to build an Indigenous clean water learning lodge. The lodge will be a testing ground for water treatment technology, and will also apply Indigenous knowledge around conservation. The funding announcement was part of a $2.8-million investment to support four initiatives at the northern Ontario college.