Conservation of Polar Bear Pass, Bathurst Island, and the Emerging Comprehensive Conservation Policy for Northern Canada

Abstract

During 1975 to 1984, a particularly divisive debate accompanied proposals to conserve Polar Bear Pass, NWT. Virtually all interests that participated in the debate supported a more comprehensive approach towards conservation of natural areas than had hitherto prevailed, and criticized the ad hoc manner in which conservation proposals were being handled by the Federal Government of Canada.Chastened by the experience with Polar Bear Pass, and suffering land-use allocation problems in many locations, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development responded with a Northern Land-use Planning Policy (Diand, 1981a, 1981b), and is now developing a comprehensive conservation policy.Future conservation reserves in northern Canada are likely to be established as a result of regional land-use planning. It is important, however, that conservation of natural areas in both Territories support northern political development and devolution of resource management authority to northern governments, and settlement of landclaims made by native peoples.