Home » About Us » Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Are traditional activities (hunting, trapping, fishing, berry picking, gathering plants, camping, building cabins) affected by the land use plan?

These land uses are exempt from the plan. The Plan does place any restrictions or conditions on traditional land use and occupancy. The Committee considered where traditional use and occupancy occurs in the Dehcho territory and used that information to determine where resource development (oil and gas, mining, forestry, agriculture and tourism) can occur, while minimizing impacts to important traditional use areas.

Can the Interim Dehcho Land Use Plan be changed?

The Dehcho land use plan will be reviewed every five years. There are also provisions to apply for exceptions and amendments to the plan to address unforeseen circumstances.

How does the draft Interim plan compare to other recent land use plans in Canada?

The draft Interim Dehcho Land Use Plan proposes seven types of zones that describe where and under what conditions land use can take place. It currently provides for some degree of protection of approximately 40% of the Interim Plan Area (or 50% of the Dehcho Region when Nahanni National Park Reserve is added in), with the rest open to development. Other public northern land use plans have lower levels of protection (Gwich’in LUP ~10%; Sahtu LUP ~18%). The Tlicho LUP, which only applies to Tlicho Lands, has ~60% protection. Beyond zoning, the Dehcho plan provides similar types of direction to other land use plans.

How is the Interim Dehcho Land Use Plan different from the Gwich’in and Sahtu land use plans?

Land, Resource and Self-Government Agreements have been completed in the Gwich’in and Sahtu regions. These agreements require the development of land use plans and legally new applications for development to conform to an approved plan. Under the 2001 Dehcho First Nations Interim Measures Agreement and the 2007 DLUPC Terms of Reference, the Interim Dehcho land use plan may be implemented before the Dehcho Process is completed. This requires that the plan be implemented through different mechanisms to be legally binding – namely interim land withdrawals, binding policy direction from the federal minister to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board to follow the approved plan in carrying out their mandate, and new territorial legislation directing the departments and agencies of the Government of the Northwest Territories to follow the approved plan. 

How large is the Dehcho Region?

The Dehcho region is 215,000 sq km. However, the Plan does not apply within Nahanni National Park Reserve (30,000 sq km), the Hay River Reserve, and within community boundaries. We call this smaller area (184,288 sq km) to which the Plan applies, the Interim Plan Area.

How many meetings were held with Dehcho residents, leaders and stakeholder groups to develop the plan?

Since 2001, the committee has held over 250 workshops and meetings with Dehcho First Nations, (including leadership, elders, harvesters and resource managers), industry, regulators, the federal and territorial governments, other Indigenous Governments and organizations, and other interested planning partners. Every time a new draft is publicly released, the Committee holds information sessions with Dehcho First Nations and planning partners to update them on proposed changes and seek input into plan revisions. The Committee also provides updates in between drafts through the distribution of an annual report to Dehcho households, a presentation at the Annual DFN Assembly, and presentations to other planning partners through external initiatives (e.g. Geoscience Forum, MVRMA workshop, Land Use Planning Forum), as needed.

How were land use zone boundaries developed?

A great deal of information was collected about the land to determine what types of land uses should occur where. The first piece was traditional land use, followed by research and mapping of the resource potential (oil and gas, mining, forestry, agriculture, tourism, wildlife values) and values (important wildlife areas, historic and cultural sites, special ecological features, etc.). The Committee analyzed this information and developed land use zone options, which were discussed with communities and other stakeholders to gather input to develop the zoning map. This map was revised many times over the years in response to the feedback from communities and the Parties, to achieve a balance between conservation and development in the region.

The historic reports and mapping that contributed to the development of the zoning map are available on this website under Document Archives.

Who is on the Dehcho Land Use Planning Committee?

The Dehcho Land Use Planning Committee is a non-profit Society with an office in Fort Providence. The Committee has two members from the Dehcho First Nations (Ramona Pearson and Allen Bouvier), one from Canada (Michael Roesch) and one from the GNWT (Gina Ridgely). The Chair (Tina Gargan) is appointed by other members.