Audubon Celebrates a Huge Step Towards Protecting the Seal River Watershed

On April 17, 2026, the Seal River Watershed Alliance, the Manitoba government, and the government of Canada released a joint proposal to designate one of our planet’s largest intact watersheds as an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA). Audubon celebrates this historic milestone and congratulates the four First Nations who are leading this initiative—known as Seal River Watershed Alliance—on this important step towards permanently protecting 12 million-acres of biodiversity-rich habitat in northern Manitoba, Canada.

“The Seal River Watershed is one of the largest ecologically intact watersheds in the world, sustaining extraordinary biodiversity and providing critical habitat for roughly 22 million birds,” said Marshall Johnson, chief conservation officer at the National Audubon Society. “We are proud to support this Indigenous-led effort and recognize this as a pivotal moment for Canadians to protect a globally significant landscape—one that will deliver lasting benefits for wildlife, communities, and the planet.”

Audubon applauds the common-sense approach outlined in the proposal of creating three layers of protections by establishing an IPCA, which includes both a provincial park and national park. This results in a collaborative process for co-management by the four First Nations, the Manitoba government, and Parks Canada and ensures access for all.

The Seal River Watershed is a vibrant landscape of forests, wetlands, lakes, streams, and rivers—waters that flow for more than 200 miles until they reach their destination of Hudson Bay. The Seal River has no dams on its length, which allows harbor seals to follow fish up the river, traveling far inland and giving the river its name. The watershed  supports 32 at-risk species including polar bears, wolverine, and belugas. It is also a critically important breeding and migratory stop-over location for millions of birds of hundreds of species including many species that migrate to the watershed from locations throughout the U.S. and across the hemisphere.