Protecting One of the Largest Intact Watersheds on Earth

On April 17, 2026, the Seal River Watershed Alliance, the Manitoba government, and the government of Canada released a joint proposal to designate a 12 million-acre ecosystem—one of the world’s largest intact watersheds—as an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA), which will include both a provincial and a national park. 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 for the watershed. During this phase, the public is being asked to submit comments. We encourage you to learn more and take action to support this Indigenous-led initiative.       

The Seal River Watershed is located in northern Manitoba. It constitutes 8% of the province and 0.5% of Canada’s land mass. This enormous ecosystem is teeming with wildlife, including 10 million birds who breed here each year, as well as millions more that use these vital habitats for refueling and resting while on their migratory journeys across the hemisphere. Nearly 200,000 caribou spend their winter in the watershed, and 1/3 of the world’s belugas migrate into its river estuaries. The watershed is home to wolverines, polar bears, wolves, 26 species of freshwater fish, and large numbers of insects, plants, trees, and fungi.

Luckily for the birds and other wildlife that rely on the watershed, the Sayisi Dene First Nation, Northlands Dene First Nation, Barren Lands First Nation, and O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation have been working in partnership as the Seal River Watershed Alliance since 2019 to permanently conserve the ecosystem.

Recent Progress

In early 2024, the governments of Manitoba and Canada, and the Seal River Watershed Alliance entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance a feasibility study. 
Then in March of 2025, a feasibility report was released that found conserving northern Manitoba’s Seal River Watershed is achievable, publicly popular, and a step towards meeting conservation and reconciliation goals.  Since that time, the Seal River Watershed Alliance, Manitoba Government, the Government of Canada have been negotiating the development of a protected area proposal, including an IPCA, a national park, and a provincial park.  

On April 17, a joint proposed agreement was released for public comments. The proposal takes a common-sense approach by creating layers of protections. The entire 12 million acres will be designated as an IPCA. The eastern third of the watershed will also be a national park, and the western two-thirds a provincial park. The proposal also includes co-management by the four First Nations, the Manitoba government, and Parks Canada.

Audubon’s support

The relationship between Audubon the Seal River Watershed Alliance began in 2019. Since then, we have collaborated on science, communications, government relations, and public engagement to support the establishment of the IPCA. 

One project that we carried out together was a research project that surveyed the remote avian habitats of the Watershed. Sound-monitoring devices called ARUs (autonomous recording units) were placed in bird-rich areas by Land Guardians to determine which species were present. The data were then analyzed by Audubon staff. In 2024, the Seal River Watershed Alliance and Audubon published a three-year summary report of the results of the project. The report was used to help showcase the global importance of the region and underline the significance of protecting it. 

In 2025, Audubon awarded the Seal River Watershed Alliance the first Hemispheric Conservation Award to recognize and honor their work to conserve this globally important watershed

Take action

Now is your opportunity to take action to help ensure the Seal River Watershed becomes permanently protected for the benefit of White-throated Sparrows, Common Loons, Hudsonian Whimbrels, Tennessee Warblers, Lesser Yellowlegs, polar bears, belugas, caribou, and countless other species, as well as for the Dene and Cree Peoples who live on, use, and steward these lands. Audubon will have an action page up soon with details on how you can raise your voice in support of this vital ecosystem.  Check back soon!