In the Seal River watershed, the site of a proposed Indigenous-led conservation project, community members worked with the Audubon Society to identify more species than were previously known
The global population of lesser yellowlegs has declined severely in recent decades, but they are abundant in the Seal River watershed. The birds only breed in intact ecosystems of the northern boreal forest. Photo: Steffen Foerster
The Narwhal: In the Seal River watershed, the site of a proposed Indigenous-led conservation project, community members worked with the Audubon Society to identify more species than were previously known.
A new study out of northern Manitoba is helping to make the case for Indigenous-led conservation amidst a global biodiversity crisis, putting the spotlight on Canada’s unique and iconic abundance of birds.
North America’s bird population has declined by nearly 3 billion birds in the last 50 years, according to the National Audubon Society. But within the 50,000 square kilometres of boreal forest and subarctic tundra that form the Seal River watershed’s proposed protected area, surveyors have found more than 100 bird species — far more than have ever been documented in the region.
“The total number was pretty astounding,” Jeff Wells, vice-president of Audubon’s boreal conservation program, said in an interview.
“It just continues to make the point of how special and important this watershed is.”
The Seal River watershed crosses three distinct geographic regions: the dense and boggy boreal forest, the transitional subarctic and the rocky, barren fields of the Arctic tundra.
The region’s heartbeat, its eponymous river, stretches from Shethanei Lake to Hudson Bay, where saltwater from the northern Arctic Ocean swells into fresh river water, creating a vibrant estuary home to seals, beluga whales, polar bears, fish — and lots of birds.
Previous research had already documented two dozen species of migrating waterfowl and shorebirds, but less has been known about the birds farther inland.
The bird study, a joint effort between the Audubon Society, an American non-profit focused on bird conservation, and the Seal River Watershed Alliance, a group of four northern First Nations working to protect Manitoba’s last major undammed river, found 102 bird species from more than 30 taxonomic families.
This study forms part of the multi-year process initiated in December 2023 when leaders from the four allied nations — the Sayisi Dene, Northlands Denesuline, Barren Lands First Nation and O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation — signed an agreement with the provincial and federal governments to explore the development of a protected area. The process is currently focused on ongoing consultation with members of the four nations, and collecting feedback from across Canada, including more than 30,000 letters of support.