NGP Photo by

National Post, by Don Martin.  (Minister Jim Prentice, NGP Photo) is quick to stress that the park could not have been expanded without the partnership of the Deh Cho people, the same First Nation currently holding up the Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline to ensure their environmental concerns are resolved. "The Nahanni is the Deh Cho’s gift to Canada and it is Canada’s gift to humanity," says Mr. Prentice. "They were very determined negotiators and their primary concern was always protection of the Nahanni watershed." Former grand chief Jim Antoine (NGP Photo), a key player in the park’s expansion who acted as our expedition’s spiritual leader, believes the park’s successful expansion talks will help settle outstanding land claims and 

environmental concerns. "It has been a very good partnership that has saved the watershed for my people and all Canadians," he says. "We hope this relationship will continue."

"Nahanni in 2009 is what Banff was in 1885," declares Parks Canada CEO Alan Latourelle. "A hundred years from now, people will look back at this expansion as Canadians and the Deh Cho partnering to create the jewel of our park system. "There’s a sense of pride in the Nahanni, even though most Canadians will never visit it," he adds. "It’s a real mystery to most, yet they feel a strong sense of attachment to the spirit of the place."