World Heritage Site (WHS) Chronology Continued

• March 18, 2002 - The Protected Areas and First Nations Resource Stewardship Accord (is signed by Poplar River First Nation (MB), Little Grand Rapids First Nation (MB), Pauingassi First Nation (MB), and Pikangikum First Nation (ON). One of the main goals of the Accord is to seek support and recognition for a network of linked protected areas on the First Nations' lands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS).

• October 2003 - IUCN (World Conservation Union) workshop held in St. Petersburg, Russia to review and provide recommendations on potential World Heritage Sites for the boreal ecozone. The Manitoba-Ontario First Nations-led World Heritage Site nomination receives support at the workshop.

• February 26, 2004 - Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) launches a Biogems website regarding the World Heritage Site The WHS nomination is focal point for joint 'Heart of the Boreal' region identified for conservation and protection.
• April 2004 - Canada's Minister of the Environment endorses the Atikaki/Woodland Caribou/Accord First Nations - Manitoba and Ontario WHS nomination by including it on Canada's updated Tentative List for World Heritage Sites
• Spring 2004 - Manitoba Conservation Minister Stan Struthers visits Poplar River First Nation to learn about the community's vision for protection and management of their lands.
• June 2004 - Report from the October 2003 IUCN workshop in St. Petersburg, Russia is released. The report endorses the proposal by the Manitoba/Ontario First Nations as a site of international significance for the boreal ecozone because it is being nominated by Aboriginal peoples, and because it encompasses an ecologically and culturally intact boreal landscape.
• June 2004 - Robert Kennedy Jr. visits Poplar River First Nation , whose lands are under interim protection from development and form a key part of the proposed WHS.
• June 2004 - Interim protection for the Poplar / Nanowin Rivers Park Reserve is extended by Government of Manitoba Regulation 115/2004 until September 30, 2009.
• November 16, 2004 - The East Side Planning Initiative Status Report is released and includes recommendations regarding the proposed World Heritage Site. Recommendation 5.3.2 (pg. 49) states, "The Government of Manitoba plays an active role with the federal government in establishing a UNESCO (U.N.) World Natural & Cultural Heritage Site on the east side. The site should include the land area encompassed in the application by the five First Nations signatory to the protected areas Accord, and Atikaki and Woodland Caribou Provincial Parks."
• November 22, 2004 - Members of Poplar River First Nation travel to the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) in Bangkok, Thailand to participate in negotiations and meetings to arrive at final wording for a recommendation (CGR3.REC021-REV1) that was presented to and supported by the WCC Assembly. The final recommendation endorses the WHS.
• November 22, 2004 - In the November 2004 Speech from the Throne, the Government of Manitoba acknowledges the Atikaki/Woodland Caribou/Accord First Nations - Manitoba and Ontario WHS nomination as a proposal endorsed by the East Side Planning Initiative Fall 2004 report and pledges to assist in the pursuit of WHS status for the area.
• December 3, 2004 - In a December 3, 2004 press release, Premier Gary Doer announces full support of the Government of Manitoba for the proposed WHS.

• March 8, 2005 - The March 2005 Manitoba Government Budget Speech reiterates the government's commitment to the "proposal for a Boreal Forest region on the east side of Lake Winnipeg as a UNESCO World Heritage Site".
• Spring 2005 - Little Grand Rapids First Nation and Pauingassi formally reiterate their 1999 request to the Government of Manitoba for interim protection of their traditional lands.
• May 2005 - Manitoba Energy Minister Dave Chomiak publicly states in a May 29, 2005 Winnipeg Free Press article that the Manitoba Government will not allow hydro transmission lines to be built through the boreal forest regions east of Lake Winnipeg. The Minister told media that the east side intact boreal wilderness was more important.
• June 2005 - Fifty thousand 'Take Action' e-mails are sent to Manitoba Premier Gary Doer from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Heart of the Boreal Biogems web site in support of interim protection for the lands of Pauingassi and Little Grand Rapids First Nations.
• July 2005 - Poplar River First Nation lands management plan - final draft is completed. The Plan describes future protection and management of the traditional lands currently known as Poplar/Nanowin Rivers Park Reserve.

• October 2006 - portions of text from the Government of Manitoba's Green and Growing website (January 2006) are reproduced on the new 'Seeing Green' website, including the government's commitment to "moving forward with First Nations on the proposed UNESCO world heritage site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg."
• June 2, 2006 - A press release by Premier Doer announces a $5.9-million funding renewal agreement for the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) that will be allocated over five years from 2006 to 2011. One of the priorities for the coming year will be a project that focuses on world heritage site recognition for the area east of Lake Winnipeg.
• Spring 2006 - NDP website on 'Manitoba' Green Plan: Leading the Way in Protecting Our Natural Areas indicates that "a nomination for a UNESCO World Heritage Site [was] accepted in an announcement in December 2004 by the Premier and Conservation Minister Stan Struthers".
• March 6, 2006 - As part of the 2006 Manitoba Budget, the Minister of Finance announces that "[n]ew support will be provided to advance the UNESCO World Heritage site nomination as well as First Nations land planning and sustainable resource management projects on the east side of Lake Winnipeg." (2006 Budget In Brief - Water and Environmental Protection)
• February 2006 - Over 82,000 'Take Action' e-mails are sent by NRDC BioGems supporters to Manitoba Premier Doer, urging him once again to grant interim protection for the traditional lands of Pauingassi and Little Grand Rapids First Nations. Combined with the June 2005 'Take Action', over 137,000 letters have been sent requesting protection for the First Nation nominated lands.
• January 2006 - Manitoba Minister of Energy, Science and Technology, Dave Chomiak, releases Green and Growing. Section 3 Protecting Our Natural Areas reiterates the government's "support for the nomination of a UNESCO World Heritage site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg", and commits to "moving forward with First Nations on the proposed UNESCO world heritage site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg".