Edéhzhíe, also known as the Horn Plateau, is located West of Great Slave Lake and comprises 14,250-square-kilometre of undulating plateau rising over 400 m over the surrounding boreal plains and lowlands. Edéhzhíe features prominently in Dené legends, is home to caribou and moose, and is also the source for water in three major drainage basins.

"In our view, the federal government's unilateral decision to open Edehzie to mining interests represents a very large betrayal of trust," said Dehcho Grand Chief Samuel Gargan. On December 2, 2010 the Dehcho First Nations filed an Application for Judicial Review in Federal Court. "We cannot stand by and allow sacred ancestral lands and the watershed to be destroyed. We will protect our land," said Gargan.

"We support the Dehcho First Nations in their resolve to have Canada reinstate the full protection for Edéhzhíe that has been in place since 2002," said Larry Innes Canadian Boreal Initiative Executive Director. "Opening the area to mineral claims puts pristine boreal ecosystems at risk, and undermines the confidence of NWT communities, industry, and conservationists alike in the NWT Protected Area Strategy process."