The world's largest beaver dam is in Wood Buffalo National Park.

The Mikisew Cree First Nation is asking UNESCO to place Wood Buffalo National Park on its List of World Heritage Sites in Danger due to growing threats from hydro-electric developments and oil and gas activities. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and other concerned groups are supporting the petition.

Wood Buffalo National Park was placed on UNESCO's Natural World Heritage List in 1983 because it contains the largest freshwater boreal delta in the world: the Peace-Athabasca. However, hydro-electric damming along the Peace River in British Columbia and oil sands activities along the Athabasca River in Alberta have significantly reduced the flow of water to the delta, affecting migratory bird populations in the delta and the health of fish populations in the Lake Athabasca area.

"We are already deeply concerned about the impact of industrial activity on our traditional lands within the Peace-Athabasca Delta in Wood Buffalo National Park. Those threats are growing with the proposed Site C dam and oil sands expansion. We are using every possible means before it is too late to save the land that has supported our people for millennia," says Mikisew Chief Steve Courtoreille.

Wood Buffalo National Park was placed on UNESCO's Natural World Heritage List in 1983 because it contains the largest freshwater boreal delta in the world: the Peace-Athabasca.

Scientists say climate change is also contributing to changes to the Peace-Athabasca water flows and levels. The Mikisew Cree and others are concerned that two proposed projects, the Site C Dam in B.C. and the Frontier Oil Sands Mine near Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, would further exacerbate these problems.

UNESCO's List of World Heritage Sites in Danger alerts the international community to conditions that threaten the characteristics of a site that justified its placement on the World Heritage List, and is designed to encourage corrective action.

Alison Ronson, Executive Director of CPAWS' Northern Alberta Chapter, says that petitioning UNESCO should encourage all levels of government to provide greater protection to Wood Buffalo National Park.

"The Government of Alberta and the federal government need to create a buffer area of protection around the park. It should be informed by scientific studies that assess the impact of industrial activity and climate change on the park and its wildlife," says Ronson.

Including a site on the List of World Heritage in Danger requires the World Heritage Committee to develop and adopt, in consultation with the State Party concerned, a programme for corrective measures and ongoing monitoring of the site.

The Mikisew Cree First Nation hope that this petition will improve the prospects for Wood Buffalo National Park.

The Mikisew Cree First Nation hope that this petition will improve the prospects for Wood Buffalo National Park - Canada's largest park - and the only place on earth where the predator-prey relationship between wolves and wood bison has continued unbroken over time.

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