Don’t miss the Action Letter template at the end of this page!
August 17th, 2026
A park at risk of losing its international status as a World Heritage Site.
Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada’s largest national park and a current UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an incredibly important part of our country both ecologically and culturally.
Wood Buffalo is celebrated for its outstanding ecological characteristics, including the largest Great Plains-Boreal Grassland ecosystem in North America. The Park also provides breeding habitat for the endangered whooping crane, and the inland delta, salt plains, and gypsum karst that support a high concentration of migratory wildlife.
The Park, and the Peace-Athabasca Delta inside it, has been a life-giving place that supported Indigenous communities for millennia. Now, the delta is on life support – with more frequent dry periods, a decline in biodiversity, changes to water quality, and more risks on the horizon, like climate change and growing oil sands mines.
In 2022, UNESCO confirmed the Park’s deteriorating condition, provided management recommendations, and cautioned that the Park could be designated as a World Heritage Site in Danger without proper interventions.
What is happening at Wood Buffalo National Park right now?
An international investigation led by delegates from UNESCO, called a Reactive Monitoring Mission, is taking place at the Park from August 16-23, 2026. Representatives from the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and the World Heritage Committee will be visiting the region over these eight days.
Hosted by Parks Canada, the mission will assess the state of the region and determine whether significant progress has been made to protect Wood Buffalo from the threats it faces.
In the years since the 2022 Reactive Monitoring Mission, many Indigenous communities in the region have continued to lead on efforts to protect and restore the Athabasca-Peace Delta. However, recovering the Park and securing its future will take cooperation and collaboration across all governments and communities.
With growing pressure from Alberta and Canada to build new infrastructure upstream and environmental safeguards being removed, your voice is needed. You can speak up for Wood Buffalo by writing to the federal and provincial Environment Ministers and letting them know you care.
Send a letter now
Not sure what to say to our ministers? We have crafted a template you can use for inspiration.
Send to:
- The Honourable Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature
- Grant Hunter, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas
CC us:
- CPAWS Northern Alberta
Dear Minister Dabrusin and Minister Hunter,
I am writing to express my support for taking strong action to protect Wood Buffalo National Park. The Park is an incredibly important part of our country and should be a priority to ensure the threats it faces are urgently addressed.
I applaud the federal government for making a large investment into the Park as part of the A Force of Nature strategy. However, that money will only go so far to mitigate rising threats such as climate change and growing oil sands mines upstream.
With the UNESCO Reactive Monitoring Mission visiting Wood Buffalo this week to conduct an investigation, we hope to see cross-government collaboration to ensure the best future for the Park, the people, and the lands and waters it encompasses.
As my provincial and federal environment Ministers, I urge you to:
- Work together across federal and provincial governments and in collaboration with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in the region to address the cumulative impacts that threaten the Park.
- Ensure that the Action Plan is implemented to the full extent and that the most urgent matters are addressed first.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
For a more detailed timeline of events relating to the conservation of Wood Buffalo National Park, please visit our webpage here.
For further information, please contact:
Kaitlyn Philip, Boreal Program Manager, CPAWS Northern Alberta
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