FORT NELSON, B.C. (August 21, 2012) – Concerned citizens and First Nations are gathering for Keepers of the Water VI: Our Waters are One, in Fort Nelson, B.C., September 26-29, 2012.

Hosted by the Fort Nelson First Nation, Keepers of the Water VI will focus on grassroots watershed planning and management for the Arctic Ocean Basin. Several high-profile water pundits, including Wade Davis (National Geographic Fellow), Maude Barlow (Council of Canadians), Jon Waterhouse (Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council) and David Marshall (Fraser Basin Council), will guide participants through the three-day annual conference.

This year’s conference highlights the Fort Nelson-Liard River basin. The use of record-breaking mass-scale and highly controversial hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) is causing concern among local people of the river basin and those who live downstream in the Arctic Ocean basin. Working to address the demands of fracking on fragile ecosystems and downstream water sources, presenters and panelists from all levels of government, industry, science and academia will join environmental groups, private citizens and First Nations to voice concerns and explore collaborative solutions.

“Fracking places seemingly incomprehensible demands on our fragile ecosystems,” says Lana Lowe, conference coordinator and Lands Director for the Fort Nelson First Nation. “This is a crucial event for us.”

Keepers of the Water VI will also provide updates on the current state of affairs throughout the Arctic Ocean basin. Conference participants will work collaboratively on a water accord binding all who sign it as unified stewards of the basin, and participant-generated solutions will become action plans in the Keepers of the Water watershed plan.

“It’s an important and sacred goal,” says co-coordinator Norine Wark of Keepers of the Water. “All who care about our waters must don our thinking caps, roll up our sleeves and delve into the watershed planning and management process.”

The conference will be held from September 26 to September 29, 2012 at the Northern Rockies Regional Recreation Centre in Fort Nelson, BC. This traditional gathering will begin with a welcoming feast and will include other local cultural experiences.

Conference details, including registration and accommodation information, can be found on the Keepers of the Water website at www.keepersofthewater.ca or by contacting Norine Wark atinfo@keepersofthewater.ca or 250-843-7310.

About Keepers of the Water

The Keepers of the Water is a non-profit group of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples; environmental groups; concerned citizens; and communities working together for the protection of air, water and land for all living things today and tomorrow in the Arctic Ocean drainage basin. The Arctic Ocean basin covers 36% of Canada’s land surface.

In cooperation with local First Nations, Keepers of the Water holds annual public watershed gatherings to draw attention to the state of the Arctic Ocean basin and the impact of development on its fragile ecosystems. Its first gathering was called in 2006 by the Deh Cho First Nations at Liidlii Kue, Denedeh (Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories). The Keepers of the Water Declaration states that:

Water is a sacred gift, an essential element that sustains and connects all life. It is not a commodity to be bought or sold. All people share an obligation to cooperate to ensure that water in all its forms is protected and conserved with regard to the needs of all living things today and for future generations tomorrow.