difficulties in "engaging the First Nations in the process."

A 29,000 square-kilometre (7.2 million acres) area, south of Churchill, west of Wapusk National Park, and along the northwest shoreline of the Hudson Bay is currently being studied as a location for the proposed 1.4 million acre park. There are between 900 and 1,000 polar bears in the western Hudson Bay.

Kennedy told the Free Press hunters and trappers in the area provide food for the remote First Nation, located almost 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Kennedy is concerned that a designated, protected area could hinder their use of the land. It is a point echoed by the Manitoba Wildlife Federation, an organization dedicated to the sustainable use of fish and wildlife.

"I think there really needs to be a study andthose consultations with First Nations, they need to be part of these discussions," Cox said.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society supports the protection of the region, provided there is full consultation with First Nations communities. Joshua Pearlman, a spokesman for the nationwide charity, notes there is significant value to the area that needs protection. The organization is dedicated to the protection of public land and water

On top of protecting polar bear dens, the study area contains the largest wetland on the continent and feeds rivers which flowing into parts of the Hudson Bay which is the summer habitat for the beluga whale population, Pearlman noted in an email statement.

"The integrity of the landscape and wildlife populations on it are critical to the successful eco-tourism industry in northern Manitoba,"