ABSTRACT
Crafting a cooperative approach will be a difficult task because the success or failure in preserving environmental values of northern areas will depend on the willingness of each group to draw from the best of their respective traditions while searching for innovations. The political, social, and economic climate—if not the physical climate—has already experienced profound change. The legal landscape has also been substantially altered. Most northern parks and protected areas have been established or significantly expanded only in recent years. Most of the great northern parks and protected areas lie adjacent to or encompass whole communities, primarily comprising indigenous peoples who own lands within the protected area boundaries and who have certain rights of access and use within the protected landscape. One of the most significant rights is the pursuit of customary and traditional subsistence activities, including hunting and trapping.
