A National Wildlife Area is a

conservation designation A conservation designation is a name and/or acronym which explains the status of an area of land in terms of conservation or protection. Examples United Kingdom *Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) * Environmentally sensitive area * Local ...

for a geographical region in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

that restricts most human activities on that region. However,

land use Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long h ...

permits may be issued "for activities that are compatible with conservation". Such areas are established and managed by the

Canadian Wildlife Service The Canadian Wildlife Service or CWS (french: Service canadien de la faune), is a Branch of the Department of the Environment (Environment and Climate Change Canada), a department of the Government of Canada. November 1, 2012 marked the 65th ann ...

, a division of

Environment and Climate Change Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment ...

. They may consist of land and water features, as well as coastal areas extending up to from shore. The largest national wildlife area is the Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, which covers an area of .

Protections

Each National Wildlife Area involves a management plan which specifies activities which are generally allowed within the protected area, as well as activities requiring permits. Under the Wildlife Area Regulations, traditional, personal and recreational activities such as

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, or

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

ing are allowed, whereas

resource extraction Extractivism is the process of extracting natural resources from the Earth to sell on the world market. It exists in an economy that depends primarily on the extraction or removal of natural resources that are considered valuable for exportation w ...

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

grazing would be permitted only under the authority of a yearly permit with strict limits. Some National Wildlife Area in the territories, such as Polar Bear Pass, require co-management between federal government agencies and the

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

, per the

Nunavut Land Claims Agreement The Nunavut Land Claim Agreement (french: L'Accord sur les revendications territoriales du Nunavut) was signed on May 25, 1993, in Iqaluit, by representatives of the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut (now Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated), the Governm ...

List of National Wildlife Areas in Canada

This is a list of National Wildlife Areas in Canada by

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

. It uses data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Alberta

* * Blue Quills National Wildlife Area, * Meanook National Wildlife Area, *

Spiers Lake National Wildlife Area Spiers is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alexander Spiers (1807–1869), English lexicographer *Bob Spiers (1945–2008), British television director *Cyril Spiers (1902–1967), former English professional football ...

, *

Suffield National Wildlife Area Suffield National Wildlife Area (SNWA) is a National Wildlife Area located within the boundaries of CFB Suffield in Alberta, Canada. SNWA was formally created on the 19th of June, 2003 when it was officially gazetted under Canada Wildlife Act R ...

British Columbia

* Alaksen National Wildlife Area, * Columbia National Wildlife Area, * Qualicum National Wildlife Area, * Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area, *

Vaseux-Bighorn National Wildlife Area Vaseux-Bighorn National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area in British Columbia, Canada, primarily set aside to protect winter rangeland for California bighorn sheep. In 1979, the Vaseux-Bighorn Wildlife Area was established in response t ...

, *

Widgeon Valley National Wildlife Area Widgeon Valley National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area located near the south end of Pitt Lake in British Columbia, Canada. The property was purchased by the Nature Trust of British Columbia in 1973 and declared a National Wildlife ...

Manitoba

Pope National Wildlife Area The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, *

Rockwood National Wildlife Area Rockwood may refer to: Places Canada * Rockwood, Manitoba, rural municipality ** Rockwood (electoral division), former provincial electoral division ** Rockwood, Winnipeg, a neighbourhood * Rockwood, the main community in Guelph/Eramosa township ...

New Brunswick

* , — Cape Jourimain * , * , * , —

Riverside-Albert Riverside-Albert (2016 pop.: 350) is a Canadian village in Hopewell Parish of Albert County, New Brunswick. Riverside-Albert is located on the Shepody River at the edge of the Shepody Marsh. The community of Harvey Parish is located across t ...

* Tintamarre National Wildlife Area,

Nova Scotia

* Boot Island National Wildlife Area, * Chignecto National Wildlife Area, * John Lusby National Wildlife Area, * , * , * Wallace Bay National Wildlife Area,

Nunavut

* , * , * Nirjutiqavvik National Wildlife Area, *

Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area Polar Bear Pass National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area on Bathurst Island (Canada), Bathurst Island within Qikiqtaaluk Region, Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is on federal Crown land, and is administered by the Canadian Wildlife Se ...

, * ,

Ontario

* Big Creek National Wildlife Area, *

Eleanor Island National Wildlife Area Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal dialect, Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. ...

, * , *

Mississippi Lake National Wildlife Area Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Missis ...

, * Mohawk Island National Wildlife Area, *

Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area The Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory is a bird observatory located in the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area, located on Prince Edward Point in the south-east corner of Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. The National Wildlife A ...

, *

Scotch Bonnet Island National Wildlife Area Scotch most commonly refers to: * Scotch (adjective), a largely obsolescent adjective meaning "of or from Scotland" **Scotch, old-fashioned name for the indigenous languages of the Scottish people: ***Scots language ("Broad Scotch") *** Scottish G ...

, * St. Clair National Wildlife Area, * Wellers Bay National Wildlife Area, * Wye Marsh National Wildlife Area,

Quebec

* , *

Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area The Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area (NWA) located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in the National Provincial Capital Region of Quebec, established on 28 April 1978. It is one of the critical habit ...

, * , * , * , * , * , * ,

Saskatchewan

* Bradwell National Wildlife Area, *

Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area (NWA) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The protected area is in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, which extends throughout three Canadian provinces and f ...

, * Prairie National Wildlife Area, *

Raven Island National Wildlife Area Lenore Lake is a partly saline lake in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is part of the Lenore Lake Basin, which includes several saline lakes (Basin, Middle, Frog, Ranch, Murphy, Flat, Mantrap, Houghton, Deadmoose and Waldsea) as well as ...

, *

St. Denis National Wildlife Area ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

, * Stalwart National Wildlife Area, * Tway National Wildlife Area, * Webb National Wildlife Area,

Yukon

* Nisutlin River Delta National Wildlife Area,

References

{{authority control Nature conservation in Canada National Wildlife Areas National Wildlife Areas