As part of the 1992 Comprehensive Implementation Agreement, Tataskweyak Cree Nation (TCN) and Manitoba agreed to jointly designate a Split Lake Resource Management Area (SLRMA) for the purpose of integrated land use and resource management planning and implementation. A map of the area accompanies this article. All of Tataskweyak’s Reserve Lands (Map 1) are in the SLRMA, together with Manitoba Crown lands. The SLRMA encompasses part of the traditional territory of the Tataskweyak Cree.

Split Lake Resource Management Area (SLRMA) is a huge area of northeastern Manitoba, covering more than 16,000 square miles or 10 million acres. It represents over 6% of the whole land and water area of the Province of Manitoba. The SLRMA is rich in natural resources including clean water, fish, moose, caribou, birds, bear, forests, medicinal plants, and minerals, to name a few of the resources. The land is largely undeveloped, having only one main road linking Thompson in the west to Split Lake, Gillam and Bird. Winter roads connect to York Landing (York Factory First Nation), War Lake First Nation and Ilford.

To put the size of the SLRMA into perspective:

• It about the same size as Denmark (16, 629 square miles);
• It is a little larger than Switzerland and much larger than Belgium;
• It is somewhat larger than Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined;
• It is 70% larger than Lake Winnipeg (9,460 square miles), Manitoba’s most prominent geographical feature; and
• It is about the same size as Lake Erie and Lake Ontario combined.

• The Hudson Plains Ecozone is dominated by wetlands in the form of fens and bogs. Wetlands are classified into subgroups: bogs; fens; marshes; swamps, and shallow waters. Permafrost is widespread in this zone;
• The Boreal Shield Ecozone is the largest Ecozone in Canada, extending from Newfoundland through to Alberta. A vast blanket of closed boreal forest including many lakes and undulating landscapes characterizes it; and
• The Taiga Shield Ecozone is characterized by the open and stunted conifer dominated forests, the Precambrian Shield, and the associated shallow soils and numerous lakes.

• The Ecoregion is the ‘finer’ subset of the Ecozone classification. The four Ecoregions in the Split Lake Resource Management Area are described as follows:
• The Hudson Bay Lowland Ecoregion is a wetland-dominated area extending eastward from the Churchill River to James Bay. Vegetation consists mainly of open stands of black spruce, with understories of dwarf birch, Labrador tea, lichen and moss. Wildlife species include woodland caribou, moose, snowshoe hare, spruce grouse, and a variety of waterfowl. Periodically, polar bears wander in from the coast in search of denning sites;
• The Churchill River Upland Ecoregion is located on the southern edge of the Precambrian Shield. It is characterized by closed Boreal forest of jack pine, black spruce and white spruce. The Ecoregion provides habitat for moose, woodland caribou, black bear, lynx, wolf, beaver, muskrat, and snowshoe hare, as well as a wintering area for barren-ground caribou. Bird species includes cranes, grouse, eagles, owls, and waterfowl;
• The Hayes River Upland Ecoregion is dominated by shallow peat soils and bogs, and by medium tall closed stands of black spruce and jack pine. Wildlife includes moose, black bear, woodland caribou, lynx, wolf, beaver, muskrat and snowshoe hare. Bird species includes sandhill crane, spruce grouse, willow ptarmigan, raven, Canada jay, and waterfowl; and
• The Selwyn Lake Upland Ecoregion is part of a broad area of coniferous forest transition area lying between the sparsely forested area in the north and the closed boreal forest to the south. The open stands consist of low black spruce, understories of dwarf birch, Labrador tea, lichens, and mosses. Characteristic wildlife includes barren-ground caribou, black bear, arctic fox, snowshoe hare, spruce grouse, and waterfowl.