Dehcho First Nations

Purpose

This project will focus on characterizing cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in lakes throughout the Dehcho Region, located in the Northwest Territories. The Dehcho First Nations Aquatic Resources and Oceans Management (AAROM) team will lead the field sampling program and work with collaborators from the NRC, Wilfrid Laurier University and Dalhousie University to develop new monitoring approaches that can be implemented into existing environmental monitoring programs. A combination of discrete and continuous sampling approaches will be employed to characterize cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in 13 lakes during the open water season. The project team will develop a long term monitoring strategy for the region. Our findings will be disseminated to other Northern groups interested in establishing programs for monitoring cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in northern lakes.