It was a busy year for the Whitefeather Forest Initiative as we saw our team expand and take on new projects. 2025 was also an intense fire season, the second hottest on record after 2023, leading to community evacuations across Canada including Pikangikum First Nation. Current estimates suggest that over 60,000 hectares of the Whitefeather Forest burned just this year. Our team has since been out on the land noting some of the changes in the forest composition after these fires.
As Whitefeather Forest Initiative, we are grateful to be part of and lead teams that prioritize understanding and managing forest health while pushing for more economic opportunities for Pikangikum people. Below are 5 highlights from this year!
Berens River Bridge
The Berens River bridge project was officially announced early in the year in February 2025 at the Neeganii-Iishawin Gathering. Over the past year, there has been ongoing development on the bridge construction that upon completion will provide all-season access to Pikangikum and beyond.
Firefighter training
We helped coordinate training for over 75 Type II firefighters between March and November 2025. This included both first-time firefighters and previous crew bosses. Part of the training also involved Indigenous knowledge sessions with Elders at the Pikangikum Community Center. Our last cohort in November even got to enjoy some vivid Northern lights during the training sessions.
Certifications
Whitefeather helped certify 11 restricted radio operators and 5 drone pilots.
Deployment in the Whitefeather Forest
Through a coordinated effort from many organizations, including our partnership with Horizon North, we were able to deploy 19 Pikangikum firefighters as a part of Type II crews in the Whitefeather Forest. The deployment lasted 2 weeks with teams working on the RED62 and RED60 fires.
Outreach
Many of our staff this year had the opportunity to attend and present our work at various conferences including the Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada in Kamloops, BC and the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) in Calgary, Alberta. Through our membership with the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance’s Wildfire Resilient Landscape working group, our team also had the chance to have two face-to-face meetings with King Charles in Ottawa and in the UK.
We are hopeful for 2026 and excited to deliver benefits and develop relationships at local, provincial, national and international scales.
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