MOHAWK+GRAND RIVER

Gazette No. 48 — Mohawk Environmental Protection and Sustainability Initiative (MEPSI)

Be it known and placed on record: That the Mohawk Environmental Protection and Sustainability Initiative (MEPSI) is hereby established as the regulatory, enforcement, and policy framework for environmental protection within the Mohawk Acquired Territory.

I. MEPSI and BlueBelt

The MEPSI formally names the BlueBelt Conservation and Stewardship Platform (G59) as one of its core implementation strategies. Together, MEPSI and BlueBelt constitute the complete environmental governance framework of the Mohawk Nation of Grand River. Where MEPSI is the regulatory framework, BlueBelt is the operational conservation platform.

II. The Environmental Significance of the Territory

The Grand River watershed is one of the most significant freshwater systems in Southern Ontario. The Grand River was designated a Canadian Heritage River in 1994. The Haldimand Proclamation’s grant of the six-mile corridor and the riparian rights arising from the waterway designation place the Secretariat in a position of authority over a landscape of significant environmental, cultural, and heritage importance.