PRINCE ALBERT, SASKATCHEWAN — Members of several First Nations around the Prince Albert area are raising concerns about work the forestry plans to do near Historical Sites. The Ministry of Environment’s Island Forests 2022-2042 Forest Management Plan includes logging in areas around Holbien and Crutwell. The Lower Hudson House is located about 35 kilometers west of Prince Albert and was the first Hudson’s Bay trading post located on the North Saskatchewan River. The forestry plans on logging in areas close to the Lower Hudson House, which could potentially cause irreversible damage. “There’s so much to be learned yet, it was obviously a gathering place for First Nations long before Europeans showed up, so there’s a pre contact history there in and around the whole area,” explained Consultation Facilitator Dave Rondeau. The area where the forestry plans to build the access trail was once a path travelled by Indigenous Peoples, leading to multiple forts and posts associated with European fur traders.