In northern Manitoba, Indigenous leaders Sophia and Ray Rabliauskas are committed to preserving the intact landscape of Canada’s boreal forest—for their grandchildren, and the planet. The couple is worked to have an area known as Pimachiowin Aki, which encompasses 12,895 square miles of Anishinaabe traditional aboriginal territory and provincial parks in Manitoba and Ontario, recognized as a World Heritage site.

The boreal region of Canada stretches across more than a billion acres, and is one of the largest intact forest ecosystems on Earth. Pew’s International Boreal Conservation Campaign encourages a balance between development and conservation and works with the people who live there to achieve that goal. People of the Boreal is a multimedia project that tells the stories of those who have the most to gain or lose from decisions about how the region is managed.

Learn more about Indigenous leaders Sophia and Ray Rabliauskas, and view the entire People of the Boreal series here