Hay-Zama Lakes is a 58,600 hectare (152,360 acre) inland wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

 and wildland park in northwestern Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It was designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance on May 24, 1982, and is recognized as an Important Bird Area

Important Bird Area

An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...

. It "constitutes one of the most extensive sedge wetlands in western North America".

The site has been under consideration for classification as a World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

. It is approximately 100 km (62.1 mi) west-northwest of the town of High Level

High Level, Alberta

- Demographics :According to the 2006 census, High Level had a:*population of 3,887 living in 1,519 dwellings, a 12.9% increase from 2001;*land area of ; and*population density of .- Economy :...

, 140 km from the border with the Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

.

It is being twinned with Dalai Lake National Nature Reserve in Inner Mongolia

Inner Mongolia

Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...

.

Geography

An expansive lowland

Lowland

In physical geography, a lowland is any broad expanse of land with a general low level. The term is thus applied to the landward portion of the upward slope from oceanic depths to continental highlands, to a region of depression in the interior of a mountainous region, to a plain of denudation, or...

 wetland complex, the system consists of eutrophic freshwater lakes, and the floodplain

Floodplain

A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...

s and interior river delta

River delta

A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...

s associated with the Peace River

Peace River (Canada)

The Peace River is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River flows into the Slave River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River. The Mackenzie is the 12th longest river in the world,...

. It is at an elevation of 320 metres (1,056 ft) above sea level.

Water levels are determined by seasonal and annual fluctuations, which may be quite significant. Inflow from the Hay River

Hay River (Canada)

Hay River is a large river in northern Alberta and southern Northwest Territories, Canada.It originates in the muskeg of north western Alberta, flows west to British Columbia, then returns to Alberta, where it follows a northern course towards the Northwest Territories, where it discharges in the...

 greatly influences both the size of the lakes and their depth. The largest lake in the system is Zama Lake

Zama Lake

Zama Lake is a large lake in the Mackenzie County, in north-western Alberta, Canada.It is located approximately west of High Level, at the confluence of Zama River and Hay River. The lake covers and forms an intricate river, lakes and wetland system. The Hay-Zama Lakes complex is a Ramsar site...

.

The site has been subject to continuous oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

 and natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

 extraction and exploration since the 1960s, and is surrounded by degraded landscape as a result. In an agreement between the Dene Tha'

Dene

The Dene are an aboriginal group of First Nations who live in the northern boreal and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dené speak Northern Athabaskan languages. Dene is the common Athabaskan word for "people" . The term "Dene" has two usages...

 and oil production and exploration companies operating in the wetland complex, no new wells will be built from 2007 onward, and complete cessation of such activities will occur no later than 2017.

Fauna

The complex is site to large populations of migratory birds during spring and fall migrations. Over 250,000 ducks and 177,000 geese have been observed during a single migration.
It lies on the path of three waterfowl flyway

Flyway

A flyway is a flight path used in bird migration. Flyways generally span over continents and often oceans.-Flyways of the Americas:*Atlantic Flyway*Central Flyway*Mississippi Flyway*Pacific Flyway*Allegheny Front...

s, the Pacific

Pacific Flyway

The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south route of travel for migratory birds in America, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading to breeding grounds, or travelling to...

, Central

Central Flyway

The Central Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Great Plains in the United States and Canada. The main endpoints of the flyway include central Canada and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico; the migration route tends to narrow considerably in the Platte River and...

 and Mississippi

Mississippi Flyway

The Mississippi Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Mississippi River in the United States and the Mackenzie River in Canada. The main endpoints of the flyway include central Canada and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico...

, making it an important moulting and staging area for numerous waterfowl species, the primary factor leading to its Ramsar designation.

It is the only site in Alberta targeted for the re-introduction of Wood Bison

Wood Bison

The Wood Bison, Bison bison athabascae, also called Mountain Bison, Wood Buffalo or Mountain Buffalo, is a distinct northern subspecies or ecotype of the American Bison...

, which thrive on a winter forage

Forage

Forage is plant material eaten by grazing livestock.Historically the term forage has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially...

 of sedge

Cyperaceae

Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...

s and grasses

Poaceae

The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...

 indigenous to the area. A group of 24 bison were first introduced to Hay-Zama Lakes Wildland Park in 1984, moved from Elk Island National Park

Elk Island National Park

Elk Island National Park , is one of 43 national parks and park reserves administered by the Parks Canada Agency. This “island of conservation” is located 35 km east of Edmonton, Alberta along the Yellowhead Highway, which nearly bisects the park...

, and its population has steadily grown to 700 members. The bison, however, have been following "roads opened up for them by oil and gas activity", straying toward the town of High Level, attracted by roadside grasses. Concern about contact between this group and bison from Wood Buffalo National Park

Wood Buffalo National Park

Wood Buffalo National Park, located in northeastern Alberta and southern Northwest Territories, is the largest national park in Canada at . The park was established in 1922 to protect the world's largest herd of free roaming Wood Bison, currently estimated at more than 5,000...

, which carry brucellosis

Brucellosis

Brucellosis, also called Bang's disease, Crimean fever, Gibraltar fever, Malta fever, Maltese fever, Mediterranean fever, rock fever, or undulant fever, is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unsterilized milk or meat from infected animals or close contact with their secretions...

 or tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

, has led to the granting of permits to Dene Tha' hunters to cull straying animals, hence preventing the spread of these diseases. Ultimately, the diseased herds in Wood Buffalo will be eliminated.