By Patrick Quinn Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Cree Nation Government and Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced the signing of a landmark conservation agreement June 27th to protect the lake sturgeon of the Southern Hudson Bay-James Bay, a species of special concern under the country’s Species at Risk Act (SARA). The agreement is the first of its kind in Canada, providing a collaborative framework for the development of a Cree-led management plan that will identify conservation targets and threats to the species and its habitat, establishing concrete actions for the sturgeon’s long-term survival. “This is a first for an Indigenous group to take lead of a management plan in collaboration with the government,” explained Tina Petawabano, CNG director of federal and Indigenous relations. “Other First Nations have been involved in…