The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board (MVLWB or the Board) is pleased to announce the reappointment of Mr. Willard Hagen as Chair of the Board.

The Board congratulates Mr. Hagen on his reappointment.

Mr. Hagen looks forward to continuing the work he has spearheaded to create clarity and consistency throughout the Mackenzie Valley through the development of Valley-Wide policies, guidelines and procedures. Mr. Hagen also will work to prepare the Board for changes that are proposed in the near future through devolution and other possible changes to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act.

Mr. Hagen has been the appointed Chair of the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board since 2007. Of Gwich'in ancestry and born in Tsiigehtchic, Mr. Hagen was raised in the Travaillant River area, and completed his formal education in Wildlife Management in Inuvik. Mr. Hagen established Aklak Air in the late 1970s and now owns and operates Beaudel Air in Inuvik and has been a bush pilot for thirty years.

Mr. Hagen was the Director of the Metis Development Corporation from 1978 to 1980. He then became President of the Gwich'in Tribal Council in 1990 where he was active in drafting the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act. As the President of the tribal council, Mr. Hagen also served as the Director of the Gwich'in Development Corporation and as a Member of the Gwich'in Arbitration Panel. In 1996, Mr. Hagen became a Member of the Gwich'in Land and Water Board and in 2002 he became the Chair.