How These Indigenous Leaders Are Protecting the Great Bear Rainforest for Generations

New agreement will prioritise wildlife and old-growth alongside economic opportunities.

The Great Bear Rainforest is located within the traditional territories of several indigenous First Nations, including the Kitasoo/Xai'xais, Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Gitga'at, and Haisla. Photo Source: Coastal First Nations on Facebook.
The Great Bear Rainforest is located within the traditional territories of several indigenous First Nations, including the Kitasoo/Xai'xais, Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Gitga'at, and Haisla. Photo Source: Coastal First Nations on Facebook.

The Great Bear Rainforest is one of the most unique ecosystems on the planet. And thanks to the skills, knowledge, and leadership of local First Nations, and new policy, it is poised to stay that way for generations to come. 

“First Nations have been resourceful, responsible managers of our forests for thousands of years.”

Dallas Smith, Tlowitsis Nation leader and president of the Nanwakolas

A new policy will put in place stronger protections for Indigenous cultural heritage sites, Kermode (Spirit) bears and black bears, salmon watersheds, and millions of hectares of old-growth forests while strengthening the First Nations’ role in co-management.

“Stan Hutchings has been walking creeks along the coast of BC in Canada for 40 years.” He knows the Great Bear Rainforest inside out. “His passion and his calling are salmon, the fish at the very center of the coastal ecosystem.” Photo Credit: Roland Gockel. Photo Source: Watershed Watch Salmon Society on Facebook.

“First Nations have been resourceful, responsible managers of our forests for thousands of years,” said Tlowitsis Nation leader and president of the Nanwakolas Council Dallas Smith, in a Canadian Forest Industries story. “It is gratifying to work with a government that recognizes that and is working with us to return our forests to those Indigenous-led, sustainable management systems.”

The Great Bear Rainforest is a 6.4 million hectare temperate rainforest along BC’s north and central coast. Canadian Forest Industries describes it as “one of the world’s most treasured and diverse coastal temperate forest ecosystems.” But its landscape has been threatened by logging and other industrial activities for many years.

From time immemorial, First Nations wisdom, experience, and custodianship have been the driving force behind the defending the Great Bear Sea’s pristine beauty and vibrant ecosystems. Photo Source: Coastal First Nations on Facebook.

The latest protections are part of a pre-existing agreement between the BC government and 11 of the 26 Nations with territory in the Great Bear Rainforest, represented within the Coastal First Nations and Nanwakolas Council.

Wildlife & Cultural Protection

Wolverines are opportunistic feeders and will scavenge on carrion left by other predators or from animals that died naturally. By consuming these carcasses, they help recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem. Photo Credit: Cael Cook, in the Great Bear Rainforest. Photo Source: Watershed Watch Salmon Society on Facebook.

Protections are getting stronger in several ways. An estimated 1.5 million hectares of designated areas have enhanced protections, with a new 1.6 million hectares covered for conservation.

Measures have been taken to defend key watersheds essential for Pacific salmon populations that are increasingly under threat. Wetlands, rivers, lakes, and streams are all to be safeguarded from logging activities to ensure fish and wildlife survival.

Sea wolves are known for their exceptional swimming abilities. They often swim between islands and along the coastline in search of food. Photo Source: Wolf Conservation Center on Facebook. Photo Credit: Ian McAllister on Facebook.

Forestry companies must now protect and participate in mapping grizzly, black, and Kermode bear habitats within the Great Bear Rainforest.

Cultural protection is essential to the new policy, with Indigenous heritage sites and rights to ceremonial old-growth trees being enshrined for their communities. 

“Now it’s hardwired [in the land use order] for First Nations to determine the protections of dens or cultural cedar trees,” Dallas Smith told the National Observer.

Having a Say in the Logging Industry

In the Great Bear Rainforest, the trees grow to huge heights due to a surprising fertiliser… salmon! Eagles catch salmon from the rivers and carry them deep into the forest canopy. A combination of their droppings and the remains of the fish provide nitrogen-rich fertiliser for the forest. Photo and Caption Credit: WWF-Canada on Facebook.

Part of this agreement ensures logging can continue but with specific mandates for more First Nations input and more sustainable practices.

Logging is still permitted on 550,000 hectares of forest, which means 2.5 million cubic metres of timber annually until the next review in 2027.

These logging stipulations are part of the BC government’s new regional forest landscape planning for “co-developing new local plans with First Nations to better care for BC’s forests.” This includes a new program fund of $25 million for consultations with 50 Indigenous communities on developing old-growth forests. 

Community-Driven Wins

“We have built plans from communities outward; we have not been distracted. Our accountability is to each other.”

Dallas Smith, Tlowitsis Nation leader and president of the Nanwakolas
In the Great Bear Rainforest, everything is linked: The rainforest’s health depends on the ocean, and the well-being of people and the economy relies on the thriving forests and coastlines. Photo Source: Coastal First Nations on Facebook.

This new announcement comes on the heels of an unprecedented agreement between First Nations and the BC and federal governments to establish a network of marine protected areas in the Great Bear Sea.

Earlier this year, West Coast Now interviewed Dallas Smith about the groundbreaking marine protected areas plan and its benefit for local economies. 

“Protection of our resources is very important,” he told us. “Our coastlines are very important. But sustainable development and the economy are just as important. And then you add the importance of our cultural identity and human well-being.”

Smith chairs an investment group called Coast Funds, helping generate more than 1,200 new jobs across 22 communities in scores of environmental and economic development projects. 

He believes community-driven processes benefit everyone in the long run. “We have built plans from communities outward; we have not been distracted. Our accountability is to each other,” Smith said.

Written by The Skeena

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