The province says roughly 450 square kilometres of Crown land in northeastern B.C. is being set aside as a protected area for the next 10 years, covering an area larger than the city of Surrey.
The new K’ih tsaaʔdze Protection Area is within Treaty 8 territory and stems from a 2021 B.C. Supreme Court case ruling that the cumulative impacts of multiple industrial developments in the region infringed on the treaty, signed in 1899.
Following that ruling, the province and seven Treaty 8 First Nations agreed to work collaboratively on land-use management in the area.
The new protection area is part of that agreement, resulting from talks with the Doig River First Nation.
Doig River First Nation-B.C. Joint Land Use Planning area:
According to the province, the K’ih tsaaʔdze Protection Area will help protect caribou habitat and boreal ecosystems.
While existing industrial activity will be allowed to continue, no new disturbances will be allowed to take place.
Additionally, forestry activity will not be allowed in the area for the next four years.
The province and Doig River are continuing to work on a joint land-use plan for the wider area that could cover up to 26,000 square kilometres.
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(CBC News)