At the core of much of public concerns over the declaration act is the fate of Crown land. What we call Crown land is also First Nations land<\/a> that, in most of B.C., was never ceded under treaties; as Indigenous Rights are recognized in these areas, some non-Indigenous British Columbians are grappling with uncertainty about what it all means for them.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes Crown land exist underneath Aboriginal Title? Or is it the other way around?\u201d Reeves asks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reeves isn\u2019t the only one with these questions. According to an Angus Reid poll published in late August<\/a>, 44 per cent of British Columbians believe that the declaration act \u201cgoes too far in limiting provincial authority over land and resources.\u201d Thirty-nine per cent of people think the legislation is necessary, but opposition is growing.<\/p>\n Louise Pedersen, executive director of the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC<\/a>, has seen this growth firsthand. For her, the key moment was the B.C. government\u2019s 2024 proposed Land Act amendment<\/a>, which would have given Indigenous communities a voice in Crown land use decisions. Many outdoor recreation groups learned about the planned amendment in a news story. They were worried about the implications of the changes and angry because they felt they hadn\u2019t been adequately consulted.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a case study in how not to communicate when you\u2019re talking about complicated issues,\u201d she says, lamenting both the government\u2019s approach and a narrative that pitted reconciliation against outdoor recreation. \u201cIt\u2019s a shame that the public debate is being framed around access versus Indigenous Rights.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Vocal proponents of \u2018public land\u2019 have deep ties to mining, resource extraction<\/p>\n During the Land Act debate, think tanks, politicians and commentators pushed the framing of conflict <\/a>between the interests of First Nations and everyone else. Now, a new organization called the Public Land Use Society<\/a> has taken up the mantle.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Public Land Use Society is focused on eight \u201cpublic land conflicts<\/a>,\u201d all involving Indigenous land management. Among them are Joffre Lakes and a portion of Juan de Fuca Provincial Parks<\/a>, the 2025 Squamish Nation Agreement<\/a>, the sh\u00edsh\u00e1lh Foundation Agreement<\/a> and the Haida Lands Agreement<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Founded in the spring of 2025, the society claims to be fighting for public access to Crown lands, but not everyone is convinced. Torrance Coste, associate director at the Wilderness Committee, believes that groups like the Public Land Use Society are exploiting public concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a genuine public interest around land access,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it\u2019s being torqued and taken advantage of by industries like mining and logging.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the problems with groups like the Public Land Use Society, he explains, is they\u2019re focused on restricted uses for First Nations rather than industries, which impact public land access on a much larger scale. Of 934 Crown land use applications currently listed on B.C.\u2019s online database, only five are labelled as First Nations<\/a>. There are 81 labelled as industrial and over 250 associated with agriculture, energy production and other commercial land uses. It\u2019s something that Louise Pedersen also mentioned.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHistorically, some of the biggest threats to outdoor recreation have been industrial development,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt\u2019s been large-scale logging, large-scale mining operations and urbanization.\u201d<\/p>\n Three out of four of the society\u2019s directors either currently or have previously worked in B.C.\u2019s mining industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jonas Rigaux is a self-described \u201cmineral exploration contractor and independent prospector.\u201d His company, Tamarack Exploration<\/a>, has worked on mining, oil and gas and construction projects across the province.<\/p>\n Adam Pankratz, who writes a regular column in the National Post, also serves on the board of Vancouver mining company Rokmaster Resources. Commenting on the Declaration Act back in January<\/a>, he argued that Indigenous consultation on mining claims \u201ccould spell the end of [B.C.\u2019s] mining sector\u201d. There\u2019s nothing in the article, or his other writing, about recreation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The society\u2019s executive director, Warren Mirko, worked with Rokmaster from 2015 to 2023 according to his LinkedIn profile. A consultant \u201csupporting diverse clients in media and public relations,\u201d Mirko initially agreed to be interviewed for this story. He changed his mind after learning the piece was for The Narwhal.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re letting our published articles and statements speak to our perspectives on these issues,\u201d he wrote in an email.<\/p>\n For Coste, groups like the Public Land Use Society are a manufactured response to the real threat that recognition of First Nations rights \u2014 such as the right to free, prior and informed consent \u2014 presents to resource extraction in B.C.<\/p>\n \u201c[With the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People Act] lots of nations are going to continue to reach out to those industries and make deals that work better for them, as any community would,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut some are going to say \u2018No, this forest, this part of our territory, that\u2019s not going to get logged, that\u2019s not going to get mined,\u2019 and that\u2019s not in resource extraction companies\u2019 interests.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s something that the Public Land Use Society\u2019s fourth director, political commentator, Caroline Elliott, also has concerns about. In 2023, she wrote that the seasonal, temporary closures of Joffre Lakes Provincial Park could set a precedent that would create new hurdles for the natural resource sector.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this standard had been applied, for example, to the Site C project, it would never have been built,\u201d she wrote<\/a>. That piece doesn\u2019t mention hikers, campers or backcountry users.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reeves, who met with the Public Land Use Society earlier this year, doesn\u2019t see the close ties between the society and the mining industry as an issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t need to agree with everything anybody does,\u201d he says. \u201c[They] are asking fundamental questions that I\u2019ve been asking and not getting answers to, questions about where we\u2019re going with Crown land.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Government believes Declaration Act offers alternative to court battles<\/p>\n For Spencer Chandra Herbert, B.C.\u2019s Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, the Declaration Act offers a different path for answering those questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d rather work with local First Nations, local business, local sports and recreation groups, city councils and town councils together to get to an agreement where we can all identify our interests and needs, as opposed to going through the courts,\u201d he explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chandra Herbert points to the Haida Lands Agreement as an example of this approach.<\/p>\n \u201cWe made an agreement with the Haida around the protection of private property while also acknowledging their long-time title, occupation and use and enjoyment of Haida Gwaii,\u201d he says. \u201cInstead of the courts, we sat down together and hammered out a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n Pedersen thinks the outdoor recreation community should also focus on collaboration.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s already some great initiatives on the ground where recreation groups are forming relationships with First Nations in their area,\u201d she says.\u00a0 <\/p>\n For Thomas Schoen, such initiatives are his life\u2019s work. The chief executive officer of First Journey Trails<\/a> and director of trails and parks development with the Indigenous Youth Mountain Bike Program<\/a>, Schoen disagrees with the idea that the Declaration Act represents a threat to outdoor recreation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is an absolute myth that the backcountry will be closed,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s not what we see happening in the province.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Schoen and his team have collaborated with dozens of Indigenous communities across B.C. to develop trails and promote outdoor recreation. He points to examples like the Simpcw Mountain Bike trails project<\/a>, which extends for over 300 kilometres across Simpcw\u00fal\u0313ecw (Simpcw territory) from Barri\u00e8re to McBride, just north of Kamloops.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve built a really thriving mountain bike\u2013specific trail network that is now drawing riders from across B.C.,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Schoen sees the Declaration Act as an opportunity for recreation and reconciliation. But, he adds, it requires recreation groups to do some work.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever I talk to any recreational user group, I tell them, if you haven\u2019t started developing a partnership with local Indigenous communities, you are already behind the eight ball,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n To Reeves, this is an imposing task \u2014 one he thinks the provincial government needs to help with.<\/p>\n \u201cIt used to be that the recreation groups would work with our local recreation officer to facilitate conversations with First Nations; that\u2019s been removed,\u201d he explains, arguing that recreation officers have stopped playing this role.<\/p>\n Instead, Reeves explains, \u201cwe\u2019re told to build relationships with First Nations, but the government has 150 years of experience, and industry has the same amount. [I\u2019m] Joe Public Advocate, a volunteer, and with 200 nations provincially, what chance do I have?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Schoen acknowledges the challenge. Indigenous communities and recreation groups can have different priorities. His experience has taught him that trials are nice-to-haves, while many Indigenous nations are dealing with more urgent and immediate needs. But he thinks that if recreation groups show up respectfully, they can discover shared values, something Pedersen agrees with.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRecreation people care very deeply about land, water and access; they want to make sure that all those things remain healthy for the future,\u201d she says. \u201cIndigenous nations share those same values.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Reeves agrees, saying for members of the Four Wheel Drive Association, \u201cthe feeling of being in the backcountry, it\u2019s all spiritual words.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s grounding, it\u2019s revitalizing, it\u2019s refreshing to the spirit,\u201d he says. That\u2019s also why the stakes feel so high, and why he\u2019s so frustrated with how the government has been moving the Declaration Act forward.<\/p>\n A lack of transparency breeds mistrust, according to outdoor recreation advocates<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s uncertainty with a lack of transparency,\u201d Reeves says. \u201cThat breeds a lack of trust.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The most commonly cited example of this lack of transparency is what\u2019s happening in Pender Harbour, a small community in the province\u2019s Sunshine Coast region.<\/p>\n In 2018, B.C. signed a land management agreement with the sh\u00edsh\u00e1lh Nation. Among the topics covered were new dock management regulations. The Pender Harbour and Area Residents Association has argued that the changes were undemocratic<\/a> for dock and boathouse owners, rallying support from community members. Earlier this year, the B.C. government rolled back some of the changes. But the Pender Harbour association hasn\u2019t stopped there: they are going ahead with a B.C. Supreme Court challenge filed in September 2024, arguing the Declaration Act is unconstitutional<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"an](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Landscape-Old-Growth-Photo-Credit-Josiah-Fennell-20-scaled.jpg\"\/)
The Haida Title Act recognized Haida title over their territories, a landmark legal decision that has been viewed by some non-Indigenous Canadians as cause for alarm. Photo: Josiah Fennell \/ The Narwhal<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PTW_JoffreLakes_10-scaled.jpg\"\/)
Temporary closures in Pipi7\u00edyekw, also known as Joffre Lakes Park, have allowed members of the L\u00edl\u0313wat (Lil\u2019wat) and N\u2019Quatqua nations to reconnect with their traditional territory. Photo: Paige Taylor White \/ The Narwhal<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Asalah-051621-12.jpg\"\/)
Some members of the outdoor recreation community worry that increasing recognition of Indigenous Rights on Crown land could curtail access to nature, while others say this shift is creating new relationships and collaborations. Photo: Alia Youssef \/ The Narwhal<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Judith-061721-17.jpg\"\/)
Organizations like First Journey Trails and the Indigenous Youth Mountain Bike Program have collaborated with First Nations across B.C. to create new mountain biking trails. Photo: Alia Youssef \/ The Narwhal<\/p>\n