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The great majority of the land area of ‘Namgis traditional territory is located on Vancouver Island within the Nimpkish and Kokish River watersheds. This area is well known for its extraordinary ability to support the growth of tree species including Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar and Western Hemlock. |
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Major escape from controlled burn. |
Industrial forestry began in Namgis territory in the early 1900s. From 1960 onward, the Nimpkish River valley alone has provided an annual harvest of approximately 1,000,000 cubic meters per year, a rate of timber extraction that equals 19,950 logging trucks annually.
Unfortunately, until very recently the ‘Namgis First Nation has not benefited from this large-scale industrial logging activity within its territory. |
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Very few ‘Namgis members have been employed in the forest industry, and poor logging practices have contributed to the decline of salmon and other plant and animal species.Due to recent court decisions both forest corporations and the BC government have indicated a greatly increased willingness to negotiate greater First Nation participation in forest management and harvest activities.
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It is the goal of the ‘Namgis First Nation to develop a forest economy that is 1) based within its traditional territory, 2) has the lowest possible impacts on fish and sensitive environments, and 3) that provides long-term, stable employment for ‘Namgis members. |
Recent Projects:
Forest and Range Agreement
The ‘Namgis First Nation and BC formally signed a historic ’ Forest and Range Agreement’ that provides significant benefits to both parties. Over a five-year period the ‘Namgis gain access to nearly 400,000 cubic meters of timber within its traditional territory and will be awarded $3.7 million in funding. Approximately half of this cut volume will be taken from the Nimpkish River valley, and the remaining half from the Johnstone Strait area of the Kingcome Timber Supply Area.
The potential positive results of the Forest and Range Agreement are many. The ‘Namgis will finally have the means to begin development of a sustainable forest economy. As well, it is hoped that the legal certainty provided by the Agreement will foster an improvement in the relationship between the BC Ministry of Forests, forestry corporations, and the ‘Namgis First Nation. Most importantly, the ‘Namgis will be able to experiment with forest stewardship regimes that protect fish and other fragile resources, while at the same time providing stable, long-term employment opportunities.
It must be noted that there are also challenges related to the signing of the Forest and Range Agreement. First, the term of the Agreement is extremely short, making it difficult to initiate and complete planning and harvesting activities within a very narrow timeframe. Second, approximately half of the timber volume allocated to the ‘Namgis is located in a zone where a variety of visual quality management and timber quality constraints will make profitable logging activity extremely difficult. And finally, in signing the Agreement, the ‘Namgis are trusting that the BC Ministry of Forests will continue to honour its fiduciary duty to consult and accommodate ‘Namgis aboriginal interests.
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