Logs are loaded onto a machine for bark removal at a sawmill in Quesnel, B.C., in 2015.David Ryder/Bloomberg
The Haida Nation and the Nature Conservancy of Canada have reached an agreement to restore an area of old-growth forest and salmon habitat that was significantly damaged by a logging operation.
The agreement, which involves the Kumdis Slough area of Haida Gwaii, off the B.C. coast, will see the two organizations co-own and co-manage the approximately 60-hectare parcel of land – an arrangement the conservancy described as precedent-setting.
Peter Lantin, president of the Haida Nation, in an interview said witnessing the damage done by the logging operation was an emotional experience.
"That's the history of logging on Haida Gwaii," he said. "It's scarring for the people that call this place home."
Mr. Lantin said the area has unique waterways, fishing grounds and culturally modified trees – such as those that have had bark removed to make clothing or baskets.
"It's just one of those places on Haida Gwaii, this beautiful convergence of an area," he said.
Linda Hannah, the conservancy's vice-president for the B.C. region, in an interview said the first order of business will be to prepare a stewardship plan. She said that plan will identify the necessary remediation efforts and initially look at how best to restore streams and habitat.
Ms. Hannah said the restoration process is expected to take a number of years. Mr. Lantin said it could take "generations" for the area to heal and a fish stream that was damaged might not recover at all.
Ms. Hannah said this is the first time the conservancy has entered into a co-ownership agreement with a First Nation and she was not aware of such an agreement anywhere else.
"I think there is tremendous opportunity to apply to take this new governance form – if I can be so bold to call it that – and look at how it can potentially [be] applied elsewhere, particularly where there's been damage or impact to the landscape. Here's a fine opportunity to bring the expertise and the experience of different groups, different organizations, to come together and restore those lands."
A B.C. Provincial Court judge in 2015 found three defendants – Gwaii Wood Products Ltd., Howe Sound Forest Products Ltd. and I. Crosby Contracting Ltd. – guilty of offences under the Fisheries Act as a result of the logging. Each of the companies was fined hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Judge Michael Brecknell said it was "difficult to accurately and completely express in words the extent of the devastation to the fish-bearing streams and wetlands." He said it would not be an exaggeration to describe the damage as "cataclysmic."
The judge said the ecosystem had been excellently situated for the rearing of fish but I. Crosby Contracting paid little, if any, heed to proper logging practices, resulting in downed trees that clogged channels and impeded fish movement. The judge said road construction in the area was haphazard and done without regard for stream-flow protection.
Judge Brecknell had said Gwaii Wood Products could, as landowner, make restitution by transferring the title to a non-governmental conservancy organization. The Nature Conservancy said the land was acquired without compensation.
The 60-hectare plot was referred to as District Lot 413.
The Nature Conservancy said it has also acquired a neighbouring parcel of land, known as District Lot 418. The roughly six-hectare plot will be co-managed by the Haida Nation. The conservancy said the federal government provided approximately $210,000 to assist in the purchase of that lot.
The conservancy said the lands, in addition to supporting three species of salmon, provide habitat for at least three species listed as at risk. The marbled murrelet and Haida ermine are listed as threatened, while the northern red-legged frog is endangered.
Federal Minister of Environment Catherine McKenna in a written statement said the federal government was proud to support the conservancy and the Haida Nation in their partnership.
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Reuters