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Ecosystem-based Conservation Planning on Xeni Gwet’in Lands Design of Hydroriparian Reserves Guide Chilko Roundtable Watershed Plan Final Report Applying the Xeni Gwet’in Ecosystem-based Plan - Workshop results A 2011 Overview of an Ecosystem Based Management Application for the Nemiah Creek Watershed Location: Cariboo-Chilcotin, Xeni Gwet'in Caretaker Area - Chilcotin Project Summary
SUMMARY This project intends to build on the achievements of Roundtable meetings held to date to develop a watershed management plan that protects, monitors and enhances Pacific Salmon while addressing community goals and objectives to implement Xeni’s ecosystem based management plan. Salmon in the Xeni Gwet’in Caretaker area can easily be considered the primary component species and their sustainability is a key consideration for the health of many species as well as the health and well-being of the Xeni Gwet’in community. DESCRIPTION One of the strongest recurring themes throughout the Roundtable process to date has been the appeal for more local input into resource management for the long-term benefit of the communities and Province. Just recently a mine was proposed in the area that would have drained a fish bearing lake and been replaced with a man-made lake that would require maintainance into perpetuity which was approved through the BC Environmental Assessment process but received a scathing Canadian Environmental Assessment report, however the mine may resubmit a proposal yet. Participants feel that local voices are not being heard in fisheries management and especially in regional development planning. Participants feel that greater local control was a key to managing development and resources sustainably for the long-term benefits of all. Tsilhqot’in People of Xeni have been actively involved in planning the management of their resources (section 2 for fisheries related projects) including an ecosystem based management plan for the Caretaker area. The Roundtable was initiated to protect the salmon resource of the Chilko River Watershed including the Taseko River . The Xeni Gwet’in relies heavily on salmon for sustenance and since their 1989 Declaration and through their 2007 Court Case Xeni Gwet’in has stated their priority is to manage the resources within their caretaker area. The area remains largely intact which provides us a unique opportunity to proactively build our capacity and prepare our communities to manage this resource well. OBJECTIVES
METHODS 1) Consultation: Citizens, groups, government agencies, industry and First Nations will all be invited to sit at a series of Chilko River Roundtable meetings to discuss Herb Hammond’s original Ecosystem Based Management Plan for the Xeni Gwet’in Caretaker Area. These meetings will provide the information foundation for the initial design of a hydroriparian planning guide as part of a much larger EBM for the Xeni Gwet’in Caretaker Area. The guide will provide the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation and the residents of the Caretaker Area a planning document for fisheries management that will benefit anadromous and non-anadromous fish species in the Taseko and Chilko River watersheds. The meetings will be hosted by the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation and facilitated by Herb Hammond who prepared an EBM plan for the Xeni Gwet’in and was actively involved in the EBM for the Great Bear Rainforest. The meetings will be held at Chilko Lake, Nemiah Valley, and Williams Lake 2) Social/Science Advisory Team: A team of local experts with extensive social and scientific knowledge on the Xeni Gwet’in Caretaker Area will be requested to provide guidance and advice to the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation through a 1 day workshop. A review of the historic EBM plan designed by Herb Hammond and the Great Bear Rainforest document “Hydroriparian Planning Guide” will be the sole focus of the workshop held in Williams Lake and facilitated by Herb Hammond. The workshop discussion will provide a local perspective on the implementation of a Hydroriparian Planning Guide as part of a larger EBM plan for the Xeni Gwet’in Caretaker Area. 3) Initial Design of A Hydroriparian Planning Guide: Given that the Great Bear Rainforest were provided with millions of dollars to design an EBM plan and $120 million for implementation, the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation and their hosted Chilko River Roundtable are under no illusions that with this limited budget they will be able to achieve the same results. However much is already in place within historic documentation collected and designed as management planning for the Xeni Gwet’in Caretaker Area (XGCA)). This includes a historic EBM plan designed by Herb Hammond who also worked on the Great Bear Rainforest’s EBM. Additionally a great deal of watershed and fishery information has been collected for the Caretaker Area since 2006. The desired goal of the project is to provide an overview document of a Hydroriparian Planning Guide specifically designed for the Xeni Gwet’in Caretaker Area. Mr. Hammond will provide the overview document through community consultation, advice from a social/scientific advisory workshop, and his experience in both the design of an earlier EBM for the XGCA and the more recent Great Bear Rainforest. Once written, this guiding document will assist in the management of the fish and fish habitat of the Chilko and Taseko Rivers. The process in managing the Xeni Gwet’in Caretaker Area for ecosystem values is iterative but will ultimately be a benefit to the Pacific salmon that rely on this great watershed for its spawning and rearing habitat. BENEFITS The Chilko Watershed Roundtable’s existence is critical in bringing together the concerned voices related to salmon stocks in the Chilko River watershed which directly impacts the Fraser Basin. Through dialogue at this venue it is anticipated that the members can influence positive change in the watershed that will enhance the well being of fish and fish habitat and ultimately the well being of all who live in this pristine watershed and benefit from the resources it contributes local, provincially and federally through the Fraser Basin system. Tsilhqot’in Rights and Title were established through the BC Supreme Court in 2007. The Tsilhqot’in People of Xeni, one of six Tsilhqot’in communities has assumed responsibility as stewards of their caretaker area; and have done so since time immemorial. The fisheries/watershed projects undertaken since 2006 show their commitment to this watershed. This project will further the capacity of the community through the planning process, develop stronger relationships with government representatives, local non-profit groups and within the Nation while assisting and gaining a better understanding of issues and solutions that can be forged through this process. It is also an opportunity to bring the scientists together to review and comment on community-based planning. The major rivers within the Xeni Gwet’in Caretaker Area and the salmon that reside within is important for not just the Xeni Gwet’in and their sustenance but supports a vast amount of people as it flows into the Fraser Basin system and down into the lower mainland where BC’s largest population base is located.
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