COLUMBIA

NEWS RELEASE

News Release Draft 9- [target date Mar17 ] For Immediate Release [release number] [Date]

Link to Map Of the Decision Areas

BACKGROUNDER

Land Use Co-ordination Office

Local Planning Leads to Land Use Decision

Upper Kispiox

Protected area: 42,201 hectares (85 per cent of planning area) Special management zone: 7,612 hectares (15 per cent of planning area)

Seven Sisters

Protected area: 42,208 hectares (85 per cent of planning area) General resource management: 7,214 hectares (15 per cent of planning area)

Special management zones allow for timber harvesting, mineral exploration and development, provided these activities do not compromise water quality, ecosystems and fish and wildlife habitats. A provincial special management zone working group was established in June 1998 to advise government on special management policy issues around the province.

General resource management areas are available for sustainable resource development and recreation activities.

History

· Government approved the Kispiox land and resource management plan in April 1996. At that time, the Upper Kispiox and Seven Sisters land use planning areas were deferred until agreement could be reached through local planning processes.

· A year later, the Upper Kispiox and Seven Sisters planning groups submitted recommendations to government. The groups reached agreement on everything except for two small areas in the Upper Kispiox and one area in the Seven Sisters watershed.

· In February 1998, government accepted the recommendations of the local planning tables and requested further analysis and consultations in order to reach agreement on the remaining unresolved areas.

· Following more consultation and analysis, government confirmed its decision to protect the three outstanding areas.

First Nations Consultation

· At the start of the planning process, government contacted the Gitxsan and Gitanyow First Nations and invited them to participate in a manner that best suited their needs.

· A member of the Gitxsan First Nation was hired to act as a liaison between First Nations and the planning groups.

· More than a dozen meetings with house chiefs and more than 50 group meetings with First Nations representatives and planners have been held over the past three years.

· A professional mediator also had in individual discussions with First Nations representatives.

· Government will collaborate with local First Nations in the development of park management plans for the new protected areas.

DRAFT

Land Use Co-ordination Office

LAND USE DECISION REACHED FOR UPPER KISPIOX AND SEVEN SISTERS WATERSHED

VICTORIA – Recommendations to protect more than 80,000 hectares in the Kispiox area of northwestern B.C. have been accepted by the provincial government, Environment, Lands and Parks Minister Cathy McGregor announced today.

"The economic council of ministers recognizes that this land use decision is important because it brings more environmental and economic certainty to people in the Kispiox region," said McGregor. "This is a balanced decision that protects some of B.C.’s most spectacular wilderness areas, while at the same time takes into account local economic and conservation needs."

About 85 per cent of the planning area has been protected. This raises the amount of land protected in the Kispiox forest district from about two per cent to close to nine per cent

"Local residents have spent years trying to achieve a balanced decision, and their hard work has resulted in more certainty over land use in the Upper Kispiox and Seven Sisters areas," said Bulkley Valley-Stikine MLA Bill Goodacre.

The Seven Sisters protected area features rolling alpine meadows, alpine lakes and views of the Seven Sisters peaks. The area includes old-growth hemlock forests and a wide variety of wildlife, including mountain goats, moose, grizzly bears, mule deer, coyotes, wolves and eagles.

Skeena MLA Helmut Giesbrecht said: "People in both of these areas can be assured we’re preserving the Upper Kispiox and the Seven Sisters watersheds in a way that protects their natural beauty, takes into account local economic needs and provides for collaboration with First Nations to make this decision work."

Pine mushroom harvesting is a popular commercial and recreational activity in the Sevcn Sisters area and will continue to occur in parts of the area not designated as provincial parks.

       Popular hiking and rock climbing areas will also be maintained. Areas rich in mineral potential and timber will remain outside of protected areas.

(Editor’s note: Backgrounder and map available upon request.) Link to Map Of the Decision Areas

Hugh Markides, (250) 847-7321 Chair, Inter-agency Management Committee Skeena Region

For more information on the Land Usc Co-ordination Office, visit our Website at http://www.luco.gov.bc.ca on the internet.