| Ktunaxa Lands & Resources
Agency
Ktunaxa Nation Land Use Plan
What is the Ktunaxa Nation Land Use
Plan?
 The
Ktunaxa Land Use Plan (LUP) is the Nation’s vision
for how lands and resources within the Ktunaxa Traditional Territory
should be used and is a strategic document that applies
to the entire Traditional Territory.
The Land Use Plan defines how the Ktunaxa
Nation wants to use our Traditional Territory. This means
what parts of the Territory should be off-limits to industrial
use in order to protect cultural heritage as well as protect
wildlife and plants. At the same time, the LUP will tell
us what parts of the Territory should be used by Nation
members and non-Nation members for settlement and economic
development.
The interests and priorities of Nation members are the foundation
for the LUP. These interests and priorities are based on
law given to the Ktunaxa Nation by the Creator:
Human beings have the ability to destroy the land and many
livings things. Therefore, the Creator gave the Ktunaxa
Nation a set of laws on how to live with the land and not
against it.
Why is this important?
For years, Ktunaxa Traditional Territory has seen logging,
guiding / outfitting, industrial expansion and other forms
of economic development that did not benefit the Nation.
In addition, some of these industries have damaged the forests,
fish and other Ktunaxa resources.
The goal of the Ktunaxa Land Use Plan is to protect Ktunaxa
cultural heritage, fish, wildlife and plants while providing
direction on where sustainable resource use can take place.
This Land Use Plan will allow the Ktunaxa to have a meaningful
say in what parts of the Territory will be protected and
what parts will be open for economic development
What are
the benefits of the Land Use Plan?
This is best understood from the perspective of economic,
cultural and Nation governance benefits.
| For Economic Benefits the LUP
will: |
| 1. |
Strengthen the Nation’s position
in regard to securing tenure rights over timber, range,
tourism and other resources; |
| 2. |
Identify potential resource-based economic opportunities
through analysis of existing information and community
consultation; |
| 3. |
Provide the basis for immediate employment opportunities
through joint management agreements with other governments
and non-Nation companies in forestry, tourism, agriculture
and other sectors. |
| For Cultural Benefits the LUP
will: |
| 1. |
Identify and protect culturally significant
sites and areas within the Traditional Territory; |
| 2. |
Identify and protect culturally significant plants,
fish and wildlife; |
| 3. |
Engage Nation members in learning about the important
link between the Nation’s culture and the use
of the Territory; |
| 4. |
Strengthen the Nations’ position with other
governments and non-Nation companies to acknowledge
and respect aboriginal rights and title. |
| For Nation Governance the LUP
will: |
| 1. |
Produce maps that categorize the Traditional
Territory into the Nation’s view of land ownership
(Nation-owned, provincia-owned, federal-owned); |
| 2. |
Develop guidelines for each of the ownership categories
describing:
- The Nation’s aboriginal title and rights;
- Who has jurisdiction (law-making powers);
- Relationship of laws between the provincial,
federal and Nation governments including which laws
are paramount (stronger) in the event of a conflict
between laws;
- The Nation’s management relationship with
other governments;
- Who has administrative responsibilities, e.g.,
creating and disposing of resource interests such
as forestry timber tenure, fire protection;
- Who will receive economic rent, including royalties,
for land or resource development;
- Who has economic land use and resource development
rights; and
- How the Nation can exercise its food, social and
ceremonial rights.
|
How will this
benefit Ktunaxa communities? |
| The communities will benefit as
follows: |
| 1. |
Strengthen aboriginal rights and title
by protecting significant traditional sites; |
| 2. |
Identify areas within our Traditional Territory where
logging, real estate, tourism and other forms of economic
development can take place; |
| 3. |
Provide community input into the broader planning
happening at the Traditional Territory scale; and |
| 4. |
Identify potential economic opportunities based on
community interests and priorities. |
THE LAND
The Traditional Territory of the Ktunaxa Nation is vast
and teaming with biological richness. From an ecological
perspective our Traditional Territory is unmatched for its diversity.
The Biological Ecosystem Classification map shows that the
Territory ranges from dry, low elevation open forest and
grasslands, to high glaciated peaks, to wet interior temperate
rainforest.
 Map
1: Biological Ecosystem Classification Map of Ktunaxa Traditional
Territory
This geographic diversity supports a host of wildlife. Major
carnivores include grizzly bear, black bear, wolverines,
cougars, fishers and badgers. Other large mammals include
the rare mountain caribou, elk, white tail deer and mule
deer. Fish species include the Gerrard trout, Kokanee trout,
West-slope Cut Throat trout and Brown trout. White sturgeons,
Burbot, Sculpins and over two dozen other species inhabit
the lakes of the Ktunaxa Territory.
 Map
2: Fish and Aquatic Species in Ktunaxa Traditional Territory
HUMAN IMPACT
The past 100 years have seen considerable human impact on
the lands and resources of the Ktunaxa Nation’s Traditional
Territory. Large hydro-electric dams on the Columbia River
have eliminated salmon from the Territory and severely reduced
the viability of several other aquatic species. Logging,
road building, heli-skiing and related activities have driven
mountain caribou to the brink of extinction. Fire suppression
and cattle ranching have eliminated much of the native grasslands.
Logging and early mineral exploration have almost eliminated
old growth forests in many parts of the Territory.
 Map
3: Logging and Road Building in Ktunaxa Traditional Territory
While these human uses have had a negative impact on the
wildlife within the Ktunaxa Territory, very few of the benefits
of this resource development have gone to Nation members.
The intent of the Ktunaxa Nation Land Use Plan is to change
this.
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