The Ktunaxa Nation Council said they are committed to working with the province to ensure their interests and stewardship responsibilities are upheld in the Argonaut Valley.
This statement comes on the heels of a blockade installed on the Bigmouth Creek forest service road, blocking access to old-growth forest in the Argonaut Valley, and a statement from a neighbouring Indigenous community, the Splatsin, calling on BC Timber Sales to cease all operations in the area.
READ MORE: Splatsin opposes old-growth logging north of Revelstoke
“The area in question is a vital southern mountain caribou habitat and any threat to the caribou or ʔaʔkxamʾis qʾapi qapsin (All Living Things) in this region is of great concern,” said the Ktunaxa Nation Council in a news release.
Though there is no current active logging of old-growth forest in the area, the nation is committed to being involved in the high-level decision-making process for the region.
READ MORE: It’s happening on our doorstep: Revelstoke protests local old-growth logging
Old Growth Revylution set up a blockade last week north of Revelstoke on a forest service road off of Highway 23.
The group has hosted two protests in the city against old-growth logging, asking their four demands be met on a provincial scale:
1. Immediately defer logging across the 1.3 million hectares of old-growth forest that meet the criteria laid out by the old-growth strategic review, not in a few months, but now.
2. Instruct the Ministry of Forests to stop issuing new logging or road building approvals in any old-growth forests
3. Work to create a rapid and just transition away from all old-growth logging considering economic alternatives for Indigenous nations and rural communities that have become economically dependent on old-growth logging
4. Help bring about a sustainable forestry system based on the local control of the land and managing ecosystem services.
Splatsin Kukpi7 (Chief) Wayne Christian attended the blockade on July 11 to conduct a ceremony to protect the old-growth forest and the people who have blocked access to the caribou habitat.
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