British Columbia Government Adds 20,000 Square Kilometres (5 Million Acres) to Spectacular Muskwa-Kechika Conservation Area
From Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)
November 14, 2000
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — Today, the British Columbia Government increased conservation in the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area to 63,000 square kilometers (16 million acres) of parks and legislated special management zones in B.C.’s Northern Rockies.
“The Muskwa-Kechika in Northern British Columbia is one of the richest wildlife areas on earth,” said George Smith, National Conservation Director for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS). “The world conservation community will cheer this decision.”
CPAWS applauds government’s adoption of the Mackenzie Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) proposal, reached after seven years of tough negotiations. The adoption of the LRMP brings certainty to an area of northern B.C. twice the size of Vancouver Island. It brings economic opportunity to its residents and provides environmental sustainability in one of North America’s most important, intact wild places – BC’s spectacular Northern Rockies.
The crowning glory of the LRMP is the 5 million acre (nearly 2 million hectare) land system adjacent to the existing Muskwa Kechika Management Area which has been designated for conservation and environmentally sensitive industry. The Mackenzie forest industry agreed not to log in over two-thirds of the new northern special management zones called Wildlands. Smith noted, “The jewel in this conservation crown is the new park in the Dune Za Keyih, ‘Land of the Original People.’ This area is the traditional homeland of the Kaska Nation and the Kwadacha Band in the Gataga, Frog, and Kechika river watersheds. Thanks to the decisiveness of the B.C. Government, this land will remain a natural legacy forever.”
“Today’s announcement is the result of cooperation, principled compromise, and balance,” Smith added. “There were many different interests at the Mackenzie table. Congratulations are due – almost all of the industry, First Nations, local government, conservationists and others involved agreed on a single land-use plan.”
The Muskwa-Kechika Management Area was first established by government in 1997. With today’s announcement, it will increase in size from 11 million acres (44,000 sq. km) to 16 million acres (63,000 sq. km), including 1.46 million acres of added parks.Pictures and a backgrounder are available at http://www.cpaws.org/northernrockies.
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For more information, contact:
George Smith
National Conservation Director
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)
(604) 886-7633
andrea_goldsmith@sunshine.net
Web site: http://www.cpaws.org/northernrockies