ʔakisq̓nuk First Nation is among communities that have taken a proactive approach to reducing risk ahead of B.C.'s next wildfire season, supported by Indigenous-owned resource management firm Nupqu and $365,000 from the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC).
East of the Nation's reserve and just north of Fairmont Hot Springs, work will continue through summer and into fall as the ʔakisq̓nuk community collaborates with foresters and the province to treat natural fire fuel and ensure a safer future for locals.
It's become a successful project, first proposed back in 2018.
According to ʔakisq̓nuk Chief Donald Sam, fire suppression in these forests for more than a century has challenged and restricted the health of these ecosystems.
"Through the funding made available by the Forest Enhancement Society of BC, we have been able to interact with the forests in a manner that reduces fuel loading, increases the health of trees and grasslands, and imitates natural forest succession," Sam said in a FESBC release. "The added benefits include residential fire safety and mental wellness."
Seven years ago, the Nation envisioned creating a partial wildfire barrier along the reserve's south end, which entailed local forestry workers removing shrubs and conifers from the understory, both mechanically and manually.
Grant Glessing, ʔakisq̓nuk's natural resources manager, explained that the first phase treated 50 hectares and removed any tree smaller than 32.5 centimetres in diameter. Marketable fibre was sold to local mills, generating revenue used to offset project costs and maximize the treatment area, Glessing added.
"By thinning out all of the small trees in the understory and retaining larger diameter Douglas-fir trees, the stand will more closely resemble what it did at the turn of the century prior to the exclusion of fire in the Rocky Mountain Trench," FESBC noted in its release.
Nupqu began working with the Nation last November to hand-treat 17 hectares.
"This work included thinning the understory of the forest floor, piling, and burning of the material, with the final piles planned to be burned this fall," Brian Watson, FESBC's operations manager, explained in the release. "The team is also looking to grass seed any exposed soils to reduce the impact from noxious weeds."
Glessing said this treatment work has brought in more wildlife such as deer and elk thanks to new grazing areas, and noted that while the project has been seven years in the making due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he's grateful FESBC didn't give up on ʔakisq̓nuk.
Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar added that the project is a powerful example of First Nations, foresters and the provincial government coming together.
"The work being done by the ʔakisq̓nuk First Nation, with support from FESBC, is reducing wildfire risks and supporting wildlife, but it’s also creating good, local jobs and strengthening our response to climate change," he said in the release.
