The provincial government has signed an agreement with the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and the Caledonia Ramblers Hiking Society to preserve the Ancient Forest.
The groups are working to get the rare rainforest designation as an official protected area.
“I think there’s also a sense that once we receive an appropriate designation of protected area, you could go on to have this particular site potentially designated as a World Heritage Site,” says MLA Shirley Bond.
The Ancient Forest covers more than 10,000 hectares of mostly unlogged land.
The temperate rainforest has giant red cedars that are thousands of years old, and countless varieties of plant-life.
“Our roots run deep in the Ancient Forest, and we look forward to working with the Province to help protect the natural splendor of the area,” says Lheidli T’enneh Chief Dominic Frederick.
But, the agreement is only step one…
“Anytime you restrict the use of a piece of land, you have to allow the public and other who potentially have the rights to that land have a part in the process,” explains Bond, “We’ll be looking at things like boundaries, and what should be protected, and to what degree of protection. There are a variety of outcomes… Class A park, there’s a conservancy… You can’t just determine today that it’s going to be protected.”
Public consultation will begin later this summer, and will increase in the fall.