Media Release: First Nation’s Plan to Protect Rare BC Old Growth to Move Forward with Critical Funding Commitment
May 12, 2025
Half a Million Dollars for First Nation’s Long-Term Stewardship and Economic Development Needs Will Help Protect Some of BC’s Rarest Old-Growth Forests through a Proposed Conservancy.
The Nature-Based Solutions Foundation (NBSF) has raised over 75% of its pledged $500,000 commitment to help protect the unceded Indigenous/Crown lands portion of the Kanaka Bar Indian Band’s 320 sq km Indigenous Protected & Conserved Area (IPCA), including around 120 sq km of some of the rarest old growth in BC, via a proposed Conservancy.
One of the most significant and advanced Indigenous Protected & Conserved Area (IPCA) plans in BC—located south of Lytton in one of the most ecologically diverse regions in BC along the mighty Fraser River Valley and in the Kwoiek Valley, and home to some of Canada’s largest Interior Douglas-firs and dozens of species at risk—will soon have a major boost pending conservation financing dollars raised by the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation (NBSF).
NBSF has pledged $500,000 towards the Kanaka Bar Indian Band’s funding needs to protect 320 sq km of Crown/unceded Indigenous lands, or around 98% of Kanaka’s territory, through a proposed Conservancy. To date, NBSF has secured around $385,000—over 75% of its commitment—and is now working to raise the remaining $115,000 by the solstice (June 20th). Funds will support Kanaka’s IPCA planning needs, stewardship initiatives, and the creation of sustainable jobs and businesses.
“We are so grateful for the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation’s support,” said Mary-Jo Michell, elected councillor and Lands & Culture Coordinator at the Kanaka Bar Indian Band. “Our IPCA is called ‘Zuminstm e tmíxʷ kt ƛ̓əq̓ƛ̓áq̓tn̓’, which means ‘We care for the lands of Kanaka / ƛ̓əq̓ƛ̓áq̓tn̓’ and reflects our intention to re-assume our role as the guardians and stewards of our territory. This funding will help ensure we can do just that by supporting community-based land management and stewardship activities, allowing future generations to get on the land and in touch with their culture and identity. It will also support sustainable jobs that can encourage Kanaka members living off reserve to return to their community and work here in a way that is more meaningful and aligned with their cultural values,” continued Michell.
“We’re hopeful that this funding will inspire more funders to contribute to our work so we can establish our IPCA as a Conservancy, giving us the power to rebuild our Nation and protect these lands so we can uphold our way of life, culture, and well-being for the next seven generations,” Michell concluded.
A portion of the funds raised will be used as seed funding to help kickstart Kanaka’s fundraising efforts for their long-term IPCA Endowment Fund, which is a critical component to establishing their Conservancy. Once designated, the interest accrued by the endowment fund will ensure that Kanaka can manage the lands in perpetuity, supporting stewardship and restoration jobs and initiatives, monitoring programs, Indigenous land guardians, and the development of an Indigenous-led conservation economy.
Kanaka’s IPCA is located in a unique transition zone between coastal rainforests and dry interior ecosystems, making these lands among the most diverse in BC. The area contains 120 sq km of some of the rarest old growth in BC; numerous archeological sites; the largest documented Interior Douglas-fir and Rocky Mountain Juniper trees in the country; a core section of the least protected ecosystem in BC, the Interior Douglas-Fir zone; and habitat for 42 species at risk, including Tailed Frogs, Mountain Beavers, Lewis’ Woodpecker, and, until recently, Spotted Owls. The region also supports the imperiled Stein/Nahatlatch population of grizzly bears, which is considered to be among the most genetically isolated populations of grizzlies in North America.
“We’re excited to help Kanaka realise their groundbreaking land-use vision, protecting endangered ecosystems and species while supporting Kanaka’s economy and culture,” said Hania Peper, National Director at the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation. “Since beginning our collaboration with Kanaka in 2022, we’ve worked to provide the necessary end-to-end support to help Kanaka develop their IPCA, focusing on key conservation funding shortfalls that, up until now, have made it difficult to protect endangered ecosystems in BC.”
Over the years, NBSF has provided Kanaka with community capacity funding; provided $300,000 towards Interim IPCA stewardship funding needs to support immediate jobs and stewardship initiatives in Kanaka; provided in-kind communications and legal support; and acquired a private property containing a rare old-growth forest and archeological sites that NBSF will return to Kanaka with a conservation agreement attached.
“Our support is adaptive to and reflective of communities’ most pressing needs, addressing things like capacity constraints, economic health and well being, stewardship initiatives, and diverse community-based programs,” Peper continued. “As we enter the final phase of this impactful collaboration, I am hopeful that this work can serve as a model and roadmap for other protected area initiatives in BC. Equally, I hope our support for Kanaka’s IPCA Endowment Fund will encourage other funders to follow suit, ensuring these magnificent lands can be protected for generations to come.”
This collaboration is part of the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation’s (NBSF) larger BC-based program, the “Old-Growth Solutions Initiative”, which aims to meaningfully protect endangered old-growth forests and ecosystems using a conservation financing approach. The program has a core focus on providing critical support and funding to IPCA initiatives while helping First Nation communities transition to diversified economies that are consistent with Indigenous cultural values, subsistence uses, and co-management authority over their territories.
To protect endangered ecosystems and old-growth forests in BC, funding for First Nations communities is necessary to support the development of economic alternatives. Successive court rulings ensure that the provincial government cannot make legislative land-use changes on unceded Indigenous territories without the consent and shared decision-making of local First Nations, many of whom are dependent on resource industry revenues as a central part of their economies. Conservation financing, which was critical for the protection of old-growth ecosystems in the Great Bear Rainforest and Clayoquot Sound, is vital across BC to give First Nations communities a viable path to protecting endangered ecosystems.
About the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation
The Nature-Based Solutions Foundation (NBSF) is a national organization dedicated to safeguarding the most endangered ecosystems in Canada. NBSF aims to fill a critical niche in Canada’s conservation movement by addressing key conservation funding gaps that have historically hindered protection for the most endangered areas. Core to this approach is NBSF’s focus on collaborating with land-embedded communities—who play a decisive role in determining how land is used in their areas—to create new protected areas for the most endangered ecosystems. NBSF uses a proven conservation financing approach to help communities plan for new protected areas and transition to more resilient, diversified economies that thrive with nature.
For more information about NBSF, please visit www.naturebasedsolutionsfoundation.org.
About the Kanaka Bar Indian Band
The Kanaka Bar Indian Band—also known as ƛ̓əq̓ƛ̓áq̓tn̓mx (T'eqt'aqtn'mux), or "the crossing place people”— is a Nlaka’pamux nation located in the Fraser Canyon just south of Lytton and adjacent to the Stein Valley. For more than 10,000 years, Kanaka's traditional territory sustained its people. Today, there are approximately 240 Band members. On average, 150 residents live on reserve, and in the spring and summer, the population grows as membership return home to visit, fish, gather, and reconnect with the land.
Contacts:
Sean O’Rourke
Director of Lands & Culture
Kanaka Bar Indian Band
lands@kanakabarband.ca
(778) 254-9753
Hania Eve Peper
National Director
Nature-Based Solutions Foundation
hania@naturebasedsolutionsfoundation.org
(514) 865-0132