| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
The Cassiar Iskut-Stikine Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) encompasses 5.2 million hectares in northwestern British Columbia. The plan represents the consensus reached as a result of a three-year interest-based negotiation process that involved approximately 25 public, First Nations, and provincial government representatives. The Cassiar Iskut-Stikine LRMP is consistent with provincial government policy for land use planning, as described in the Provincial Land Use Charter (1992) and the policy document Land and Resource Management Planning, A Statement of Principles and Process (1993). There are four main sections to the plan: Management Direction, Research and Inventory Priorities, Economic Strategy Priorities, and Implementation and Monitoring. 1. Management Direction: The plan creates three categories of management direction for the LRMP area: General Management Direction, Area-Specific Management, and Protected Areas. The General Management Direction represents a baseline for resource activities on all Crown land outside of Protected Areas. Area-Specific Management refers to geographic resource management zones with distinct biophysical characteristics and resource issues. The General Management Direction applies in these geographic zones, except where different objectives and strategies were developed for certain resource values or activities. A. General Management Direction: General Management Direction applies to all values and resources on provincial Crown land and is a baseline for management. Objectives and strategies in General Management Direction (GMD) apply throughout the LRMP area, outside of Protected Areas. The following resources and resource values are addressed in the General Management Direction: Access management; Botanical forest products; Cultural heritage; Hunting/ Guiding/ Trapping/ Fishing; Mineral and Energy Resources; Recreation/ Tourism; Settlement/ Agriculture/ Range; Timber; Visual quality; Biodiversity/ Ecosystem health, including: _ Aquatic ecosystems and riparian habitat _ Endangered plants and animals (species and communities) _ Fire management _ Landscape connectivity _ Natural disturbance patterns and ecosystem representation _ Predator-prey systems _ Special landforms: Plateaus _ Wildlife B. Area-Specific Management: The LRMP includes fifteen geographic resource management zones which are distinct with respect to biophysical characteristics and resource issues: Hottah-Tucho Lakes; McBride; Klappan; Iskut Lakes; Mount Edziza; Kakkidi/Mowdade/Nuttlude Lakes; Todagin; Middle Iskut; Lower Iskut; Unuk River; Lower Stikine-Iskut Coastal Grizzly Salmon; Telegraph Creek Community Watershed; Chutine; Tuya; Metsantan. GMD applies in these zones. However, additional objectives and strategies were developed for certain resources or activities to reflect the specific values in each zone. Area-specific Resource Management Zones comprise 1.6 million hectares or 30.6% of the LRMP area. C. Protected Areas: These are areas that have been identified for their natural, cultural heritage and/or recreational values, in accordance with the Provincial Protected Areas Strategy. Logging, mining and hydroelectric development are prohibited in all Protected Areas. A set of general objectives and strategies, including acceptable uses, separate from the General Management Direction has been developed to guide management within new Protected Areas. In total, there are fourteen new Protected Areas, in addition to previously existing Provincial Parks and Ecological Reserves: Border Lake; Choquette Hot Springs; Craig Headwaters; Great Glacier; Iskut River Hot Springs; Klastline River; Lava Forks; Mess Creek; Ningunsaw Extension; Spatsizi Headwaters; Stikine Grand Canyon; Todagin South Slope; Tuya Mountains; Upper Stikine Spatsizi Extension. Protected Areas comprise approximately 1,373,000 hectares or 26.2% of the LRMP area. The new protected areas include approximately 220,000 hectares (4.2%) which, prior to the LRMP, were partially protected as Recreation Areas.* The remaining new Protected Areas comprise approximately 229,000 hectares (4.3%). Two of the new Protected Areas** (43,000 ha) include provisions for access through the protected area to support mineral exploration and development, where no practicable alternative for access exists. 2. Economic Strategy: As part of its Recommendations, the LRMP Table developed an economic strategy to define priorities for future economic development in the plan area. The following vision statement for the LRMP guided the development of the economic strategy: The Cassiar-Iskut-Stikine LRMP will contribute to a healthy, productive and sustainable wilderness environment, a thriving and diverse economy, and strong communities supporting a wide range of local employment and lifestyle opportunities. The economic strategy is intended to guide future development that enhances local opportunities and contributes to economic diversification in the area. It contains strategies and recommended actions for the following sectors: Forestry; Mining; Tourism; Fisheries; Agriculture; Botanical; Forest Products/Medicinal Plants; Government Infrastructure and Capacity Building. In the short term, the following are identified as priorities for implementation:1 • Establish a Tahltan/multi-stakeholder economic development round table to oversee implementation of the strategy. • Develop a regional tourism strategy • Develop a community-based forestry strategy • Develop a commercial and recreational fishing strategy • Develop a Highway 37 North Corridor Strategy • Develop a strategy for training and skill development. 3. Implementation and Monitoring Implementation of the Cassiar Iskut-Stikine Land and Resource Management Plan is the responsibility of provincial government agencies. An LRMP Monitoring Committee, as well as the public, will be involved in reviewing plan implementation to ensure that the objectives and strategies in the plan are reflected in more detailed plans and operational resource management activities. An annual Monitoring Report will be produced by the Prince Rupert Interagency Management Committee to summarize the status of implementation. A review of the LRMP is to begin eight years after plan approval. |
