| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
The purpose of this report is to provide summary information focused on historic and current ecological, cultural-socio, and human-based development for the Stikine and upper Nass watersheds. The objectives are to present categorized information at the watershed and major sub-basin level in order to provide context for the larger project – assessment of cumulative impacts in the Stikine and upper Nass areas. The assessment of cumulative impacts in the Stikine and upper Nass areas is itself nested into a yet again larger study: An integrated assessment of the cumulative impacts of climate change and industrial development on salmon in western British Columbia. The project purpose is to address current and potential ecological, cultural, and social impacts and provide possible future solutions to negate or mitigate those impacts. First Nations other than the Nisga’a – who have a treaty, the Nisga’a Final Agreement – have never relinquished rights to lands and resources within their territories. Within the Stikine and upper Nass area there are currently two permanent settlements: Iskut and Telegraph Creek, which are both Tahltan. The southern extent of the Stikine and upper Nass area is overlaid with Gitanyow, Gitxsan, Tsetsaut, and Nisga’a territories. The Stikine and upper Nass project area covers 69,200 km2 of the Stikine, Unuk, and upper Nass watersheds in northwestern British Columbia. The Stikine and upper Nass area is known for its high cultural values, biological diversity, species richness and intact environment. Unuk watershed drains 3,885 km2 of which approximately half is within British Columbia. Unuk River flows southwesterly from Unuk Lake for 105 km to Burroughs Bay, Alaska. The Unuk system is located wholly within the southern Boundary Ranges with long, cold, heavy snowpacks, and high winds in the winter while summer is generally cool and wet. The majority of the Unuk drainage is covered by icefields and glaciers. The Unuk watershed supports five salmon species: sockeye, pink, chum, Chinook, and coho and winter steelhead. Freshwater fish residents include cutthroat trout (anadromous), rainbow trout, three-spine stickleback, Dolly Varden and bull trout char. Fish presence and abundance is poorly documented for the Unuk River upstream of the border. Stikine watershed is the third largest drainage in BC, draining approximately 52,000 km2 and is only slightly smaller than the Skeena. Stikine watershed is comprised of coastal and interior physiographic subdivisions that reflect similar aspects of climate, physiography, and hydrology; these are the Boundary Ranges, Stikine Plateau, and the Skeena Mountains. The Stikine system supports five salmon species: sockeye, pink, chum, chinook, coho, and steelhead. Cutthroat trout, eulachon, and lamprey are the other anadromous species present. Rainbow smelt, eulachon, and longfin smelts are known in the estuary, but it is unknown if they spawn in BC waters. Green sturgeon and white sturgeon are noted as present, although knowledge is scant regarding their life histories and habitats in the Stikine drainage. Sockeye, followed by coho and chinook, are the most abundant. Pink salmon spawn principally in Alaskan streams, though they also occur as far upstream as the Tahltan fisheries beyond Telegraph Creek. Chum salmon are known to be present upstream as far as the Chutine River area. Coho are wide dispersed and spawn throughout the accessible streams Salmon support First Nation, commercial, and recreational sport fisheries, as well as wildlife, throughout the extent of salmon distribution. The upper Nass watershed is comprised of the northwest Skeena Mountains, Nass Basin, and the southern edge of the Boundary Ranges. Northwest Skeena Mountains are subdivided by major drainage systems into semi-discrete mountain ranges that include Klappan range, Groundhog Range, Slamgeesh Range, Oweegee Range, and the Strata Range. The irregularly shaped Nass Basin occupies the landscape below 760 m elevation, and is mostly rolling valley floor terrain with the adjacent Skeena Mountains and Boundary Range mountains rising abruptly out of it. The Boundary Ranges are characterized by steep and rugged topography, and great range of relief. The Nass is the fourth largest watershed in BC. Most of the streams draining the Boundary Ranges and the northwest Skeena Mountains are glacial and turbid, with sections of steep channels. Stream systems draining the Nass Basin mostly flow clear water. Upper Nass area supports five salmon species: sockeye, pink, chum, chinook, and coho, and steelhead, as well as the anadromous lamprey. Salmon abundance and diversity have been driven down by Canadian and Alaskan coastal commercial mixed-stock net, fish traps, and troll fisheries. Management of all Nass basin salmon stocks is developed between Nisga’a Fisheries and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and seasonally with Alaskan agencies, particularly regarding commercial fishery timing and salmon escapement goals. Nass sockeye are widely recognized for their distinctive migratory behavior, their unique types of spawning and juvenile rearing life histories, and their intimate connection with the Tsimshian, Nisga’a, Gitanyow, and Gitxsan First Nations and their cultures. The study area encompasses eight ecosections and eight BEC zones. The Stikine and upper Nass area supports caribou, mountain goats, Stone’s sheep, moose, grizzly and black bears, wolves and smaller mammals. One of the most exceptional biological features of the Stikine and upper Nass area is the large, intact mammal predator-prey system that exists in a relatively pristine environment. Wildlife inventories are conducted for species in the Stikine and upper Nass area by BC Ministry of Environment and local First Nations intermittently for caribou, moose, mountain goat, Stone’s sheep, and grizzly bear and usually in response to management concerns. A variety of natural disturbance factors have influenced the ecosystems of the Iskut-Stikine and upper Nass study area. The landscapes that exist today are the result of large and small-scale ecosystem processes. Large-scale events driven by climate, such as fire, glaciation, volcanic activity, snow and landslides, have formed the physical and biological features of the study area. Mountain pine beetle infestations are few. In the upper Nass, the western balsam bark beetle is a primary disturbance agent along with windthrow and a driving force of succession in subalpine fir forests. The Stikine and upper Nass area is overlaid with Tahltan, Gitanyow, Gitxsan, Tsetsaut, and Nisga’a territories, cultural landscapes, and people. The rich resources of the Stikine and upper Nass territories sustained vibrant and wealthy aboriginal cultures and elaborate trading economies. The First Nations continue to occupy and use the lands and resources within their territories. Resource harvesting practices and land use were complex and have become further complicated as industrial development and human use increases. There are expected direct, induced, and cumulative effects related to the large scale and rapid pace of industrial development. These effects include social, cultural, and environmental impacts, some of which are beneficial and others adverse. Given the often horrifying legacy of the last 100 years, finding the appropriate balance for future development in each First Nations world is challenging. The Stikine and upper Nass area has extensive areas of wilderness, remote rivers, abundant wildlife and striking viewscapes, all of which provide excellent conditions for backcountry recreation and a strong local nature-based tourism sector. Each of the protected areas in the Stikine and upper Nass area were designated based on outstanding features such as predator/prey systems, or volcanic landscapes that conserve cultural and ecological values and ensure vital habitat remains intact. There are numerous proposed and existing industrial development projects in the Stikine and upper Nass area including five proposed large scale open-pit mines, several proposed hydroelectric projects, some of which are under construction, and a number of transmission lines such as the Northwest Transmission Line. Timber harvest activities continue to fragment the landscape in the upper Nass. Despite the need to better assess and manage cumulative effects, Canadian and BC government, and developers continue to be perplexed in regard to implementing cumulative impact assessments into project planning and environmental assessments in the Stikine and upper Nass area. To date, investigations considering potential cumulative effects have not been considered adequate to sustain the environment and people in the Stikine and upper Nass area. |
