A 68 square kilometre area centred around Valemount has been declared as BC’s newest Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area.
Declared by the Simpcw First Nation, the IPCA will cover the Raush Valley area, stretching from Bowron Lake Park in the west to Jasper in the East.
It also extends south to Barriere, and north past McBride to Kakwa Park.
Self-declared IPCAs are used by First Nations to improve protection over conservation and cultural practices on traditional territory.
But, they hold no legal influence in terms of provincial or federal permitting, unless an agreement is struck with Victoria or Ottawa.
To date, no such agreement has been reached, though the Nation says talks with the Province have been positive so far, and that they have support of neighbouring Nations and industry.
There has been little resource development in the Valley so far, and the Nation says they will pursue all mechanisms available to keep it that way.
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