All Living Things: A cultural approach to reconcile First Nations stewardship rights with resource management
Date: February 1, 2024 at 12 pm PT / 1 pm MT
Presenter: Sara Deslauriers, MFC, FIT. Sara graduated with a Master of Forest Conservation from the University of Toronto, with a specific research emphasis on small mammal abundance and distribution across fragmented landscapes. Sara grew up in Montreal, and currently lives in Kimberley, where she is employed with the Ktunaxa Nation Council as a terrestrial biologist. Sara is also a Forester-in-Training and aspiring cat lady.
Consultation with First Nations is meant to provide a consensus-based shared decision-making process, yet many communities are short on capacity and time, while also inundated with industry referrals. Old growth forests are eroded, landscapes become increasingly fragmented, wildlife is disrupted, and First Nations land-use rights are degraded, along with the land itself. Through the creation of their Forestry Standards Document, the Ktunaxa Nation Council is attempting to bridge these gaps, and also address the demands of mitigating the impacts of operational forestry at a cutting permit and cutblock scale. This living document is a culturally and environmentally logical compendium of land use guidelines for operational forestry. In this talk, Sara will discuss how Ktunaxa’s approach seeks to enhance the values in the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) by reflecting the current state of the landscape and the need for conservation, connectivity, and an understanding that stewarding the land is more than a responsibility – it’s a Right.
