Kanaka Bar Band: zuminstm e tmíxʷ kt ƛ̓əq̓ƛ̓áq̓tn̓ Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA)
Help us raise $500,000 in critical long-term sustainable economic development and stewardship funding for Kanaka’s Indigenous protected area.
This funding is critical for ensuring that Kanaka can manage their IPCA over the long term by supporting things like Indigenous guardians programs, stewardship and restoration initiatives, and new jobs and business opportunities rooted in conservation-based economies so that nature is worth more standing.
The Initiative
The Kanaka Bar Band, a Nlaka’pamux First Nation located about a three-hour drive from Vancouver, is developing their 320-square km zuminstm e tmíxʷ kt ƛ̓əq̓ƛ̓áq̓tn̓ (which means “we care for the lands of T’eqt’aqtn”) Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) in their unceded territory.
As part of the Old-Growth Solutions Initiative (OGSI), we are working to provide Kanaka Bar with the key support, from start to finish, to develop and establish this IPCA, which will encompass over 125-square km of some of BC’s rarest old growth.
This project will play a catalytic role in our broader provincial efforts to protect endangered old-growth forests in BC through the OGSI because it will serve as an end-to-end, scalable model that can be replicated in other communities.
Our Support
To date, we have provided significant support to the community by funding stewardship initiatives and capacity for land-use planning, purchasing private land containing an old-growth forest and important cultural sites to give back to the community with a conservation covenant, and funding legal support for the IPCA.
Looking Ahead
Through the Old-Growth Solutions Initiative (OGSI), we will continue working to provide the key support necessary for ensuring this IPCA comes to fruition. Our next steps will include providing interim funding for community stewardship jobs and other economic opportunities, and assisting with the development of Indigenous-owned businesses and jobs in industries that can be harmoniously linked to the IPCA (e.g. eco and cultural tourism, recreation, conservation jobs, etc.).
Background
The trees found growing in this area include an impressive collection of species, including old—growth Ponderosa pines, western redcedars, and the country’s largest documented interior Douglas-fir trees and Rocky Mountain junipers. In addition, the proposed IPCA hosts numerous archeological sites, including one of the oldest petroglyphs in all of Canada!
The proposed IPCA will support the Nation’s millennia-long connection to these lands, which are located in one of the most ecologically diverse regions in the province.
The region is in a transition zone from coastal rainforest to dry interior forests, containing an incredibly unique mix of species, including 42 species at-risk.
Make a donation.
Please donate today to leave a lasting legacy for one of the most diverse regions in all of BC. Your donation is critical for helping ensure that this IPCA vision becomes a reality.
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Note: 7% of funds raised are used to support operations, unless otherwise specified.