Wildfire risk reduction work is underway in the Bella Coola Valley led by young members of the Nuxalk Nation working for Nunumus Management Ltd.
Owned by the Nuxalk Nation, Nunumus has interests in forestry management, specialty wood products, tourism, labour contracting, commercial fishing and non-timber forest products.
Ezra Mecham and Remy Henry spoked with Coast Mountain News at the end of March - the second week of the project
In 2021, Nunumus was approached by the Nuxalk Nation and Ministry of Forests to do wildfire risk reduction work in the area, they said.
Together Mecham and Remy have developed a prescription for the 4 Mile Tonquin Road area they are calling Snxlhh, which is the traditional name of the Nuxalk village that was located there.
“It’s right close to the reserve land and near the hydro power generating station,” said Mecham. “We outlined an area that had different values going on around it and in close proximity to the community.”
Previously Henry worked for the Ministry of Forests developing wildfire risk development plans in the community.
“We started off with very close ties to the ministry and have continued those ties to the ministry and have a fairly solid partnership in developing these prescriptions,” Mecham said.
They have also met with the Nuxalk community to see what members would like done with the risk reduction work.
An open house was held in spring 2023 to meet with the community and share some prescription development work plans.
“We showed them some maps, we talked about the type of work we were looking to do. We held a dinner for the community and did some engagement work then,” Mecham said, noting they heard the community was in favour of the project and happy it was happening.
Along with the prescription for 4 Mile, they visited other sites throughout the entire Bella Coola Valley and filled out wildfire threat-rating forms for those areas. It is a method used by BC Wildfire to how severe a fire would be for an area.
Five or six potential future sites were outlined for prescription areas.
Excited the project is going ahead, Mecham said there are seven to eight people involved daily with boots on the ground.
Collaboratively it has become a community effort with many different stakeholders involved aside from the Nuxalk Nation and Nunumus Management, such as the Central Coast Regional District, BC Wildfire, Fisheries and the Ministry of Forests.
“We have a wildfire risk reduction technician position in the valley with the Ministry of Forests, which is the role Remy started out with and now he is working with Nunumus,” Mecham said, adding the ministry hired another person to work in the ministry based in Bella Coola.
Kerry Phillips with the ministry has been a huge help, supporting the project from the ministry level, as well as the new technician, Mecham said.
After working for BC Wildfire for a number of years, Henry said he is transferring the knowledge he gained to the work he is doing with Nunumus.
Mecham said they have strived to get larger community buy-in for the work so the exposure increases and the community knows there is ongoing stewardship on the land.
“As the Nuxalk Nation we are trying to restore our forests to a managed state that our people had been doing for thousands of years. The goal is to be very collaborative with as many people as we can and partnership with them to bring back the stewardship the Nuxalk people had for millennia.”
Hopefully, through this type of work, everyone can gain and develop experience. In the future they hope to create their own wildfire crew, which is something Henry has been working on extensively by setting up training for crew members, plus working with First Nations Emergency Services Society, based in North Vancouver.
In 2023, there were a number of wildfires burning throughout Nuxalk territory, Mecham said.
“Fire is not uncommon in our territory, we are lumped in with Coastal Fire Centre but we also have a lot of Interior influence. Fire is somewhat prevalent on our landscape and it will frequently become more so as the climate continues to change.”
Fire suppression activities of 100 years have left behind forests that are extremely fuel loaded and the area crews are working on have very dense forest with a lot of undergrowth and very small trees struggling for light and nutrients.
Mecham said they hope the struggling trees will be able to grow stronger and healthier and the areas will be of more use to the community as parks with walking. They envision trails or places to gather for ceremonies.
They are also doing pile burning category two, Henry explained.
“We are taking the smaller diametre conifers and deciduous trees, thinning areas out and leaving the healthier larger trees behind,” he said. “The end product looks like a park. It really does.”
Mecham and Henry said they are also working with BC Parks and Ulktacho First Nation on a fire mitigation plan as a three-year project.
There has been work done in the past, so they are starting to get that off the ground again.
One of the issues is access and egress from the valley during wildfires as well as threats to cultural values inside Tweedsmuir Park.
They have reached out to both Acwsaltca School and Sir Alexander Mackenzie Secondary School, offering to take students for a tour of the project and help if wanted.
About 30 students from Acwsalcta School participated in a tour, ranging in ages 10 to 17 and a community open house held in March attracted about 20 people.
“We hope to involve all the youth in the community in this type of work. It really is not just about the Nuxalk, it’s about our whole valley and living together as a community and protecting our community as a whole,” Mecham said.
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