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The Runner • April 2021
Message from the Executive Director Reflection on the close of another year in the life of LFFA is cause for celebration. The organization is eleven years young and has matured to a place where we have two distinct regimes: Operational and Science. The latter includes Resource Management, Stock Assessment, Habitat and Restoration, Conservation and these are now the core of our primary priorities. The state of our salmon and the current crisis are the key drivers behind this focus and is supported by our complement of biologist experts who is supported by the operational team. The organization is now in a place to be responsive to most science and technical challenges that we encounter and transform these into opportunities and projects. Our aspiration to eventually construct and deploy a Centre of Excellence is next in line, perhaps with in the next decade of LFFA. Western Science is challenged to provide sufficient technical rationale to fully support recovery, rebuilding, and conservation measures to sustain our salmon stocks. This is challenged further with decision-making that is often driven by socioeconomics instead of conservation. Government programs such as the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) are calling for the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge, but it is uncertain how it will be incorporated into Western Science methodologies moving forward. Lower Fraser First Nations remain hopeful that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People Act and respective Reconciliation commitments can bridge the gap between our Indigenous world view, the laws of Canada and the Province of BC. Our LFFA Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air and Water (RELAW) project is close to producing their final report and will play a significant role in how the Nations can utilize this to implement our inherent laws in the context of current-day governance and management of fish, water, watersheds, and resources.
