Lands – Nalaine Morin

Lands

Director Report

Nalaine Morin

Lands Director

Visit page 49 to learn more about TSI and current project updates. In 2022, the Lands Department will continue the work we started in 2021 on the Tahltan Stewardship Initiative (TSI) and other projects.

We had a busy year in 2021, and we are anticipating another busy year in 2022. I wanted to take the opportunity to review some of our progress from last year as well as share with you our draft vision and operational objectives which will support our workplan for achieving success in 2022.

We established several program objectives for the Lands Department and the TSI project in 2021 including:

• A competent Lands Department equipped with the required resources to support the Tahltan Central

Government (TCG) to make informed decisions for

Tahltan lands and resources.

• Implementation of governance policies and standard operating procedures to guide Lands

Department recommendations and engagement with Leadership and the Tahltan Nation.

• Manage natural resource related activities in Tahltan Territory consistent with Tahltan community interests and Tahltan laws.

• Ensuring Tahltan knowledge is a foundational component in all natural resource related activities on Tahltan lands.

• Develop a long-term plan to address the training needs of Lands Department staff and guardians.

• Development and implementation of governance policies and standard operating procedures to guide Lands Department recommendations and engagement with Leadership.

We used these objectives to develop a work plan for the year and are happy to report that we have made progress on these objectives. The Lands Department is carefully considering our progress on these objectives and how our workplan in 2022 will be implemented to continue our progress.

All these objectives align with the department’s vision which is “successful stewardship of Tahltan lands based on Tahltan laws, knowledge and world views.”

In 2021, we hired several new staff and contractors to support the Lands Department and the TSI. The team implemented our first Youth Stewardship Program and we had three youth work with us on the TSI in areas of project management, governance, and land stewardship planning. We also hired a Tahltan Elder, David Rattray, who has taught the team a lot about Tahltan laws and history.

Last year, the Lands Department continued building the TSI project. The TSI includes key strategic goals that support natural resource management in Tahltan Territory. The goals are advancement of governmentto-government (G2G) relationships, community engagement, land use planning, and department capacity. I see this project as a key driver for change in how we will continue to further define and advance our role in decision-making for natural resource management in Tahltan Territory. It is also quickly becoming an important opportunity for many of the natural resource department directors in Tahltan Territory to build relationships and work together.

For the TSI, the team developed project charters for most of the projects as well as completed their second year of stewardship studies. A series of expert workshops were held to review opportunities for land stewardship planning which led to the development of a draft land stewardship planning methodology. We also held workshops on environmental assessment which support the development of an environmental assessment strategy. This strategy will become an important process to support the Tahltan Heritage Resources Environmental Assessment Team (THREAT) in our participation and review of projects in the environmental assessment process. THREAT has been working through the review of project descriptions and permitting applications for both the Eskay Creek Revitalization Project and the Red Chris Mine. The team also participates in technical working group meetings for both projects. In 2021, we also met with Seabridge, Pretivm, Red Chris, and Galore Creek for project updates and to review environmental performance of projects through our environmental oversight committees. In 2022, THREAT will continue developing a collaborative team with other departments such as Fisheries and Wildlife to ensure that our team includes their expertise and knowledge about Tahltan Territory.

COVID continues to be a challenge as it has limited our ability to meet, tour and inspect sites in the territory and hold community meetings. In late 2021, the Communications & External Relations Department launched the TSI website which will be an important tool to support communications with Tahltan members about the TSI. We will also continue to hold virtual information sessions about the TSI and other important project updates. As always, we look forward to the day when we can all meet in person again and to share with each other. Guidance from Tahltan people will be key to help inform and shape our work for the TSI and other projects.

Tahltan Territory is very well known for its vast resources and the Tahltan Nation is also very well known for its progressive and innovative approaches to governance and management. The work of our natural resource departments over the next couple of years will be key to supporting other governance initiatives like Tahltan decision-making, which will become part of our work in the future. Visit: tsi.tahltan.org to view the TSI website, learn more and engage with the initiative.