Lake Babine Nation’s Forest Tenure Expanded Through Partnership With BC and West Fraser

On Thursday, British Columbia announced that a forest tenure held by Lake Babine Nation is increasing by more than 2,000% through a partnership with the province and a tenure transfer from West Fraser, marking a significant milestone in growing the Nation’s role in forestry.

Through this partnership, the Lake Babine First Nations Woodland License is growing from approximately 5,600 hectares (14,000 acres) to more than 126,000 hectares (311,000 acres) of Lake Babine Nation territory, bringing traditional values into forest management practices.

Nearly 212,000 cubic meters of allowable annual cut is being added to the Woodland License, bringing the new total to more than 230,000 cubic meters.

Expanding Woodland License was made possible through a partnership with West Fraser, serving as a model for business-to-business relationships that support long-term sustainability for the forestry sector, economic development for the communities that rely in it, and reconciliation with First Nations.

The expanded tenure follows a collaborative management agreement between Lake Babine Nation and BC Timber Sales, which ensured the continuity of BC Timber Sales operations and enhanced Lake Babine Nation’s stewardship over its territory. Lake Babine Nation established a forestry company called LBN Forestry to oversee its forestry operations.

This milestone forest license expansion represents a significant achievement in the implementation of Lake Babine Nation’s Foundation Agreement. The Foundation Agreement was finalized in 2020 and outlined a 20-year vision to implement Lake Babine Nation rights and title, including a vision to hold and manage a minimum of 250,000 cubic meters of forest tenure located on its territory.

In 2021, the province set a goal of 20% of the allowable annual cut being held by First Nations.