First Nation-led innovation in forestry uses cultural burns and thinning to bring back food and wildlife
For Immediate Release
April 1, 2025
Mount Currie, B.C. – The Silviculture Innovation Program (SIP) of the Bulkley Valley Research Centre (BVRC), recently launched its first episode of a new series titled ‘Out On A Limb’. The goal of the series is to uplift voices of trailblazers in B.C. communities who are leading innovative management practices for the betterment of the forests of tomorrow.
“The series helps tell stories to inspire and motivate practitioners who are carrying out innovative forestry practices by celebrating creative solutions to complex problems” shared Gillian Chow-Fraser, Extension Specialist for the SIP, a program created following the government-led Old Growth Strategic Review (2020) focused on increasing the uses of alternative forestry practices in B.C.
The inaugural episode, released on March 31, features Líl̓wat Forestry Ventures (LFV) and highlights their unique holistic approach to forest management. Throughout the episode, Klay Tindall, General Manager of LFV, and Jordon Gabriel, Forestry Technician with LFV, reflect on how innovation is built into the very core of their approach to forest management, stressing the importance of adaptability and learning from the land. They also offer advice to those considering similar innovative practices in forestry management and emphasize the use of local knowledge to manage the forest for a variety of values.
LFV’s growth over the past decade has been significant. Though once excluded from certain forested areas, the forestry business group of Líl̓wat Nation now manages roughly 75% of the timber harvest land base for the Nation.
The company’s approach looks beyond the timber, using innovative thinning techniques and cultural burns to manage for multiple values, including old-growth characteristics, pine mushrooms, and huckleberries.
“We need to protect areas, but we also need to manage areas. We’re trying to manage it to what everyone wants and what everybody needs,” said Gabriel. “For the wildlife, the ecosystem, safety, and for community members to get cultural materials from the forest.”
Pine mushrooms, a significant cultural and economic resource for the community, have been a particular focus of LFV’s experimental treatments. The team has been using cultural burns and thinning methods to open up the forest canopy – or the tops of the trees – creating more favourable conditions for the mushrooms to grow and thrive.
“Elders knew that the Nation was losing its resources because they were not allowed to manage the lands and because fire wasn’t in the ecosystems anymore. Now, we’re trying to find more evidence of how to make resources continuously grow rather than disappear,” added Gabriel.
This innovative approach is built on a combination of community members observations, local knowledge, staff expertise, and findings from experimental research.
“We’ve always seen the need to do things a little bit differently and provide multiple values from the forest and not just timber. Having the local knowledge of our staff of what plants have grown in what areas, and where trees are growing now where they haven’t grown in the past – it takes that long view of the forest to be able to see how it has changed,” shared Tindall. “If you’ve got the local people that have that local knowledge and they can continue to gather that information, it is possible.”
The episode highlights the value of integrating local knowledge with forest management practices and underscores the importance of spending time in the forest to observe how it changes over time. It also serves as a reminder of the critical role that enabling First Nations community members to be out on the land plays in effective and sustainable forest management.
“LFV’s work shows the power of learning from community knowledge holders, whose insights span decades,” added Chow-Fraser. “It demonstrates how much can be achieved within existing regulatory frameworks to meet community needs.”
This is a joint press release with Lil’wat Forestry Ventures and the Silviculture Innovation Program.
For additional information on the project or on the Silviculture Innovation Program, contact:
Gillian Chow-Fraser, Extension Specialist, Silviculture Innovation Program, sip.extension@bvcentre.ca
For an interview with Lílwat Forestry Ventures, contact:
Aleece Laird, Communications Liaison, aleece@amplifyinc.ca, 250.574.0221
Klay Tindall, General Manager with LFV
Jordon Gabriel, Forestry Technician with LFV