West Babine Sustainable Resource Management Plan

1.0 Introduction
The Babine River is unique in the Skeena River drainage. Fish values in the Babine watershed
are extraordinarily high and the river is world-renowned for its angling opportunities. Wildlife
values are also very high, with large concentrations of grizzly bears drawn to the area during
spawning time. The area has great significance to the Gitxsan and Lake Babine First Nations,
within whose territories all or part of the plan area lies. The river has been central to the Gitxsan
culture since time immemorial and a number of very important village sites such as Kisgegas,
traditional trails, and other cultural heritage features are located there. The closest village
location of the Lake Babine Nation is the village of Wu’dat, commonly called Fort Babine,
which is located outside of the plan area, at the outflow end of Nilkitkwa Lake.
Nature-based tourism operations associated with the Babine draw clientele from around the
world and local residents prize the river for its river-based recreation and fishing opportunities.
As a reflection of its many high values, the Babine has been designated a provincial park as well
as both a Class 1 Angling River and a BC Heritage River. Timber values are also significant in
portions of the watershed and there is a moderate to high potential for mineral and energy
development.
The West Babine SRMP has been developed to recognize the many unique and important
environmental, social, cultural and economic values of the lower Babine River watershed and to
manage these values in a sustainable manner. A balance between economic opportunities and
sustaining ecological integrity is a key component to the plan. Ministry of Sustainable Resource
Management (MSRM) has consulted with First Nations and stakeholders to ensure that their
values in the West Babine are addressed in the plan.
The SRMP brings together planning direction from the Babine Interim Local Resource Use Plan
(LRUP) and the Kispiox Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP), into one document. The
plan is written to be results-based i.e., to clearly describe the desired future condition of the
landbase, allowing users of the land to apply best practices and professional knowledge to
achieve the desired results. The management direction for the West Babine incorporates the best
data, information, and analytical technology available at this time. A summary of the information
used in developing the plan is available in the accompanying technical report. The plan has been
written with the intent that management direction can be updated as better information becomes
available.
1.1 Plan Scope and Goals
1.1.1 Current Policy Framework for SRMPs
The Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management (MSRM) was created to provide provincial
leadership for sustainable economic development of public lands, water and other resources.
MSRM prepares strategic management plans at two scales: a) sub-regional or regional plans
(LRMPs), which occur over very large areas (over 1 million hectares); and b) local, or
Sustainable Resource Management Plans (SRMPs). SRMPs build on the direction provided in
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