West Babine Sustainable Resource Management Plan

ceremonial fishery at Kisgegas. When stocks permit, there is also a commercial fishery. The
Babine River is very important to the Gitxsan and Lake Babine Nation food fisheries and the
watershed contributes large numbers to the Pacific commercial fish catch. In addition, the Babine
supports a world-class sports fishery, particularly related to steelhead.
The West Babine contributes to sustenance activities and the informal economy of the larger
area. Hunting, fishing, trapping, berry-picking, and mushroom-picking are all carried out here.
These activities are an integral part of the lifestyle of the First Nations, who manage these
resources within the House territories represented in this portion of the Babine watershed.
Sustenance activities are also important to other residents of the Kispiox.
There is an expectation of consultation and accommodation of Gitxsan interests arising from
their prima facie rights and title for all resource development.
3.3.2 Tourism
The West Babine offers a world-class wilderness experience that is enjoyed by local residents
and tourists.
At this time, the area supports one steelhead fishing operation, made up of two camps on the
Babine River, two guide-outfitting operations, and several commercial rafting operations (see
Map 8, page 73). Due to the remoteness of the area, tourism features are associated with natural
attributes such as wilderness mountains, lakes and rivers, and abundant fish and wildlife. The
area also has a number of cultural features that could contribute to aboriginal tourism
development by the Gitxsan, including traditional trail routes, historic village sites and traditional
use sites such as Gunanoot Lake. Additionally, Gunanoot Lake is a popular fly-in destination that
offers a pristine, wilderness environment.
Access to the plan area occurs by road, watercraft, floatplane and helicopter. Road-based access
is limited, involving travel on forestry roads. A number of lakes in the plan area are of sufficient
size to facilitate floatplane access (> 0 .8 km long). Helicopter access is also possible; however,
bases are limited to the community of Smithers. Additional nearby communities include the
Hazeltons, Kispiox and Wu’dat (Fort Babine). This plan does not change existing access patterns
and future potential access to the Babine River will be affected only minimally.
The Babine River supports a large number of recreational users, who are primarily from BC.
Together with the BC residents, a large proportion of existing commercial tourism clients to the
area are non-BC residents, with the majority coming from the United States and overseas. Most
of the non-commercial recreationists who visit the Babine River are self-guided kayakers,
canoeists, or rafters rather than fishers (BRF, 2002).
The Babine is a Class 1 river and, as such, commercial activities are regulated. The Ministry of
Water, Land and Air Protection regulates the number of commercial raft trips on the river, the
period of commercial angling activity and the number of guided rod days. Class 1 attributes
include wilderness setting, exceptional fisheries, good water quality, and uncrowded conditions.
March 2004 Page 43