Sn’pink’tn (Penticton Indian Band) signed a Forest and Range Opportunity Agreement with the Government of British Columbia in 2007 and has begun managing two Non-Replaceable Forest Licences within the Okanagan Nation traditional territory.
As well, Sn’pink’tn has a working partnership with Gorman Brothers Lumber Ltd., developing cutting permits and assisting with timber cruising (measuring timber volume and quality). Sn’pink’tn and the Syilx Nation have created forestry standards that apply during all phases of proposing, designing, planning, in-field assessment, implementation, and post-harvest auditing in Syilx territory.
Through its community-based, bottom-up decision-making process, the Syilx community will determine where forest development activities can and cannot take place.
The Agreement was developed through direct consultation with Syilx Knowledge Keepers, Elders and land users. It incorporates Syilx Knowledge that has been passed down for hundreds of generations and expresses that Knowledge in a contemporary western format so that it can be used by foresters and those part of the environmental planning process in collaboration with the Syilx people to ensure that Syilx Territorial lands are taken care of in the right way, for the good of all, for all time.
More information about this initiative is available here.
