Líl̓wat Forestry Ventures Showcases Wildfire Risk Reduction
Through Traditional & Modern Practices
Líl̓wat Forestry Ventures (LFV) is a leading forestry management corporation that operates within the Líl̓wat Nation in Mount Currie, British Columbia. What began as a small woodlot has grown into an operation that now manages nearly 75 percent of the Nation’s territory. Through this expansion, LFV provides local employment opportunities while honouring traditional knowledge and practices that promote wildfire resiliency. The video, ‘We Work Together with the Land’, created in collaboration with the BC Community Forest Association and the Ministry of Forests, showcases LFV’s proactive wildfire risk reduction efforts and further emphasizes the importance of a forest management approach that considers multiple values – cultural, ecological, social, and economic.
Klay Tindall, General Manager of LFV, Hayden Leo, Forestry Technician, and Jordon Gabriel, Lead Forestry Technician, shared insights into the innovative practices and holistic approach that LFV employs, highlighting the importance of collaboration for effective and sustainable forest management.
“A lot of the work we are pushing forward involves using new technologies and exploring different methods,” shared Tindall. “Taking a long-term view of the forest has allowed us to approach things differently.”
At the forefront of LFV’s operations is the use of prescribed cultural burns – a practice involving controlled fire to manage the land, which Indigenous peoples have used for centuries for cultural and land stewardship purposes. Over the past few years, these traditional practices have been reintroduced to enhance wildfire resiliency, promote berry growth, support biodiversity, and protect wildlife habitats in the Nation.
“In partnership with BC Wildfire Services (BCWS), we conducted the first cultural burn on the coastal region, marking an important milestone in the collaboration between a First Nation and BCWS,” shared Leo.
In addition to cultural burning, LFV has been actively involved in a fuels mitigation project, strategically thinning or reducing excess trees around the community to help reduce wildfire risk. These projects have multiple layers of value, from economic benefits through timber sales to cultural, ecological, and social gains.
“We’re not trying to manage individual pieces of the forest for one value alone. We’re tying to manage the entire forest for all the values and try to make it resilient. Knowing the importance for the community, not just for profits, but for cultural reasons and even to give people meaningful and high paying jobs in the community has been really important,” explained Tindall.
Gabriel, who has worked with Elders from the Nation for over half a decade, stressed the importance of the work being carried out today.
“I worked alongside the Elders with all of the plants that they used. We must include everything like this into the forest. We’re slowly trying to bring that back and build it into the system. We have to take care of these resources so future generations can enjoy the same benefits we do today – picking berries and mushrooms, and seeing wildlife in the forest.”
LFV’s single stem harvesting with the Spel’kúmtn Community Forest and proactive work and engagement with the Cheakamus Community Forest further exemplifies the power of collaboration. These partnerships demonstrate how integrating both traditional Indigenous knowledge and Western scientific approaches can lead to more meaningful and sustainable forest management.
“It would be great to see other First Nations have the benefits that we do – having people working but also bringing out the resources that we have and use here,” added Gabriel. “We’re never going to go back to how things were, so we must figure out how to live and work together.”
To learn more about LFV’s work and their efforts to mitigate wildfire risk to community, watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/B3OjtdTojhg?si=j7wXMwJmCJHlvFFM