Grant Amount: $400,000
Intake Year: 2024
Region: Skeena Basin
Project Theme: Watershed & Ecosystems Restoration and Watershed Collaboration, Planning & Governance
The Wilps ‘Wii K’aax Territorial Stewardship Initiative, directed by its Chiefs (Simgigyet), Matriarchs (Sigidim Hana’k), and citizens, seeks to protect and manage our Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area, covering 214,193 hectares within the Sustut, Babine, and Upper Skeena watersheds. Our primary objectives are to:
1. Restore ecosystem health through current status and conditions analysis, water quality assessments, biodiversity restoration, forest management and BC Rail grade remediation.
2. Promote socio-cultural wellbeing through reconnecting our citizens with our lands (lax’yip), traditional practices and cultural heritage.
3. Foster sustainable economic development by creating business opportunities that align with our laws (Ayookw), values and environmental stewardship, such as sustainable Indigenous agriculture and silviculture, village site services and cultural infrastructure.
By integrating traditional Gitxsan knowledge with modern practices, the Wilps ‘Wii K’aax Territorial Stewardship Initiative aims to demonstrate Indigenous-led stewardship and reconciliation, highlighting the balance between ecological sustainability and cultural and economic revitalization in creating a sustainable and thriving community.
“This work is about more than monitoring; it’s about rekindling a sacred relationship with place and building tools for long-term care and resilience” — Interim Report, July 21, 2025