Khutzeymateen Inlet West Conservancy
Khutzeymateen Inlet West Conservancy is located on the North Coast in the traditional territories of the Lax Kw'alaams tribes and the Metlakatla Nation. The conservancy was created in 2008 and covers 363 hectares.
Khutzeymateen Inlet West Conservancy is a protected area on BC’s North Coast.
Khutzeymateen Inlet West Conservancy
The inlet is adjacent to Khutzeymateen/K’tzim-a-deen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary (44,300 hectares) and protects important grizzly bear habitat. Khutzeymateen Inlet contains a number of locally important salmon bearing streams, key intertidal areas and areas of First Nations traditional use. The Khutzeymateen is historically associated with the Gitsi’is Tribe and associated with Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla First Nations (collectively Coast Tsimshian).
A 362 hectare portion within the Khutzeymateen Inlet is a Schedule F conservancy (Khutzeymateen Inlet West) which allows for necessary resource access to adjacent timber harvesting lands while providing additional protection to the Khutzeymateen Inlet Conservancy and to the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary.
The Khutzeymateen group of protected areas continues to play a key role in the conservation of grizzly bears in North America by protecting a large part of the ecosystem in which they live. Grizzly bears depend on a healthy and fully functioning ecosystem which supports a variety of animals and fish.
Coast Tsimshian First Nations depend upon this area, as they have for thousands of years, as the source of their social, economic and cultural prosperity. Coast Tsimshian continue to conduct traditional activities in the K’tzim-a-deen and provide public education to explain their relationship to the area.
The area continues to offer incredible opportunities to view grizzly bears in their natural habitat. Human use of the area focuses on bear viewing, natural and cultural education, and traditional activities. The K’tzim-a-deen protected areas play an important role in British Columbia?s protected areas system. The protected areas are known internationally as Canada’s first Grizzly Bear sanctuary and are home to one of the highest concentrations of grizzly bears in Canada.
Overview provided by BC Parks