B.C. government adds 49,000 acres of land to Squamish Nation territory | Daily Hive

B.C. government adds 49,000 acres of land near Howe Sound and the Sea to Sky Corridor to the territory of the Squamish Nation

Howe Sound and the Sea to Sky Highway. (EB Adventure Photography/Shutterstock)

Through a technical forest stewardship and land use agreement with the Government of British Columbia, the Squamish Nation has effectively added approximately 49,325 acres — about 200 square kilometres — of land within its direct influence. These lands are primarily located on provincial Crown lands.

To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to more than 49 Stanley Parks, about 1.75 times the size of the City of Vancouver, or roughly the combined area of the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby.

The consequential agreement, as a historic measure of reconciliation, was formalized late last week during a signing ceremony held at the peak of the Sea to Sky Gondola, which is just north of one of the 33 newly established cultural sites under the First Nation. Such cultural sites are recognized as areas of historical and cultural importance, preventing harvesting, new roads, and other tenures, such as development.

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These cultural sites span both sides of Howe Sound and along the Sea to Sky Corridor, with the southernmost sites being near Langdale on the Sunshine Coast and near Lions Bay on the Sea to Sky Highway, and the northernmost sites being two small portions of Whistler Olympic Park. The single largest cultural site is on Gambier Island, and one of the most prominent is the Squamish Estuary Wildlife Management Area just west of downtown Squamish.

In addition to the cultural sites, there are six additional sites deemed to be Special Cultural Management Areas (SCMAs), where the First Nation can practice some logging as an economic opportunity under a set of guidelines. These SCMAs are located near Furry Creek, Stawamus Chief Mountain, Cheekeye Ridge, and Ashlu Ridge, and the single largest area spans the west side of Howe Sound just northwest of Gambier Island.

Additionally, the new agreement recognized several unresolved areas from previous negotiations dating back to 2007, which are now formally acknowledged as important to the Squamish Nation.

Notations of interest will be placed to protect these “outstanding” areas until further agreements are reached in the future, which span very significant areas immediately to the north, west, and south of the Resort Municipality of Whistler and Whistler Blackcomb. This includes Rainbow Mountain, and most of the Callaghan Valley, including Whistler Olympic Park, as well as a major area of Garibaldi Provincial Park around Cheakamus Lake — immediately south of Whistler Mountain — including Overlord Mountain, Cheakamus Mountain, and The Black Tusk.

Cultural sites under the Squamish Nation Land Use Planning Agreement. (Government of BC)

Special Cultural Management Areas (SCMAs) under the Squamish Nation Land Use Planning Agreement. (Government of BC)

Outstanding areas under the Squamish Nation Land Use Planning Agreement. (Government of BC)

Altogether, the agreement with the Squamish Nation outlines 12,555 acres (5,080 sq. km.) of old growth forest that will not be harvested, 2,286 acres (9.25 sq. km.) within the 33 cultural sites, and 10,267 acres (41.5 sq. km.) within the SCMAs. As well, the First Nation can now harvest up to about 24,216 acres (98 sq. km.) of the Timber Harvesting Land Base that was previously deferred during the decades-long negotiations.

The areas generally fall within what the Squamish Nation considers to be its traditional territory, which spans a vast area between the northern areas of Metro Vancouver and the Pemberton Icefield glacier, including both sides of Howe Sound. In stark contrast, the First Nation’s reserves in Metro Vancouver, Squamish, and other areas have a combined total land area of about 5,250 acres (21 sq. km.) — equivalent to an area that is 33 per cent larger than the City of New Westminster.

“This agreement is a major step forward in asserting our Nation’s role as stewards of our lands. This will ensure our cultural sites and key environmental areas are protected for future generations,” said Wilson Williams, a councillor and elected spokesperson for the Squamish Nation, in a statement.

Randene Niell, B.C. minister of water, land and resource stewardship, added, “Successful land-use planning includes building positive, lasting relationships and trust between First Nations and the B.C. government, communities, stakeholders and the public. This agreement, which provides increased protections for riparian and wetland ecosystems, demonstrates what can be done when people work together in good faith to achieve mutually beneficial goals.”

Cheakamus Lake at Garibaldi Provincial Park, just south of Whistler Mountain. (Justek16/Shutterstock)

This agreement between the Squamish Nation and the provincial government over Crown lands highlights the growing role of Indigenous stewardship in B.C.’s natural spaces.

But this is also an issue that has stirred debate in other areas, particularly at the northernmost end of the Sea to Sky Corridor. Most notably, the sudden closures by the Lil’wat and N’Quatqua First Nations of the popular area of Joffre Lakes Provincial Park in recent years have sparked immense public controversy and shone a light on tensions between recreational access, the collective good of the general public, and Indigenous rights.

Since then, the Lil’wat and N’Quatqua First Nations have formalized a new visitor management approach with the provincial government that includes scheduled closures — known as “reconnection periods.” For 2025, these scheduled closures of Joffre Lake Provincial Park by First Nations are scheduled over three separate weeks-long periods during the very busy season for recreational activity and tourism, including April 25 to May 19, June 13 to 27, and Aug. 22 to Oct. 23.

All of this also comes against the backdrop of the provincial government’s February 2024 decision to pause proposed amendments to the Land Act to vastly expand First Nations influence over the decisions of how provincial Crown lands are used. It would have required joint or consent-based decision-making across nearly 95 per cent of provincial land. But amid intense public and political backlash — including concerns that the changes would grant First Nations effective veto powers, undermine property rights, discourage investment in B.C., and jeopardize the province’s long-term economic needs and collective public interest — the provincial government ultimately paused the process.

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