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Skeetchestn’s salmon and steelhead restoration programs include habitat recovery and hatchery-based conservation programs as part of broader resource management programming. The community’s fishery on wild salmon and steelhead in Deadman Creek has been severely restricted since 1985 due to insufficient returning spawners (Don Ignace pers. com.). Recurring wildlife poaching problems in the valley are blamed in part for depressed local ungulate herds. Noxious weed and garbage problems are blamed on increased tourist traffic. Valley residents point to ever increasing access and “outdoor recreational pursuits” as the major factors contributing to poaching, weed infestation and increasing garbage. Valley residents also point to fire control as the single largest factor affecting the loss of grasslands to forest encroachment, and the decreasing quality of grazing grasses. Community drawings for this project depicted a community way of life based in traditional culture relevant to sustainable life in the Deadman Valley, with much detail regarding the natural environment. The pictures created by Skeetchestn Elementary School students and by participants to a community workshop were far too complex for accurate interpretation in this report. However, it was clear that the community sees the health of forests and grasslands, water, fish, wildlife, and plants through their cultural practices, as indicators of environmental health.

The community’s depiction of the natural environment (past, present and future) illustrated a trend away from cultural environmental values, and an atrophy of the custom associated with sustainable resource use. This was offered in the workshops as a community perspective of ecosystem health. Restoring customary practices and incorporating traditional ecological knowledge and wisdom is advanced by Skeetchestn Community as their approach to achieving the sustainable use of the Valley’s natural resources.

2.0 Ecosystem Stewardship in the Deadman River Valley

Ecosystem planning for the Deadman River

The Skeetchestn Indian Band is interested in applying an ecosystem-approach to the management of the resources within the Deadman Watershed. Current ecosystem approaches demand a better assessment of ecosystem function than currently exists, and a search for a control watershed is proposed for comparative purposes. The ecosystem-approach represents a vision that integrates ecological, economic and social factors in an equitable way, and seeks a balance between biodiversity conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. A control watershed and a community-based ecosystem framework is suggested to guide the management, planning, and the restoration of the biodiversity within the Deadman Watershed.

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