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Community Forest to add Kwakiutl, Quatsino First Nations
By Kathy O'Reilly, North Island Eagle, April 11 2025
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The North Island Community Forest Limited Partnership (NICFLP) is close to adding two new members to its fold.
Established in March of 2011, the NICFLP is currently owned equally by the municipalities of Port Alice, Port McNeill, and Port Hardy.
At an open house April 3 at the Seven Hills Golf and Country Club, NICFLP Chairperson Ione Brown revealed the Kwakiutl and Quatsino First Nations have been offered full equity shareholder positions with ownership and all dividends to be equally split between the five partners in future.
Run by a mostly volunteer board of directors and a part-time manager, the NICFLP involves harvesting timber in a total forest area of about 2,390 hectares, within the territories of the Kwakiutl and Quatsino First Nations, that are divided into three blocks. “One is in the Marble River area, one in Quatse River, and the third on the eastern side of Alice Lake area,” explained Brown.
The NICFLP has an annual allowable cut of 10,000 cubic metres a year of coniferous timber and 400 square metres per year of deciduous timber, said Brown, “which is equivalent to about 250 truckloads or about one per cent of what some of the other companies are harvesting on the North Island, so we’re pretty tiny.”
The timber harvested has been sold on the open market to the highest bidder.
Proposed harvesting for this year will take place in the Marble River area. NICFLP is working with Quatsino First Nation to develop a plan for managing second growth and riparian areas within Quatsino’s Special Management Area. To date, the harvests have been approximately 55 per cent second growth and 45 per cent old growth in the two cut control periods. NICFLP is moving to 100 per cent second growth.
Community Forests have been around for about 25 years and are locally owned forest tenures that have local control, provide benefits to local communities, and try to provide local employment, including a value-added factor.
There are 61 Community Forests in British Columbia and the North Island Community Forest Partnership is the sixth smallest.
“The reason community forests were allocated to begin with is to give some local communities the opportunity to manage forest tenure and it is great because it means that there is regional management and support, it provides local opportunities for people, whether it is bidding on the wood, or working in the forest, or owning a contracting company that does engineering, or development or road building,” Brown said.
“I think, personally, it is the best tenure in the province, that is my opinion, I think it is all of our opinion,” she said.
Long term goals of the NICFLP are to develop and create value-added wood products, manufacturing and other opportunities for business.
“We’re not there, yet. We’re so small, it is hard to have that big of an impact in an area where most of the controlled resource belongs to the big companies,” said Brown.
“I think we’re all hopeful that we will get there someday and be able to set up some of these local wood manufacturing plants and value-added opportunities for people. We will get there, it’s just going to take a bit of time.”
The NICFLP is also interested in what people would like to see in terms of recreation.
“We’re looking at a couple of possible opportunities in the Alice Lake and Marble River area. We’re always happy to have input from people, too, to see what we can do,” she said.
“We have a mandate for a small amount of funds to be spent on recreation ourselves.”
Right now, NICFLP is in year five of its current five-year cut control period.
Over the years, the NICFLP has generated $6.6 million in revenue that has gone to the three communities - representing 80 per cent of all revenue, said Manager Megan Bose.
The other 20 per cent covers expenses to keep NICFLP running.
“We’ve continued our ongoing forestry education programs. The two high schools have a Forestry Academy for Grades 10, 11, and 12 students,” Bose said.
“Every year they come out onto our tenure, often with some of our volunteers or our staff, to learn about forestry plans, operations, etc.,” she explained.
NICFLP is proposing three cutblocks for harvest this year.
“We’ll be selling these three blocks by open market bid, hopefully in the next month or two.”
Photo — Kathy O'Reilly
North Island Community Forest Limited Partnership Chairperson Ione Campbell gave an update at an open house April 3.
Partnership brings eco-tourism business to Hope Island
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North Island Eagle, April 11 2025
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Tlatlasikwala First Nation is leading a public-private partnership with Coastal Rainforest Safaris to establish an eco-tourism startup on Hope Island, off the north coast of Vancouver Island.
The initiative is moving forward through a new investment with Island Coastal Economic Trust.
The cultural and nature-based tourism startup includes construction of a permanent eco-camp on Hope Island that will offer multi-day boat and land-based wilderness adventures with an Indigenous Cultural focus. Tlatlasikwala’s fully-equipped new camp will serve as a foundation for future tourism expansion, aligning with the Nation’s strategic priorities to drive economic development and increase their presence across their traditional territory.
Through the partnership with Coastal Rainforest Safaris, Tlatlasikwala benefits from 25 years of wilderness tourism expertise of owners Mike Willie and Andrew Jones and builds on a strong existing business relationship with the company. The collaboration between Tlatlasikwala and Coastal Rainforest Safaris focuses on sustainable tourism practices and mutual respect. The initiative has gained further tourism expertise and financial planning through a project management agreement with 4Ever Strategies, a 4VI Social Enterprise Group professional services company.
The eco-camp will facilitate Indigenous knowledge sharing and skills training for younger generations through an annual two-week youth camp for Tlatlasikwala First Nation members at the start of each tourism season. In the shoulder seasons, the camp will also be used for community programming, cultural activities, and skill development initiatives.
The project will empower Tlatlasikwala First Nation members with stable employment and training opportunities at an important location in their ancestral territories. The initiative is also expected to increase visitation across North Vancouver communities, including Port McNeill and Port Hardy.
Island Coastal Economic Trust is investing with Tlatlasikwala First Nation to establish the Hope Island Eco-Tourism Start-up and Indigenous Tourism Partnership through the Capital and Innovation Program. The Trust will contribute $200,000 towards a total investment of $950,000. The Trust is investing in this new project with focus on Culture and Nature-Based Tourism impact.
“Our territory deserves a strong and sustainable economy that will support our people and future generations. This was the vision of my late father, who believed in creating opportunities that would bring our people back home. Getting into Indigenous tourism allows us to build the economies we need to achieve that—through capacity building, training, and employment,” said Tlatlasikwala First Nation Chief Tiffany Wallace.
“Partnering with Coastal Rainforest Safaris is a meaningful step in demonstrating that partnerships, when done right, can support reconciliation and economic growth. By working together, we can create opportunities that respect our traditions, uplift our communities, and ensure that our people are empowered in their own lands,” Wallace said.
“This unique partnership model will result in a new Indigenous owned tourism business offering world-class cultural and wilderness experiences on Northern Vancouver Island. Global demand for Indigenous tourism experiences is at an all-time high and we are delighted to play a role in advancing Tlatlasikwala First Nation’s tourism ambitions,” said 4EVER Strategies Inc. President Calum Matthews.
“We are grateful for this first opportunity to partner with the Tlatlasikwala First Nation as they start-up a culture and nature-based tourism business on Hope Island. This project is centred on a public-private partnership between Tlatlasikwala and Coastal Wildlife Safaris and strengthened by their shared commitment to sustainable Indigenous-led tourism,” said Brodie Guy, CEO, Island Coastal Economic Trust.
Photo —Submitted
A permanent eco-camp will be built on Hope Island, improving infrastructure and replacing a temporary campsite to strengthen tourism business and employment opportunities for Tlatlasikwala First Nation.