Gitxaala Nii Luutiksm/Kitkatla Conservancy
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This site is under construction; more information on this conservancy will be added when it becomes available.
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Conservancy Info
The terrain of Gitxaala Nii Luutiksm/Kitkatla Conservancy is low-lying with many small islands. The conservancy protects a wide range of marine and terrestrial resources that have a long history of use by First Nations peoples. Marine resources include seaweed, cockle, salmon, and, herring roe-on-kelp harvesting, high value waterfowl habitat, and a grey whale rubbing beach. Terrestrial resources include rare pebbly/sandy beaches and coastal forests. Kitkatla Inlet has high recreational values for kayaking, camping, fishing, and diving.
Other nearby protected areas include: Banks Nii Luutiksm Conservancy, 12 km to the south; Lax Kul Nii Luutiksm/Bonilla Conservancy, 30 km to the south; Pa-aat Conservancy on northern Pit Island, 20 km to the east; and, Monckton Nii Luutiksm Conservancy, 20 km to the southeast.
Gitxaala Nii Luutiksm/Kitkatla Conservancy is one of a number of areas that were identified for conservancy status from the North Coast Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP). The Gitxaala First Nation has identified interests in Gitxaala Nii Luutiksm/Kitkatla Conservancy. This conservancy was designated in 2006. See News Release for more information.
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Location
Gitxaala Nii Luutiksm/Kitkatla Conservancy covers 12,425 ha of upland habitat in the Hecate Lowlands Ecosection and 15,748 ha of foreshore in the Hecate Strait and North Coast Fiords Marine Ecosections, for a total of 28,029 ha. It is located adjacent to Kitkatla/Gitxaala and 55 km southwest of Prince Rupert; the communities of Oona River and Hunts Inlet, located on Porcher Island, are also nearby. Access to the conservancy is primarily by boat and there are a number of sheltered inlets suitable for anchoring. Floatplane access to the shoreline is possible, and helicopter access is possible at suitable landing locations such as wetlands and along the shoreline. |
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Nature & Culture
The shorelines on the outer coast of the conservancy are steep and rocky, polished by glacial ice and more recent wave action, with limited shelter. One exception is the big beach at Oval Bay. Gitxaala Inlet is a small inland sea with strong tidal currents ensuring good nutrient exchange. Gitxaala Inlet has a very high habitat rating for waterfowl. Threatened and endangered bird species recorded in these waters include trumpeter swan (overwintering), Brant, long-tailed duck, western grebe, Pacific loon and great blue heron. A large herring spawn occurs in the inlet. A grey whale rubbing beach is also a special feature within this protected area.
Gitxaala Nii Luutiksm/Kitkatla Conservancy helps protect the areas biological diversity and natural environments by protecting representative coastal flora and fauna, plant communities and animal species at risk, and special features, particularly lowland coastal muskeg (bogs and fens) and bog forests, limestone features, kelp beds, a highly productive marine ecosystem, the grey whale rubbing beach, a sea lion haul-out, marine invertebrates, and a provincially significant seabird and shorebird feeding and moulting area. Together with nearby Banks Nii Luutiksm and Lax Kul Nii Luutiksm/Bonilla conservancies, Gitxaala Nii Luutiksm/Kitkatla Conservancy protects over 48 000 ha of terrestrial and marine habitats on the outer coast.
Gitxaala means “people of the salt,” which is a reference to the ocean-front location of the Gitxaala community on Dolphin Island. Nii Luutiksm means a special or treasured area. Gitxaala/Kitkatla Inlet provides a wealth of traditional resources that have for millennia sustained the Gitxaala. Traditional harvesting of seaweed, roe-onkelp, cockles and salmon are some of the practices that continue to occur within this inlet. The area’s oral history, stone fish-weirs and cache pits within this conservancy represent a history that predates European contact. Protection of cultural uses and values is a dominant feature of this conservancy.
Several archaeological sites (shell middens, fish traps, canoe skid, unidentified pre-contact wood article) registered with the BC Archaeological Branch are located in the conservancy. Additional archaeological sites are likely present but archaeological inventories are incomplete.
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Management Planning
There is an active management planning project underway for this conservancy.
What are you views? Gitxaala Nii Luutiksm/Kitkatla Conservancy management planning page to provide your input on the management plan for this conservancy.
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