Our Projects
Sacred Headwaters Campaign
Northern BC’s Sacred Headwaters is a rare and special place. Here in a vast alpine basin, three of the Northwest’s greatest salmon rivers are born: the Skeena, the Nass and the Stikine. Stone sheep, caribou, grizzly bears and wolves call the Headwaters home, and the area is critically important to the local indigenous people, the Tahltan.
Royal Dutch Shell wants to exploit the Sacred Headwaters for coalbed methane gas. Such a development would see the wild landscape of the Sacred Headwaters turned into an industrial maze of wellheads, roads and pipelines.
Local indigenous people from the communities of Iskut and Telegraph Creek have protested Shell’s development since it was first proposed. There have been road blockades and arrests, and members of the Iskut First Nation are currently in court with Shell.
Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition has been working since 2004 to protect the Sacred Headwaters from coalbed methane development. Our work has included conducting public outreach and education, mobilizing residents of the Skeena watershed, and engaging in dialogue with Shell and the BC government.
Technical Studies
Baseline Inventory Research
Our baseline inventory research is designed to contribute to the general understanding of the upper Skeena’s globally significant wildlife, wild salmon, and cultural heritage resources. These projects target selected wildlife, fisheries and cultural heritage features as well as locations of specific conservation concern.
Due to a widely recognized deficiency of science-based knowledge specific to the remote upper Skeena ecosystem, there is relevant information that is not included in proposed development plans for the Skeena watershed. Baseline inventories provide an accurate record of the landscape and its components as they naturally occur, increasing the opportunity for effective sustainable development decisions to take place now and into the future.
For more information on current or past baseline inventories please contact:
Skeena Awareness Project
A discovery expedition of the Upper Skeena lead by Director, Jim Allen. After completing a Swiftwater Rescue Technician course, the 10 person field crew completed 2 consecutive 10 day Upper Skeena River rafting expeditions in hopes of finding and reviving ancient heritage trails for archaeological documentation and development of eco-tourism. It was a joint project with Hereditary Chief, Gwinninixtkw, who lead the Cultural Heritage portion of the expedition. The project found and revived 12km of ancient Gitxsan trail as well as campsites for future use by outdoor adventurers Among these trails and campsites were ancient village remnants, fish pits and gravesites. This type of sustainable development not only helps local economy, it also demonstrates an alternative to industrialization or less sustainable developments in the watershed while establishing a strong history of use and occupation of the land. The first expedition was flown in by bush plane to the Mosque River and the second was transported by rail car to the Sustut river and Skeena river confluence. A short film, “Devil’s Club & Blazes - searching for the trails of our Gitxsan Ancestors” was produced and is available in our Merchandise section.
Public Education
SWCC public education initiatives provide accurate and updated information on current conservation issues and opportunities within the Skeena watershed. These programs take the form of film nights, slide shows, guest lectures, technical presentations, field courses and information brochures. They occur at all levels of the regional community including; schools, band councils, town councils, chambers of commerce, stakeholder groups and community meetings.
The Skeena watershed is a large complex ecosystem on an internationally significant scale. The recent pace of development proposed in the Skeena is challenging for any one person or group of people to keep with. Our public education programs utilize a well connected network of government, industry, NGO, First Nation and community service groups to deliver forward moving education and outreach products.
Education is the foundation of effective stewardship and sustainable development planning.
Conservation Camps for Kids
2008 will be our 4th year of operation with the Cliffs at Kispiox River organizing and instructing camps for youth aged 10-17. This year will host 4 weeks of camps in August at the wilderness resort where participants learn to identify edible & medicinal plants, swiftwater safety, bear awareness, tracking and the art of wildlife identification, campfire cooking, oaring a raft, horsemanship, fly-fishing and MUCH more. All these skills are integrated with a conservation based curriculum that helps instill our youth with a unique and passionate connection to nature. Most students come from the local area and the camps this year boast a number of international students. SWCC donates the skills of our outdoor instructors and camp facilitators and would like to thank BC Parks, Raven Rescue and Kispiox Fishing Company for donating their expertise as well. For more information, please and receive a free brochure.
Skeena Watershed School Curriculum
SWCC is organizing with forestry, biology, math, geography and outdoor recreation teachers from regional schools to develop a Skeena Watershed School Curriculum. This program will introduce locally relevant lesson plans to traditional academic course loads. The long term goal of the Skeena Watershed School Curriculum is to fully incorporate Skeena specific lesson plans into regional school programs, helping to bridge classroom academics with the Skeena watershed.
These lesson plans include; skeena geography (global, regional, local), trip planning exercises, goggle earth mapping, upper Skeena flora and fauna, pacific wild salmon ecology and fire ecology.
The watershed’s future leaders are in the regional school system now. By providing teachers with locally engaging lesson plans, we will help students incorporate their educational experience with a growing sense of community service and stewardship.
To sign your class up for a Skeena specific lesson plan or learn more about the long term goals of this educational project contact:
Usually hosted once per month in a number of communities within the watershed, our film nights are home to many of the initiatives working within the watershed and internationally. Admission is always by donation and many stay after the film for a discussion. To find out what film is playing next in your community, contact:
Where’s Our Food - Workshops
The Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition (SWCC) recently partnered with the Storytellers Foundation to deliver a series of hands on workshops in the schools to look at issues of food and waste - and also to invite students to get involved in community development service learning opportunities.
The workshops address one of SWCC’s main visions of cultivating a sustainable future from our sustainable environment through providing the youth and region’s children with educational programs that allow them to learn about the values within their watershed.
One of the values in our watershed that has been identified through research at Storytellers Foundation is that of: food is important and central to our communities. The Storytellers foundation “supports citizens of the Upper Skeena to further define, and act towards, a social and economic density that sustains healthy ecosystems.
The workshops, that are delivered to grades 4 through 7, encourage the youth and children to think critically about community issues, to make personal change because of this and to take action for the common good. Students learn about our local food system, explore issues around food miles and waste, and take action by planting seedlings and building a greenhouse.
While learning about the values within their watershed, we hope to encourage young people think critically and make change. For more information contact: