Kitlope Heritage Conservancy

Kitlope Heritage Conservancy on British Columbia’s Pacific coast protects the world’s largest continuous tract of coastal temperate rainforest, spanning 322,020 hectares of river valleys, mountains, glaciers, and fjord-linked wilderness in the Haisla ancestral homeland. The Haisla long used the Kitlope for hunting and fishing and were especially known for producing oolichan grease. After the Haisla and Ecotrust pushed to stop logging in the early 1990s, West Fraser surrendered its lease in 1994, and the province established protection in 1996 in consultation with the Haisla Nation. Redesignated a conservancy in 2008, it became an early cornerstone of Great Bear Rainforest protection and is co-managed for cultural and ecological stewardship.

British Columbia · Canada