A& - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 14. 1995

War in woods
may be averted

By JOHN YOUNG
Special to the Terrace Standard
A SUMMER-LONG war in the
woods appears to have been
headed off in Gitxsan country.

Representatives for the provin-
cial government and the Gitxsan
emerged from meetings last week
cautiously optimistic about a new
consultation process,

For a couple of years now both
sides have been at loggerheads
over exactly how consultation
should take place when it comes
to cutting trees in traditional
Gitxsan territory.

Last week they developed a
way to include more detailed in-
put from Gitxsan chiefs and their
house groups,

Prince Rupert Region forest
manager Jim Snetsinger said all
operations involving cutting
permits, road building and timber
sales on Gitxsan territory over the
next year will be marked on a
map and passed on to the Gitxsan
Treaty Office.

“The GTO will take that and
then inform us who we should be
contacting,’ Snetsinger said,

“They'll do some internal com-
munication with the house chiefs
or the wing chiefs and they’ll
make a decision on who they
want 1o talk to the ministry of
forests,”

Until now confusion has
reigned over exactly which chief
speaks for a particular area and
who has the final say.

“That's why we're going to let
that be worked out within the in-
lernal Gittsan organization, be-
cause it seems to be a litlle dif-
ferent from house to house,”
Snetsinger said.

Gitxsan spokesman Gordon
Sebastian said he’s proceeding
cautiously with the plan.

“Everything's looking better,'’
Sebastian said Friday,

“Tf these processes will be im-
plemented and have some results,
then the Gitxsan will be happy.
But we'll wait and see for that.’”

Gitxsan chiefs were prepared to

shut down logging after learning .

that 102 separate cutblocks were

up for harvest this summer, . an ee

Sebastian said,

“The ministry is put on notice
that it’s going to be a dog fight as

they advance into each new house

territory, unless everybody’s

satisfied with the process.’*
Snetsinger said the new consul-

Blockade
comes
down

A OGITXSAN house group’s

blockade on a forest road near
Hazelton came down Friday, and
now the logging hot spot will
Serve as a test case for a new con-
sultation process, says head
Gitxsan speaker Gordon
Sebastian.

"We're basically getting a pre-
view as to how practical this con-
sultation process is going to be,’*
Sebastian said.

The Salton River Road block-
ade came down after a day-long
mecting at the Gitxsan Treaty OF
fice in Hazelton last Thursday. ~

Tt was agreed that logging oper-
ations will be postponed until
everyone involved takes a more
thorough look at Cutblock 408, at
the centre of the dispute.

In return, the Gitxsan house
group involved in the dispute
pulled down their roadblock, and
Skeena Cellulose Inc, dropped its
court application for an injunction
to remove the barrier.

This week representatives from -

the Gitxsan, the forests ministry,
and Skeena Cellulose will walk
the cutblock and collect informa-
tion on traditional aboriginal
bunting, fishing, trapping and
berry picking areas,

Regional manager Jim Snet-
singer sald the ministry will take
the new information and decide

whether to amend. the cutting

permit te meet those necds.

But it al] must happen by next
Priday, June 16, the deadline set
for a decision,

“Tf they’re (the Gitxsan house
group) not happy, the decision
sull gets made by the legislated
decision maker, who is the dis-
trict manager,’’ Snetsinger said.

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After meetings last Tuesday
night and most of Wednesday in
Smithers, the two sides drew up
an interim draft document spell-
ing out the deal, Now the pro-
vince and the Gitxsan must ratify
the deal,

The map should be provided to
the GTO within a couple of
weeks, Snetsinger said.

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—

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