The Skwlax Nation in the Shuswap says its been able to work out an agreement with the Ministry of Forests connected the recovery from the 2023 Bush Creek East fire.

Skwlax says Kupki7 James Tomma and representatives of the Ministry of Forests signed a letter of commitment on Friday, July 26th, which it says came after 8 months of negotiations among the Band and various provincial agencies.

“When we first brought this forward to the province, they were reluctant to talk about it,” said Tomma in a release put out by the Nation. “The timing of them wanting to discuss this is unprecedented. They are showing that they are serious in working with First Nations government on these types of issues and on the environment as a whole.”

Specific details of the agreement have not been made public.

However, the main issue appears to be the harvesting of morel mushrooms, which have been growing in huge numbers in the aftermath of last year’s fire.

“This brought hundreds of pickers from outside the area into the Shuswap,” said the Skwlax Nation in its release. “The Band believes that as ‘caretakers’ of the land, they should have first rights to harvest the mushrooms for traditional medicines and uses. Historically, the mushroom picking industry has been unregulated. It’s popularity has resulted in mushrooms being sold for $50 per pound.”

The Band established a check point earlier this summer at the access road into its traditional territory amid concerns about damage being done to the area, as well as the Nation’s ability for its own people to profit from the morel mushroom harvest.

“Now the real work starts,” said Tomma. “We will sit down very soon with the provincial representatives and develop a comprehensive action plan that more effectively addresses the priorities of fire recovery and land stewardship. In November of this year this plan will be submitted to the new BC government for ratification.”

Ministry confirms agreement

“We are working collaboratively on post-wildfire recovery with Skwlax te Secwepemculecw as rights and title holders,” said the Ministry of Forests in a statement to Radio NL. “The Ministry of Forests has signed a Letter of Commitment with Skwlax where we agree to work together on long-term, mutually beneficial actions that supports fire recovery in the region.”

It goes on to say that the Ministry recognizes that “Skwlax has already completed many recovery actions and we will continue to work together on developing a detailed plan that may include co-developing a wildfire recovery plan, fire guard rehabilitation, ecosystem recovery and reforestation, professional assessments related to fire recovery efforts and assessing opportunities to partnership on future fire rehabilitation projects.”

It also states that “picking mushrooms is an activity shared by many people in B.C. and everyone should be aware and respectful of the First Nation territories they are on.”