Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) is crucial to making informed decisions when it comes to the management of natural resources. Over three years, Ecofish worked collaboratively with Lake Babine Nation (LBN) on an Indigenous Stewardship Project (ISP) to map, classify, and assess wetlands in their traditional territory. The Project was developed to reflect IEK on wetland use and priorities gathered from the LBN community to better understand the importance of wetlands to the community and identify how and why wetland functions have changed over time.
Throughout the Project, Ecofish trained and mentored members of LBN in the collection of field data and provided the tools for identifying and monitoring the condition and functions of the wetlands in their traditional territory. The baseline information collected will be used by LBN to support land management decisions and their pursuit to conserve and protect wetlands in their territory.
Thank you to the Lake Babine Nation for sharing your IEK and allowing us to support you in your endeavors to develop an effective decision making framework to plan and prioritize land use.