Grassland Restoration in Salmon River Indian Reserve #1

• Main Authors: Helen Davis, R. P. Bio, Richard Weir, Ve B, Artemis Wildlife Consultants
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Indian; First Nations
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.623.5506; http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/fia/2002/fia2002mr020.pdf

This document outlines the techniques and procedures that may be employed for the ecological restoration of 419 ha of IDFxh1 grasslands in the Clcahl traditional territory of the Splats’in First Nation (Salmon River Indian Reserve #1). The Splats’in First Nation has historically used this area for a variety of purposes, including gathering of food and medicinal plants, hunting, and grazing. The specific goals of the restoration program are to increase the health of native vegetation and restore the grasslands to a more natural setting so that traditional First Nations activities can be maintained. In September of 2001, 52 sites within IR#1 were assessed to determine the current ecological conditions within the grassland and open forest communities. We documented the presence of 120 species of plants, 85 of which were native species. However, we discovered that most areas within the grassland had been invaded by noxious weeds (8 species) or introduced (non-native) plants (27 species). In addition to invasion by undesirable plants, much of IR#1 has been affected by persistent high-intensity cattle grazing that has seriously degraded the