The interests and work of First Nations and several organizations overlap those of the Tatlayoko Field Station.
Friends & Neighbours
Tsilhqot’in National Government
The area-of-interest of the Tatlayoko Field Station lies within traditional territories identified by three First Nations. The largest of these is the traditional territory of the Tsilhqot’in Nation.
The Tsilhqot’in Nation is comprised of six communities: Tl’etinqox; Yunesit’in; Tl’esqox; ?Esdilagh; Tsideldel; Xeni Gwet’in.
After years of work and struggle to have Aboriginal rights recognized, in 2014 the Tsilhqot’in Nation was granted Aboriginal Title to more than 1700 square kilometres of land by the Supreme Court of Canada. The Title Area includes significant parts of the Tatlayoko and Chilko valleys and extends north to Cochin Lake (Gwedzin Biny). The title boundary is approximately one kilometre east of the Field Station.
A map of the Tsilhqot’in Title Area, as well as a map showing Tsilhqot’in language place names, is in our Maps section.
Ulkatcho First Nation
The Ulkatcho First Nation is one of four communities making up the southern Dakelh tribal nation. The other Dakelh communities are Lhoosk’us Dene, Nazko, and Lhtalo Dene. The Ulkatcho community and offices are located in Anahim Lake.
The Dakelh people are often referred to as Carrier, although this non-traditional name only became widespread after the arrival of Europeans. Ulkatcho people speak both Dakelh and Tsilhqot’in languages, both part of the Athapaskan language group.
Homalco First Nation
The southwest portion of the TFS area-of-interest lies within the Homalco First Nation traditional territory. This includes Southgate River, Homathko River, and Bute Inlet. Homalco territory also includes lands and waters south to Comox on Vancouver Island, including the Discovery Islands and Discovery Passage.
Until the 70’s and 80’s the principal Homalco community was at Church House at the head of Bute Inlet. The community and offices are now at Campbell River.
The Homalco (or Xwe’malhkwu) First Nation is a Northern Coast Salish culture, also called Mainland Comox. Their traditional language is part of the Salishan Language family.
Nature Conservancy of Canada
Nature Conservancy of Canada owns the property leased by TFSS and has been very supportive of our efforts to establish a field station. NCC owns several other properties at Tatlayoko, including Lincoln Creek Ranch, which adjoins TFS, and Tatlayoko Lake Ranch, just to the south. The Tatlayoko Lake Bird Observatory is located on Tatlayoko Lake Ranch. All of NCC’s Tatlayoko properties are potential sites for the education and research work of TFS.
BC Spaces for Nature
Based in the lower mainland, BC Spaces for Nature has had an important role in conservation in the Chilcotin for many decades. BC Spaces’ involvement in the Cariboo-Chilcotin land-use planning forums in the 1990’s was a key element in the establishment of the 17,575-hectare Homathko River—Tatlayoko Protected Area, whose northwest boundary is only a few kilometers from TFS. BC Spaces has been an advocate for a research base at Tatlayoko for many years.
BC Parks
Several nearby provincial parks have an important role in protecting the ecology of our region. These range from giant Tsyl’os Park (233,000 hectares) east of Tatlayoko to tiny (but very special) Patterson Lake Park (1595 hectares) near Tatla Lake. The northeast tip of the Homathko River—Tatlayoko Protected Area (17,575 hectares) is only a few kilometres from the Field Station. All of these parks and protected areas are invaluable resources for education and research.
Tatla Resource Association
The Tatla Resource Association has been an advocate for sustainable use of local resources for many years. The TRA developed a local land-use plan, one of the first (and best!) done by a rural community in BC, which was later incorporated into the Chilcotin Sub-Regional Plan. An extremely important TRA project is the establishment and ongoing management of the Eniyud Community Forest. The TRA provides funds to aid local community endeavours, such as the Health Clinic in Tatla Lake, playground equipment for the Tatla Lake school, and this TFS website. A recent TRA project was the establishment of a community website, Tatla Communities.
Eniyud Community Forest
The Eniyud Community Forest is a joint partnership of the Tsi Del Del First Nation in Redstone and the Tatla Resource Association. Established nearly fifteen years ago, ECF encompasses 115,000 hectares of forest land, making it the largest community forest in the province in terms of area. ECF is also one of the farthest from markets, in this case Williams Lake. We anticipate much future collaboration between the Field Station and the Community Forest for both research and education projects.