Biocultural Stewardship

A large plank of cedar lumber was chiselled and pried from this culturally modified tree in Heiltsuk Territory.

The Great Bear Rainforest supports so much more than the much beloved mega fauna of its namesake. These rainforests have also been home to Coastal First Nations people for over 14,000 years. In some cases the forests themselves have been shaped by stewardship techniques that have been continually implemented from the deep past to the present.

My work is focused on the social-ecological or biocultural aspects of the region and how the existing relationships between people and place can be supported through ecosystem-based management. I am working with colleagues from the Heiltsuk and Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nations to develop novel methods and analytical techniques to help local lands managers continue to steward the biocultural values that are important to their communities. Culturally modified trees are one example of a biocultural value that can provide a window into past landscape use as well as a physical link between people and their ancestors. These values remain critically important today and for future generations.

Bryant DeRoy
MSc student and Raincoast Conservation Fellow