Coastal First Nations Receives Sierra Club US EarthCare award
(Vancouver, Sept. 10, 2016) – The Coastal First Nations, along with other groups, received the EarthCare award from Sierra Club US today.
The Sierra Club US award honours individuals and organizations that have made unique contributions to environmental protection and conservation. The Great Bear Rainforest is one of the largest remaining intact temperate rainforest areas in the world. The Great Bear Rainforest Agreements were announced February 1, 2016 in Vancouver.
Coastal First Nations Chair Kelly Russ said it is a great honour to receive the award. “We have all worked tirelessly for more than a decade to reach this point and our work is not yet complete. We understand that we must respect and care for our lands and waters so they can support coastal economies, cultures, communities and families. That includes respecting Indigenous values and laws by ending the trophy bear hunt.”
Other recipients of the EarthCare award include the Nanwakolas Council, British Columbia, Sierra Club BC, Greenpeace and Stand.earth as well as the stakeholder groups Interfor, Western Forest Products, BC Timber Sales, Catalyst Paper and Howe Sound Pulp and Paper.
Russ added the greatest lesson we learned through this process is that working together offers us a unique opportunity to move towards our common goals using a wide variety of expertise and talents found within our communities. “We all share a passion for our Traditional Territories – the place called the Great Bear Rainforest.”
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For more information:
Kelly Russ, Chair of the Coastal First Nations
Mobile: 604.828.4621
Email: kruss@coastalfirstnations.ca
The Coastal First Nations are an alliance of First Nations that includes the Wuikinuxv Nation, Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xaixais, Nuxalk, Gitga’at, Metlakatla, Old Massett, Skidegate, and Council of the Haida Nation who work together to create a sustainable economy on British Columbia’s North and Central Coast and Haida Gwaii.