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INTRODUCTION / INTRODUCTION
Public geoscience to reduce exploration risk: newmethods to characterize the basement beneathgeological cover and to address communityengagement in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region ofBritish Columbia1,2
James W. Haggart, Josephine M. Harris, and Christine A. Hutton
Abstract: Mineral and petroleum exploration in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region of British Columbia is hampered by wide-spread and extensive cover of Pleistocene glacial deposits and Tertiary volcanic successions. Seeing through this geologicalcover is critical to reducing exploration risk and enhancing exploration activity. Also critical to exploration is effective com-munity engagement, hopefully resulting in endorsement and support for exploration initiatives. The forests in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region have been extensively destroyed by an infestation of the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae,disrupting established communities and greatly affecting economic activity in the region. Governments of all levels recog-nized that geological exploration activity could provide a ready and appreciable stimulus to economic activity, but only if lo-cal communities endorsed such programs. Relatively little oil and gas exploration and research has taken place in theregion, and its effects have been poorly understood locally. Consequently, an extended effort was undertaken to establish anintegrated geoscience program for the Cariboo-Chilcotin region, focused on mineral and petroleum exploration-related re-search and coupled with engagement with local communities to inform them of exploration benefits and risks. This Intro-duction to the “Mountain Pine Beetle” Special Issue of Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences provides a brief overview ofthe scientific papers included in the issue and also a review of the community engagement process that was undertaken toestablish working relationships with First Nations and other communities in the region.
Résumé : L’exploration minérale et pétrolière dans la région de Cariboo-Chilcotin de la Colombie-Britannique est entravéepar le couvert extensif et généralisé de dépôts glaciaires datant du Pléistocène et de suites volcaniques datant du Tertiaire. Ilest essentiel de voir à travers ce couvert géologique pour accroître les activités d’exploration et en réduire les risques. L’en-gagement communautaire est aussi essentiel, espérant qu’il en découle une acceptation et un appui pour les initiatives d’ex-ploration. Les forêts de la région de Cariboo-Chilcotin ont été grandement détruites par une infestation du dendroctone dupin ponderosa, Dendroctonus ponderosae, ébranlant les communautés établies et affectant grandement l’activité économiquede la région. Tous les niveaux de gouvernement reconnaissent que les activités d’exploration géologique pourraient fournirun stimulus opportun et appréciable aux activités économiques, mais uniquement si les communautés locales appuient detels programmes. Il s’est effectué relativement peu d’exploration pour le gaz et le pétrole dans cette région et ses effets sontlocalement mal compris. C’est la raison pour laquelle de grands efforts ont été consentis à l’établissement d’un programmede géosciences intégré pour la région de Cariboo-Chilcotin; ce programme cible la recherche reliée à l’exploration minéraleet pétrolière et il est jumelé à un engagement envers les communautés locales de les informer des avantages et des risquesde l’exploration. Cette introduction au numéro spécial de la Revue canadienne des sciences de la Terre sur le dendroctone
Received 7 February 2011. Accepted 9 March 2011. Published at www.nrcresearchpress.com/cjes on 5 July 2011.
Paper handled by Associate Editor George Spence.
J.W. Haggart. Geological Survey of Canada, 625 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 5J3, Canada.J.M. Harris. Jo Harris & Associates, 2502 Prior Street, Victoria, BC V8T 3X6, Canada; Formerly Senior Project Manager, CommunityRelations Branch, BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Victoria, BC, Canada.C.A. Hutton. Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0E8, Canada.
Corresponding author: James Haggart (e-mail: [email protected]).1This article introduces a series of papers published in this Special Issue on the theme of New insights in Cordilleran Intermontanegeoscience: reducing exploration risk in the mountain pine beetle-affected area, British Columbia. James Haggart is the Special Issueguest editor.
2Geological Survey of Canada Contribution 20100476.
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Can. J. Earth Sci. 48: 861–869 (2011) doi:10.1139/E11-020 Published by NRC Research Press
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du pin ponderosa permet une brève vue d’ensemble des articles scientifiques dans ce numéro et elle présente une analysedes processus d’engagement communautaire qui ont été entrepris afin d’établir des relations de travail avec les Premières na-tions et d’autres communautés de la région.
[Traduit par la Rédaction]
Assessing the character and resource potential of basementrocks beneath geologic cover, such as glacial drift or signifi-cant thicknesses of sedimentary and volcanic strata, remainsan outstanding challenge to the exploration geologist. In theCariboo-Chilcotin region of British Columbia, this problemis particularly acute. Petroleum and base metal explorationtargets within and flanking the Mesozoic sedimentary succes-sion of the Nechako basin, for example, are covered by a sig-nificant thickness (up to ca. 300 m) of Tertiary lacustrine andvolcaniclastic strata and basalts, as well as locally thick accu-mulations of Pleistocene and Quaternary glacial drift. Theyounger geological cover masks the distribution of potentialresources in the subsurface and restricts assessment of thestructural geology and history of older successions that maybe key to the accumulation and concentration of resources.The challenge for exploration-oriented public geoscience isto identify methodologies and techniques that allow imagingof these hidden targets to encourage cost-effective petroleumand mineral exploration.An equally significant, but often ignored, non-technical
challenge also exists, the undertaking of local community en-gagement, not only prior to development of a potential re-source, but prior to even initiating exploration programs. Itis critical to apprise local communities of the potential bene-fits and impacts of any resource exploration and developmentprograms. This is especially important in the resource-richProvince of British Columbia, where First Nations landclaims remain largely unresolved. Keeping local communitiesinformed at each step along the exploration and developmentpath becomes a crucial challenge for the public geoscientistand the resource developer. Failure to earn the social licensefrom potentially affected communities may result in delay,postponement, or outright cancellation of costly research andexploration programs.This Special Issue of Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
presents new data, methodologies, interpretations, and mod-els of resource-rich basement rocks beneath geological coverderiving from public agency-funded research in the mountainpine beetle-affected region of British Columbia. Other re-search results have been generated from this multi-agencyfunding program, and interested readers are directed to thepublications of the British Columbia Geological Survey(Ministry of Forests, Mines and Lands) and the Geoscienceand Natural Gas Development Branch (Ministry of NaturalResource Operations) (both formerly part of the Ministry ofEnergy, Mines and Petroleum Resources), Geoscience BC,and the Geological Survey of Canada for additional contribu-tions. In addition, we attempt in this Introduction to summa-rize initiatives that were undertaken by relevant government
and science-funding agencies to engage the First Nationscommunities ultimately affected by these research effortsprior to undertaking activities and to pave the way for subse-quent positive engagements with industry explorationists.
The mountain pine beetle and its impact
The foundation of British Columbia’s economy includesthe extraction and processing of its natural resources. In2009, resource-based industries accounted for one-quarter ofthe province’s total gross domestic product (GDP)3 and for-estry, minerals, and energy products remain the province’smain exports.
Over the past decade, the forest industry has been particu-larly hard-hit because of the devastating impact of a recentmountain pine beetle epidemic. The mountain pine beetle,Dendroctonus ponderosae, is a small insect, less than 1 cmlong, which lives under the outer bark of pine trees (Fig. 1).This insect usually plays a useful role in attacking and weed-ing out old or weakened trees, thereby renewing the forest.However, recent unusually hot, dry summers and mild win-ters, combined with forests heavily populated with maturelodgepole pine, have destabilized its environment. The lackof hard winters has resulted in a beetle population explosionof record proportions that started in 1999, peaked about2005, and is only now beginning to subside. Unfortunately,the beetle and the fungus it carries on its tongue kills thetrees it has infected and eventually renders the wood unmar-ketable.
The British Columbia Forest Service estimates that ap-proximately 45 million m3 of mature merchantable pine onthe Timber Harvesting Land Base (THLB) had been killedby the summer of 2009 (p. 5)3 and projects the infestationwill kill approximately 65% of the provincial merchantablepine volume by 20164 (Fig. 2). The mountain pine beetleoutbreak created a rush of forestry activity in the provincewith the annual allowable cut ramped up to harvest the dyingtrees. The harvesting and salvaging surge will ultimately de-cline, however, as the trees rot and lose their commercialvalue.
Governments at all levels recognized that new mines andenergy development projects could provide excellent, long-term employment opportunities for communities devastatedby the mountain pine beetle epidemic. Provincial and federalpolicymakers and scientists also recognized the necessity forintegrated research to help offset economic and social im-pacts by providing public geoscience data as a driver for fur-ther economic activity. They committed to developing a
3Quick Facts About British Columbia 2010 Edition. BC Stats, Ministry of Citizens’ Services (www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/data/bcfacts.asp).4Provincial-level projection of the current mountain pine beetle outbreak: update of the infestation projection based on the 2009 ProvincialAerial Overview of Forest Health and the BCMPB model (Year 7) by Adrian Walton, Research Branch, BC Forest Service, 11 May 2010.
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modern geoscience framework for the area as a key first stepto stimulating and guiding exploration for nonrenewable re-sources in the region and developing an improved under-standing of the region’s mineral and hydrocarbon potential.
A multi-agency response plan
The British Columbia Ministry of Forests initially createda program of action plans to encompass early beetle detectiontechnologies, beetle control harvesting, options for adjustingtimber flows across mills, and management practices for sal-vage operations. At the operational level, the mountain pinebeetle epidemic forced the forest industry to redirect plannedtimber development to beetle-kill areas.In 2006, the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines,
and Petroleum Resources (BCMEMPR5) instituted the initialphase of the Nechako Initiative, a key component of the BCEnergy Plan, to undertake geoscience research and reduce in-vestment risk through developing and spearheading a com-munity and First Nations engagement program in centralBritish Columbia. Mineral and energy exploration was con-sidered by all levels of government as one of the most effec-tive ways to help diversify the resource economies of beetle-infested areas and provide well-paying jobs in communitiesfacing declining forestry-sector employment. It was antici-pated that the new geoscience data would both attract the ex-ploration industry to this geologically challenging region andassist them to target resources more effectively.Mineral and energy exploration industries typically seek to
invest where the likelihood of success for extracting the re-source is high and where social license is available in the sur-rounding or host communities. Although previous researchand exploration investigations had indicated that the Cari-boo-Chilcotin region held potential geologic riches, therehad been no specific communications program with the localcommunities to help them understand the benefits, and poten-tial risks, of developing those resources. As a result, in 2006the BCMEMPR, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; Geo-logical Survey of Canada), and Geoscience BC6 establishedthe “Collaborative Geoscience Plan for BC,” a plan driven bythe need to ensure that individual geoscience and community
activities were coordinated and complementary, maximizedthe benefits of the research funding, and avoided redundan-cies. In addition, as outstanding land claims necessitated en-gaging First Nations for certain activities related to the land,a coordinated process to address community engagement wasrecognized as mandatory. This plan included components ofthe BCMEMPR’s Beetle Infested Zone Project, NRCan’sGeoscience for Mountain Pine Beetle Response and TargetedGeoscience Initiative 3 Cordilleran projects, and GeoscienceBC’s Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative.
Geoscience resultsIndustry’s reluctance to undertake continued exploration in
the Cariboo-Chilcotin region of the Intermontane is owing toat least three technical issues:
1. the lack of modern, high-resolution geoscientific informa-tion on the subsurface;
2. a poor understanding of the tools best capable of imagingbeneath the barren surface rocks and glacial sediments;and
3. a lack of oil and gas tenure provisions in the Nechako re-gion by the British Columbia government.Government and science-funding agencies sought to rem-
edy these through support of geological, geochemical, andgeophysical surveys, including pilot geophysical activities de-signed to test the suitability of specific methodologies to im-age the complex geology of the Cariboo-Chilcotin region. Allof the geoscience programs were designed to help providethe exploration geologist with improved geoscience informa-tion on the nature, distribution, and structural style of thegeology and resource potential underlying the obscuringcover.
Differing interpretations of stratigraphic successions anddifferent assessments of the quality of various geosciencedata sets have resulted in inconsistent applications of geo-logic nomenclature and correlation concepts within the Cari-boo-Chilcotin region. For example, the geological literatureconcerning the Nechako basin includes a nearly incompre-hensible lexicon of stratigraphic units, based on a long his-tory of local application of stratigraphic nomenclature. This
Fig. 1. Dendroctonus ponderosae, the mountain pine beetle. (A) Adult stage beetle, ×12. (B) Beetle galleries, with adult and larval stagebeetles, ×3. Images by Dion Manastyrski, copyright British Columbia Ministry of Natural Resource Operations.
5Renamed in 2010 to the Ministry of Natural Resource Operations.6Geoscience BC is an industry-led, not-for-profit society created in 2005, and funded through grants from the Province of British Columbia.
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is compounded by the geologic context of large-scale re-gional structures that isolate strata into geographically associ-ated structural blocks whose genetic ties are typicallyunknown. Indeed, it is well known that the geographic extentand stratigraphic definition of the Nechako basin, and evenits name, are not firmly established. Despite concerted effortsto simplify (see contributions in this volume by Riddell andFerri, for example), consensus has not been reached on basicassumptions of stratigraphic nomenclature and succession.Although it is beyond the scope of the contributions withinthis Special Issue to resolve these conflicting interpretationsof data, the differing interpretations presented hereinhighlight the challenges that confront the next generation ofstratigraphers, geophysicists, basin analysts, and mineralsprospectors.
Advances in basin geologyCritical to understanding the nature of the subsurface strat-
igraphy and structure of Nechako basin is an assessment ofthe geology at the surface. The contribution by Janet Rid-dell7 reviews the Paleozoic–Tertiary geological context ofthe basin succession and identifies the principal geologicunits, their relationship to larger geologic terranes, and thegeologic and tectonic history that has brought them into jux-taposition. Riddell highlights the confusing state of strati-graphic nomenclature for the basin, related to lithologicheterogeneity and structural complication. The long historyof terrane interplay and structural activity in the Intermontaneregion has resulted in a confusing mosaic of surface geology,one that implies that interpretation of the subsurface geologywill not be easy.
Fig. 2. Map of the mountain pine beetle-impacted area of British Columbia. Map prepared by K. Buxton using data from Walton A., 2010:Provincial-level projection of the current mountain pine beetle outbreak: update of the infestation projection based on the 1999 to 2009; Pro-vincial Aerial Overviews of Forest Health (BCMPB. v7), www.for.gov.bc.ca/hre/bcmpb/.
7References to papers in this Special Issue have been bold highlighted.
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Accumulation of oil and gas is predicated on the presenceof sufficient organic matter in the basin to provide a source.Fil Ferri reviews the source rock potential of Lower to Mid-dle Jurassic strata, which are widely distributed across theNechako basin. A number of the Jurassic successions studiedby Ferri are characterized by high (>5%) levels of total or-ganic carbon, and most areas exhibit good thermal matura-tion levels, indicating the prospectivity of the basin. Ferrisuggests that local anoxia reflected in the Lower Jurassicstrata is possibly related to the global Toarcian event, whichis responsible for many other organic-rich successions of thisage in North America.Reservoirs and a conducive thermal maturation regime are
equally important components of a petroleum system assource rocks. Catherine MacLaurin et al. examine these as-pects in their assessment of the Cretaceous strata outcroppingaround the basin. This contribution reviews the geology ofthe Lower–Upper Cretaceous Jackass Mountain Group,which is widespread along the southern basin outcrop marginand is inferred to account for a significant portion of the sub-surface basin stratigraphy. MacLaurin and colleagues con-clude that the locally shallow-marine to deltaic nature ofJackass Mountain Group strata, not fully documented priorto their work, suggests the unit holds promise as a regionalreservoir. In addition, MacLaurin and colleagues documentlevels of thermal maturation of the Cretaceous strata suffi-cient for development of a gas resource.The traditional method of determination of ages of the
Cretaceous strata of Nechako basin via assessment of mollus-can faunas found in the basin-margin exposures is less usefulin dating and correlation among drill cores, which rarely in-tersect such fossils. Jim Haggart et al. have identified thefirst radiolarian and foraminiferal microfossils in Cretaceousstrata of the Intermontane basins of British Columbia. Theircontribution introduces a new tool for accurate dating ofdrilled strata that will complement the use of palynology indating and correlating future well successions in the basin.Mesozoic strata of the Nechako basin are covered by wide-
spread accumulations of Tertiary volcanic strata. Convention-ally, these strata had been considered to be widespread andthick, as exemplified by outcrops in stream and river valleyswhere they are best exposed. However, Graham Andrews etal. have compiled and modeled water-well drill log recordsacross the Interior Plateau region of British Columbia. Theresultant depth-to-bedrock maps show that thickness variabil-ity of the Neogene and Quaternary volcanic deposits wascontrolled strongly by paleotopography and that the “typical”exposures of these strata in fluvial valleys are uncharacteristi-cally thick compared with the thickness of the units acrossmost of their distribution. This observation is of critical im-portance in trying to assess the thickness of these volcanicpackages in the subsurface and the consequent depth to po-tential oil- and gas-bearing Mesozoic deposits. It is an inde-pendent test of their earlier model that significantly expandsthe extent of potentially mineralized bedrock not covered byTertiary basalt.Jessica Spratt and Jim Craven employ magnetotellurics
to assess the distribution of the Neogene volcanic deposits,confirming the assessment of Andrews and colleagues thatthis unit shows significant variations in thickness in the sub-
surface, with the greatest values found in presumed paleo-channels. Spratt and Craven are also able to recognizedifferences in resistivity between the Cretaceous, dominantlysedimentary, strata and Eocene volcaniclastic strata, provid-ing a potential tool for differentiating these units in the sub-surface. This is significant as Spratt and Craven also interpret alow-resistivity zone at the mid-crustal level to be a magma res-ervoir. The presence of localized, present-day magmatic sour-ces is important in interpreting the thermal history of the basin.
New insights into crustal structureIdentifying potential oil and gas horizons in the subsurface
of Nechako basin requires imaging through a thick mantle ofTertiary volcanic strata that is widely distributed across theregion. In the 1980s, attempts to address this entailed the ac-quisition of more than 1000 km of seismic reflection data.Reinterpreting this existing data set, Nathan Hayward andAndrew Calvert identified a number of depositional centreswithin the Nechako basin subsurface and recognized chang-ing tectonic regimes in the basin during Cretaceous to Eo-cene time. They document that the most recent structures arerelated to the northwest-trending Yalakom and north-trendingFraser fault systems, which have overprinted the older Creta-ceous structural grain, and that deposition of both basinalsedimentary strata and Eocene volcanic rocks was controlledmainly by these fault systems.
Andrew Calvert et al. describe results of a Vibroseis seis-mic survey conducted across the basin in 2008, which en-abled them to recognize significant variability in thethickness of inferred Cretaceous subsurface strata, a numberof different Cretaceous sub-basins, and a structural regimewherein Cretaceous strata in the subsurface are preserved ina network of fault-bounded basins, rather than as a geograph-ically widespread unit. Similar to the contribution of Hay-ward and Calvert, Calvert and colleagues also infer astructural history characterized by Late Cretaceous thrustingfollowed by Eocene extension or transtension.
Conventional seismic interpretations are often impeded be-cause of the strong velocity inversion that occurs at the baseof the volcanic packages. Oluwaseyi Idowu et al. utilize am-bient noise surface-wave tomography to address this problem,and their resultant velocity models identify and map twoprincipal bedrock packages in the subsurface of the basin,with associated high-velocity (possibly volcanic?) units. Im-portantly, Idowu and colleagues provide estimates of thecrustal thicknesses of the sedimentary packages.
Andrew Stephenson et al. describe a refraction – wide-angle reflection seismic survey that was shot across the CoastMountains and Interior Plateau region, complementing workdone more locally in the basin region. From the data gener-ated, they are also able to recognize multiple sub-basinswithin the Nechako region and note that the thickness of thesedimentary successions is locally variable. Importantly, Ste-phenson and colleagues are able to provide depths to the baseof the crust along their study transect.
Understanding the context of mineralizationRocks of the Quesnel terrane of the eastern Intermontane
region, which geographically flank the Nechako basin alongits eastern margin, have long been recognized as a significant
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base- and precious-mineral exploration target. As with thebasinal strata, the extensive and thick glacial and Tertiaryvolcanic deposits obscure much of the local geology and hin-der mineral exploration. Several contributions in the SpecialIssue address regional geology and exploration techniques inthis area of British Columbia, in an effort to enhance pro-specting success.Michael Thomas et al. establish the importance of aero-
magnetic data as a geological mapping and exploration toolin their utilization of new aeromagnetic data to more pre-cisely define contacts between various lithological units andto define new faults within the Quesnel terrane, where muchof the bedrock is masked by widespread glacial deposits. Themagnetic data allow prediction of new intrusions within Tri-assic Nicola Group volcanic and Devonian–Triassic sedimen-tary rocks across the region, and beneath relatively youngChilcotin Group volcanic cover, establishing new targets forpossible porphyry- and vein-type mineralization. Finer detailsin the regional aeromagnetic patterns are used by Thomasand colleagues to differentiate Tertiary volcanic rocks of thebarren Chilcotin and potentially mineralized Kamloopsgroups.In the final two papers of the Special Issue, Alain Plouffe
and colleagues present new data on the ice-flow history ofsouth central British Columbia with direct applications tomineral exploration. In the first of these contributions,Plouffe et al. (a) establish the Late Wisconsinan glacial his-tory of the southern Interior Plateau region, recognizing mul-tiple directions of ice-flow movement and relating these toglacial transport as applicable to mineral exploration. In thesecond contribution, Plouffe et al. (b) present an applicationof the methodology for precise boulder-tracing to source. Anewly obtained isotopic age for mineralized erratic bouldersin south-central British Columbia enables Plouffe and col-leagues to target possible source plutons for the erratics. Inte-grating these data with the regional Quaternary ice-flowhistory paths points to the specific plutonic source-area inwhich exploration should be focused. In presenting the meth-odology and an example of its application, Plouffe and col-leagues provide a powerful tool of wide applicability tomineral exploration in the Interior Plateau.This Special Issue highlights just a few of the geoscience
initiatives undertaken in the Mountain Pine Beetle-affectedarea of British Columbia utilizing public agency funding.However, public geoscience work and First Nations consulta-tion in the region continue, and they extend beyond the re-sults presented in this volume; for example, GeoscienceBC’s QUEST and QUEST-West projects, both of whichwere also supported by the Northern Development InitiativeTrust. Additional new research results from all three fundingagencies will be forthcoming when complete, and interestedreaders are referred to the Web sites of Geoscience BC(www.geosciencebc.com/s/MPBInitiative.asp), BCMEMPR(www.gov.bc.ca/nro/), and NRCan (gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/book-store/catalogue_e.php) as portals to this research.
Community engagement strategies
First Nations considerationsThe Cariboo-Chilcotin region, which extends from High-
way 97 west to the Coast Mountains ranges, is home to 17
First Nations whose oral history records them inhabiting thearea since the last ice age, or approximately 10 000 years.Archaeological evidence confirms that the ancestors of to-day’s First Nations people occupied British Columbia at leastas early as the end of the last ice age, ten to twelve thousandyears ago. The First Nations maintain strong ties to the land,describe it as their breadbasket, and keenly feel the effects ofits disruption. Rather than relocate to new economic opportu-nities, many First Nations individuals often feel an obligationto stay and provide a productive land base for future genera-tions; for these individuals, moving away is typically viewedas a last resort.
Before Canada evolved as a country, Britain recognizedthat its indigenous people had interests in the land that couldnot be disregarded by settlers or speculators. The Royal Pro-clamation of 1763 established and protected these interests.Elsewhere in Canada, the British Crown established severallarge treaties with First Nations prior to Confederation.Although forming a condition of the “Terms of Union,” thisprocess was never completed in British Columbia and wasbalked at by various provincial and federal governments overtime. Prior to British Columbia joining Confederation in1871, only 14 very small treaties (the Douglas Treaties) hadbeen signed on Vancouver Island. In 1899, the significantTreaty Eight “between the Indians of North America and theQueen of England,” covering several other provinces and ter-ritories and part of northeast British Columbia, was signed,agreeing to terms for reasons of peace and friendship. Landclaims in the remainder of the Province remained unresolvedand actively opposed by successive British Columbia govern-ments. It was not until 1982, when the Constitution Act con-firmed that Canada’s aboriginal peoples had legally protectedrights, that First Nations could force the issue themselvesthrough the courts. In 1993, First Nations were finally ableto pursue their aboriginal rights outside the legal system,through the British Columbia treaty process.
Positions have become entrenched since Confederation.The negotiated settlement process is lengthy and time con-suming. There have only been a handful of modern treatiessigned with the more than 200 First Nations communities inBritish Columbia. Significantly, there are no treaties in theCariboo-Chilcotin region. As in other parts of the province,some of the First Nations in the region have chosen to notparticipate in the treaty settlement process but rather to pur-sue their land claims in court. The uncertainty surroundingland status in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region presents chal-lenges to potential investment, and researchers and resourcedevelopers need to be sensitive to the issue. Consequently,community engagement with First Nations was recognizedas a high priority of the Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative.
Community engagement objectivesThe provincial and federal governments and Geoscience
BC recognized that a twofold approach to enhancing resourcedevelopment was required in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region —a geoscience research program to increase the understandingof minerals and energy prospectivity, and a parallel outreachprogram to communicate with communities on the potentialfor oil and gas and minerals deposits, to assess what industryexploration programs might involve, and to determine what
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local concerns and interests might be with regard to this “for-eign” activity. Many myths concerning exploration aboundedin the region, including stories of capped producing oil wells,drilling rigs being moved under cover of darkness, and oilcompanies buying housing and business properties in readi-ness for an influx of oil workers.A key initial challenge was to identify and meet with the
people with appropriate authority to represent the mountainpine beetle-affected communities. Geoscience BC andBCMEMPR held numerous meetings and consultation ses-sions with individual communities in the Nechako basin re-gion. In addition, both BCMEMPR and Geoscience BC staffheld meetings with local development agencies (e.g., the Re-gional District of Buckley-Nechako, the Omineca Beetle Ac-tion Coalition, the Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition,and the First Nations Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative). Allmeetings were designed to raise awareness in local commun-ities of the value of geoscience in assessing resource poten-tial and attracting resource exploration and developmentinvestment. In response to this engagement initiative, wide-spread community support was established for the proposedgeoscience projects in the mountain pine beetle-affectedarea. The following description of engagement activities fo-cuses largely on the activities undertaken related to oil andgas development.
First Nations engagement programsConsultation programs were developed by and with the
various First Nations. In an unconventional communicationseffort, BCMEMPR staff first consulted key First Nations’ or-ganizations, seeking their insights on the most appropriateand effective approach. BCMEMPR met with the leaders ofthe First Nations Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative8, followedby the tribal councils and chiefs, to outline a proposed ap-proach and to seek their advice on the most effective meansfor direct information exchange with the 17 First Nationscommunities of the southern Nechako region.Seven information workshops were organized in the com-
munities in May 2007 to initiate dialogue and relationshipbuilding. Using limited funding from BCMEMPR, the tribalcouncils and independent First Nations each identified a localrepresentative to organize the timing, location, catering, cul-tural event, advertising, and other logistics associated withtheir community meeting. The information sessions werehosted around community meals catered by the communities.The Tsilhqot’in National Government advertised the sessionsin the local press and invited the Williams Lake-area generalpublic to share in the dialogue.At the 2007 sessions, BCMEMPR, the British Columbia
Oil and Gas Commission, and Geoscience BC discussedhow oil and gas is formed, what the likelihood is for theirdevelopment in the Nechako basin, what the challengeswere, and how First Nations could be involved in the assess-ment of, and benefit from, opportunities relating to oil andgas exploration and development. BC Ministry of Environ-ment representatives were also present and participated inthe discussion. The First Nations responded with informationabout their communities, their history and attitudes toward
development, and their initial concerns and interests relatedto potential oil and gas development.
Of the 51 comments and questions recorded at the 2007workshops (Fig. 3), the participating First Nations conveyedthe most interest in receiving more information on oil andgas activities (16 responses), with reassurance on how the en-vironment would be protected (13) identified as an additionalsignificant concern. Interest was expressed in training, em-ployment, contracting, and other economic benefits (8), treatyand accommodation issues (5), and capacity (2). Overall, thecommunities varied widely in their potential reception to re-search and oil and gas exploration activities. Only one FirstNation advised that ongoing litigation necessarily precludedthem from participation at that time. Other communities, no-tably Nazko First Nation, expressed urgent interest in pursu-ing potential economic benefits related to oil and gasexploration and development.
As a result of contacts made during the workshops, a Geo-science BC seismic program was undertaken during theSummer of 2008, funded by Geoscience BC and the North-ern Development Initiative Trust through their MountainPine Beetle Recovery Account. Geoscience BC made theprovision of training and hiring opportunities for the NazkoFirst Nation, a requirement of the Nechako Vibroseis seismicsurvey contract, and Nazko First Nation individuals partici-pated in the work as observers, providing guidance on cul-tural impacts, and as members of the seismic crew.
In March 2009, NRCan hosted a series of follow-up work-shops to present initial results of research activities in localcommunities. Nazko First Nation again assisted with a one-day session in Quesnel, while the Carrier Chilcotin TribalCouncil (CCTC) assisted with a 1.5 day session at WilliamsLake. In a departure from tradition, both Nazko and theCCTC invited other First Nations communities in the Chilco-tin-Nechako region to attend their sessions.
The First Nations played a stronger role at the 2009 work-shops, acting as co-presenters (Fig. 4). Alec Chingee, formerChief of the McLeod Lake Indian Band, conveyed his band’sexperience working with the oil and gas exploration and de-
Fig. 3. Summary of topics and questions raised by First Nationscommunities in the 2007 workshops.
8Chief Dan George and Don Caverley.
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velopment industry, particularly from a business perspective,while Nazko First Nation representatives Titi Kunkel andStewart Alec reported on their experiences as part of theGeoscience BC seismic crew in the summer of 2008.At the 2009 sessions, NRCan reiterated the federal govern-
ment’s interest in improving the geoscience framework ofcentral British Columbia and shared preliminary results fromGeological Survey of Canada ground and airborne surveys;BCMEMPR clarified the respective roles of all agencies in-volved, including NRCan, the BC Oil and Gas Commission,and Geoscience BC, and provided an update on regional pro-vincial activities. The sessions provided the opportunity torenew associations formed at the 2007 workshops, and servedto dispel misinformation about oil and gas exploration in theregion, demystify the science, and provide the latest mapsand information for direct use by the First Nations. Researchactivities and results were summarized in lay terms and pre-sented in several Geological Survey of Canada publications9, 10.By the conclusion of the engagement initiative, over 400
members of the Cariboo-Chilcotin First Nations communitieshad directly participated in the geoscience outreach informa-tion program.
Engagement lessons learnedLessons learned from the engagement sessions with the
First Nations communities include the following:
• Engagement is most effective if started as early as possiblebefore geoscientists begin field programs.
• Understanding of the culture, attitudes, and aspirations of
local First Nations, and, particularly, their individual re-ceptivity to research and development, should be factoredinto the development of all exploration and developmentprograms.
• Communication approaches and information sharing pro-tocols must be tailored to the needs and preferences of in-dividual First Nations.
• Long-term programs must be established to provide effec-tive technology transfer between government agencies, theresearch community, and First Nations communities to en-able information to be incorporated in land use policy, de-cision-making, and other uses.
Summary
Both the geology and the social fabric of the Cariboo-Chilcotin region of British Columbia have been convention-ally acknowledged as complex, thus presenting a two-foldchallenge to exploration and development. The devastationcaused by the mountain pine beetle provided an opportunityfor multiple levels of government to address both of these is-sues in an integrated manner. As a result, the local geosci-ence knowledge base has been enhanced. Just as importantly,the local community knowledge base has been similarly aug-mented. As part of the commitment to a dialogue with localcommunities, the engagement activities described here consti-tute a first step in ongoing technology transfer between theparticipating agencies, industry, and the First Nations of theCariboo-Chilcotin.
Fig. 4. Drummers from the Tsq’escen First Nation (Canim Lake Band) at the 2009 Williams Lake community workshop. Elder George Pete,centre, Melvin Paul at left, Chief Mike Archie at right. Courtesy of Chief Mike Archie and the Tsq’escen.
9Haggart, J.W., Hutton, C.A., Pilkington, M., and Thomas, M.D. 2010. The Geological Survey of Canada’s Mountain Pine Beetle Project —airborne surveys. Geological Survey of Canada, Scientific Presentation 4, PowerPoint presentation, 39 p.10Haggart, J.W., Hutton, C.A., Plouffe, A., Spratt, J.E., Craven, J.A., and Cassidy, J.F. 2010. The Geological Survey of Canada’s MountainPine Beetle Project — ground surveys. Geological Survey of Canada, Scientific Presentation 5, PowerPoint presentation, 63 p.
868 Can. J. Earth Sci., Vol. 48, 2011
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AcknowledgmentsWe thank Christa Sluggett and ‘Lyn Anglin (Geoscience
BC), and Dave Lefebure (British Columbia Geological Sur-vey) for information on their programs and activities to pro-mote geoscience research in the mountain pine beetle-affected region. Kevin Buxton (British Columbia Ministry ofNatural Resource Operations, Kamloops) is thanked for pro-viding advice about the mountain pine beetle, as well asgraphical images. Comprehensive reviews by Dave Lefebure,
and Bob Anderson and Carmel Lowe (Geological Survey ofCanada), greatly improved the presentation of the paper. Fi-nancial support for the research activities discussed in thisSpecial issue was provided by the Mountain Pine Beetle andTargeted Geoscience Initiative 3 programs of Natural Resour-ces Canada (NRCan), the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines andPetroleum Resources, and Geoscience BC. Financial supportfor publishing costs was provided by the NRCan TargetedGeoscience Initiative 4.
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