Nechako

INTRODUCTION / INTRODUCTION
Public geoscience to reduce exploration risk: new
methods to characterize the basement beneath
geological cover and to address community
engagement in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region of
British 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 geological
cover 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 the
region, and its effects have been poorly understood locally. Consequently, an extended effort was undertaken to establish an
integrated 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 of
the scientific papers included in the issue and also a review of the community engagement process that was undertaken to
establish 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 entravée
par le couvert extensif et généralisé de dépôts glaciaires datant du Pléistocène et de suites volcaniques datant du Tertiaire. Il
est 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 du
pin ponderosa, Dendroctonus ponderosae, ébranlant les communautés établies et affectant grandement l’activité économique
de la région. Tous les niveaux de gouvernement reconnaissent que les activités d’exploration géologique pourraient fournir
un stimulus opportun et appréciable aux activités économiques, mais uniquement si les communautés locales appuient de
tels programmes. Il s’est effectué relativement peu d’exploration pour le gaz et le pétrole dans cette région et ses effets sont
localement mal compris. C’est la raison pour laquelle de grands efforts ont été consentis à l’établissement d’un programme
de géosciences intégré pour la région de Cariboo-Chilcotin; ce programme cible la recherche reliée à l’exploration minérale
et pétrolière et il est jumelé à un engagement envers les communautés locales de les informer des avantages et des risques
de 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, Community
Relations 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: jhaggart@nrcan.gc.ca).
1This article introduces a series of papers published in this Special Issue on the theme of New insights in Cordilleran Intermontane
geoscience: reducing exploration risk in the mountain pine beetle-affected area, British Columbia. James Haggart is the Special Issue
guest editor.
2Geological Survey of Canada Contribution 20100476.
861
Can. J. Earth Sci. 48: 861–869 (2011) doi:10.1139/E11-020 Published by NRC Research Press
Can.J.EarthSci.Downloadedfromwww.nrcresearchpress.combyCanadianSciencePublishingon05/07/15
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du pin ponderosa permet une brève vue d’ensemble des articles scientifiques dans ce numéro et elle présente une analyse
des 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 basement
rocks beneath geologic cover, such as glacial drift or signifi-
cant thicknesses of sedimentary and volcanic strata, remains
an outstanding challenge to the exploration geologist. In the
Cariboo-Chilcotin region of British Columbia, this problem
is particularly acute. Petroleum and base metal exploration
targets 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 and
volcaniclastic strata and basalts, as well as locally thick accu-
mulations of Pleistocene and Quaternary glacial drift. The
younger geological cover masks the distribution of potential
resources in the subsurface and restricts assessment of the
structural geology and history of older successions that may
be key to the accumulation and concentration of resources.
The challenge for exploration-oriented public geoscience is
to identify methodologies and techniques that allow imaging
of these hidden targets to encourage cost-effective petroleum
and 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. It
is critical to apprise local communities of the potential bene-
fits and impacts of any resource exploration and development
programs. This is especially important in the resource-rich
Province of British Columbia, where First Nations land
claims remain largely unresolved. Keeping local communities
informed at each step along the exploration and development
path becomes a crucial challenge for the public geoscientist
and the resource developer. Failure to earn the social license
from potentially affected communities may result in delay,
postponement, or outright cancellation of costly research and
exploration 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 cover
deriving from public agency-funded research in the mountain
pine beetle-affected region of British Columbia. Other re-
search results have been generated from this multi-agency
funding program, and interested readers are directed to the
publications of the British Columbia Geological Survey
(Ministry of Forests, Mines and Lands) and the Geoscience
and Natural Gas Development Branch (Ministry of Natural
Resource Operations) (both formerly part of the Ministry of
Energy, 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 Nations
communities ultimately affected by these research efforts
prior 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 includes
the extraction and processing of its natural resources. In
2009, resource-based industries accounted for one-quarter of
the province’s total gross domestic product (GDP)3 and for-
estry, minerals, and energy products remain the province’s
main exports.
Over the past decade, the forest industry has been particu-
larly hard-hit because of the devastating impact of a recent
mountain pine beetle epidemic. The mountain pine beetle,
Dendroctonus ponderosae, is a small insect, less than 1 cm
long, 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 mature
lodgepole pine, have destabilized its environment. The lack
of hard winters has resulted in a beetle population explosion
of record proportions that started in 1999, peaked about
2005, and is only now beginning to subside. Unfortunately,
the beetle and the fungus it carries on its tongue kills the
trees 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 on
the Timber Harvesting Land Base (THLB) had been killed
by the summer of 2009 (p. 5)3 and projects the infestation
will kill approximately 65% of the provincial merchantable
pine volume by 20164 (Fig. 2). The mountain pine beetle
outbreak created a rush of forestry activity in the province
with the annual allowable cut ramped up to harvest the dying
trees. The harvesting and salvaging surge will ultimately de-
cline, however, as the trees rot and lose their commercial
value.
Governments at all levels recognized that new mines and
energy development projects could provide excellent, long-
term employment opportunities for communities devastated
by the mountain pine beetle epidemic. Provincial and federal
policymakers and scientists also recognized the necessity for
integrated 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 Provincial
Aerial Overview of Forest Health and the BCMPB model (Year 7) by Adrian Walton, Research Branch, BC Forest Service, 11 May 2010.
862 Can. J. Earth Sci., Vol. 48, 2011
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modern geoscience framework for the area as a key first step
to 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 created
a program of action plans to encompass early beetle detection
technologies, beetle control harvesting, options for adjusting
timber flows across mills, and management practices for sal-
vage operations. At the operational level, the mountain pine
beetle epidemic forced the forest industry to redirect planned
timber development to beetle-kill areas.
In 2006, the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines,
and Petroleum Resources (BCMEMPR5) instituted the initial
phase of the Nechako Initiative, a key component of the BC
Energy Plan, to undertake geoscience research and reduce in-
vestment risk through developing and spearheading a com-
munity and First Nations engagement program in central
British 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 communities
facing 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 and
assist 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 research
and exploration investigations had indicated that the Cari-
boo-Chilcotin region held potential geologic riches, there
had been no specific communications program with the local
communities to help them understand the benefits, and poten-
tial risks, of developing those resources. As a result, in 2006
the BCMEMPR, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; Geo-
logical Survey of Canada), and Geoscience BC6 established
the “Collaborative Geoscience Plan for BC,” a plan driven by
the need to ensure that individual geoscience and community
activities were coordinated and complementary, maximized
the 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 was
recognized as mandatory. This plan included components of
the BCMEMPR’s Beetle Infested Zone Project, NRCan’s
Geoscience for Mountain Pine Beetle Response and Targeted
Geoscience Initiative 3 Cordilleran projects, and Geoscience
BC’s Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative.
Geoscience results
Industry’s reluctance to undertake continued exploration in
the Cariboo-Chilcotin region of the Intermontane is owing to
at 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 imaging
beneath 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, and
geophysical 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. All
of the geoscience programs were designed to help provide
the exploration geologist with improved geoscience informa-
tion on the nature, distribution, and structural style of the
geology and resource potential underlying the obscuring
cover.
Differing interpretations of stratigraphic successions and
different assessments of the quality of various geoscience
data sets have resulted in inconsistent applications of geo-
logic nomenclature and correlation concepts within the Cari-
boo-Chilcotin region. For example, the geological literature
concerning 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 stage
beetles, ×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.
Haggart et al. 863
Published by NRC Research Press
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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 typically
unknown. Indeed, it is well known that the geographic extent
and stratigraphic definition of the Nechako basin, and even
its name, are not firmly established. Despite concerted efforts
to simplify (see contributions in this volume by Riddell and
Ferri, for example), consensus has not been reached on basic
assumptions of stratigraphic nomenclature and succession.
Although it is beyond the scope of the contributions within
this Special Issue to resolve these conflicting interpretations
of data, the differing interpretations presented herein
highlight the challenges that confront the next generation of
stratigraphers, geophysicists, basin analysts, and minerals
prospectors.
Advances in basin geology
Critical to understanding the nature of the subsurface strat-
igraphy and structure of Nechako basin is an assessment of
the geology at the surface. The contribution by Janet Rid-
dell7 reviews the Paleozoic–Tertiary geological context of
the basin succession and identifies the principal geologic
units, their relationship to larger geologic terranes, and the
geologic and tectonic history that has brought them into jux-
taposition. Riddell highlights the confusing state of strati-
graphic nomenclature for the basin, related to lithologic
heterogeneity and structural complication. The long history
of terrane interplay and structural activity in the Intermontane
region has resulted in a confusing mosaic of surface geology,
one that implies that interpretation of the subsurface geology
will 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 presence
of 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 the
Nechako basin. A number of the Jurassic successions studied
by 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. Ferri
suggests that local anoxia reflected in the Lower Jurassic
strata is possibly related to the global Toarcian event, which
is responsible for many other organic-rich successions of this
age in North America.
Reservoirs and a conducive thermal maturation regime are
equally important components of a petroleum system as
source rocks. Catherine MacLaurin et al. examine these as-
pects in their assessment of the Cretaceous strata outcropping
around the basin. This contribution reviews the geology of
the Lower–Upper Cretaceous Jackass Mountain Group,
which is widespread along the southern basin outcrop margin
and 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 of
Jackass Mountain Group strata, not fully documented prior
to their work, suggests the unit holds promise as a regional
reservoir. In addition, MacLaurin and colleagues document
levels 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 useful
in dating and correlation among drill cores, which rarely in-
tersect such fossils. Jim Haggart et al. have identified the
first radiolarian and foraminiferal microfossils in Cretaceous
strata of the Intermontane basins of British Columbia. Their
contribution introduces a new tool for accurate dating of
drilled strata that will complement the use of palynology in
dating 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 and
thick, as exemplified by outcrops in stream and river valleys
where they are best exposed. However, Graham Andrews et
al. have compiled and modeled water-well drill log records
across the Interior Plateau region of British Columbia. The
resultant depth-to-bedrock maps show that thickness variabil-
ity of the Neogene and Quaternary volcanic deposits was
controlled 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 across
most of their distribution. This observation is of critical im-
portance in trying to assess the thickness of these volcanic
packages 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 expands
the extent of potentially mineralized bedrock not covered by
Tertiary basalt.
Jessica Spratt and Jim Craven employ magnetotellurics
to assess the distribution of the Neogene volcanic deposits,
confirming the assessment of Andrews and colleagues that
this 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 recognize
differences in resistivity between the Cretaceous, dominantly
sedimentary, 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 a
low-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 structure
Identifying potential oil and gas horizons in the subsurface
of Nechako basin requires imaging through a thick mantle of
Tertiary volcanic strata that is widely distributed across the
region. 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 and
Andrew Calvert identified a number of depositional centres
within 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 are
related to the northwest-trending Yalakom and north-trending
Fraser fault systems, which have overprinted the older Creta-
ceous structural grain, and that deposition of both basinal
sedimentary strata and Eocene volcanic rocks was controlled
mainly 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 the
thickness of inferred Cretaceous subsurface strata, a number
of different Cretaceous sub-basins, and a structural regime
wherein Cretaceous strata in the subsurface are preserved in
a 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 a
structural history characterized by Late Cretaceous thrusting
followed by Eocene extension or transtension.
Conventional seismic interpretations are often impeded be-
cause of the strong velocity inversion that occurs at the base
of 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 two
principal bedrock packages in the subsurface of the basin,
with associated high-velocity (possibly volcanic?) units. Im-
portantly, Idowu and colleagues provide estimates of the
crustal thicknesses of the sedimentary packages.
Andrew Stephenson et al. describe a refraction – wide-
angle reflection seismic survey that was shot across the Coast
Mountains and Interior Plateau region, complementing work
done more locally in the basin region. From the data gener-
ated, they are also able to recognize multiple sub-basins
within the Nechako region and note that the thickness of the
sedimentary successions is locally variable. Importantly, Ste-
phenson and colleagues are able to provide depths to the base
of the crust along their study transect.
Understanding the context of mineralization
Rocks of the Quesnel terrane of the eastern Intermontane
region, which geographically flank the Nechako basin along
its eastern margin, have long been recognized as a significant
Haggart et al. 865
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base- and precious-mineral exploration target. As with the
basinal strata, the extensive and thick glacial and Tertiary
volcanic deposits obscure much of the local geology and hin-
der mineral exploration. Several contributions in the Special
Issue address regional geology and exploration techniques in
this 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 tool
in their utilization of new aeromagnetic data to more pre-
cisely define contacts between various lithological units and
to define new faults within the Quesnel terrane, where much
of the bedrock is masked by widespread glacial deposits. The
magnetic data allow prediction of new intrusions within Tri-
assic Nicola Group volcanic and Devonian–Triassic sedimen-
tary rocks across the region, and beneath relatively young
Chilcotin Group volcanic cover, establishing new targets for
possible porphyry- and vein-type mineralization. Finer details
in the regional aeromagnetic patterns are used by Thomas
and colleagues to differentiate Tertiary volcanic rocks of the
barren Chilcotin and potentially mineralized Kamloops
groups.
In the final two papers of the Special Issue, Alain Plouffe
and colleagues present new data on the ice-flow history of
south central British Columbia with direct applications to
mineral 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 to
glacial transport as applicable to mineral exploration. In the
second contribution, Plouffe et al. (b) present an application
of the methodology for precise boulder-tracing to source. A
newly obtained isotopic age for mineralized erratic boulders
in 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-flow
history paths points to the specific plutonic source-area in
which 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 to
mineral exploration in the Interior Plateau.
This Special Issue highlights just a few of the geoscience
initiatives undertaken in the Mountain Pine Beetle-affected
area 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, Geoscience
BC’s QUEST and QUEST-West projects, both of which
were also supported by the Northern Development Initiative
Trust. Additional new research results from all three funding
agencies will be forthcoming when complete, and interested
readers 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 considerations
The 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 the
area 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 least
as early as the end of the last ice age, ten to twelve thousand
years ago. The First Nations maintain strong ties to the land,
describe it as their breadbasket, and keenly feel the effects of
its disruption. Rather than relocate to new economic opportu-
nities, many First Nations individuals often feel an obligation
to stay and provide a productive land base for future genera-
tions; for these individuals, moving away is typically viewed
as a last resort.
Before Canada evolved as a country, Britain recognized
that its indigenous people had interests in the land that could
not be disregarded by settlers or speculators. The Royal Pro-
clamation of 1763 established and protected these interests.
Elsewhere in Canada, the British Crown established several
large treaties with First Nations prior to Confederation.
Although forming a condition of the “Terms of Union,” this
process was never completed in British Columbia and was
balked at by various provincial and federal governments over
time. Prior to British Columbia joining Confederation in
1871, only 14 very small treaties (the Douglas Treaties) had
been signed on Vancouver Island. In 1899, the significant
Treaty Eight “between the Indians of North America and the
Queen 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. Land
claims in the remainder of the Province remained unresolved
and 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 protected
rights, that First Nations could force the issue themselves
through the courts. In 1993, First Nations were finally able
to 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 treaties
signed with the more than 200 First Nations communities in
British Columbia. Significantly, there are no treaties in the
Cariboo-Chilcotin region. As in other parts of the province,
some of the First Nations in the region have chosen to not
participate in the treaty settlement process but rather to pur-
sue their land claims in court. The uncertainty surrounding
land status in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region presents chal-
lenges to potential investment, and researchers and resource
developers need to be sensitive to the issue. Consequently,
community engagement with First Nations was recognized
as a high priority of the Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative.
Community engagement objectives
The provincial and federal governments and Geoscience
BC recognized that a twofold approach to enhancing resource
development was required in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region —
a geoscience research program to increase the understanding
of minerals and energy prospectivity, and a parallel outreach
program to communicate with communities on the potential
for oil and gas and minerals deposits, to assess what industry
exploration 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 abounded
in the region, including stories of capped producing oil wells,
drilling rigs being moved under cover of darkness, and oil
companies 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 mountain
pine beetle-affected communities. Geoscience BC and
BCMEMPR held numerous meetings and consultation ses-
sions with individual communities in the Nechako basin re-
gion. In addition, both BCMEMPR and Geoscience BC staff
held 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). All
meetings were designed to raise awareness in local commun-
ities of the value of geoscience in assessing resource poten-
tial and attracting resource exploration and development
investment. In response to this engagement initiative, wide-
spread community support was established for the proposed
geoscience projects in the mountain pine beetle-affected
area. The following description of engagement activities fo-
cuses largely on the activities undertaken related to oil and
gas development.
First Nations engagement programs
Consultation programs were developed by and with the
various First Nations. In an unconventional communications
effort, BCMEMPR staff first consulted key First Nations’ or-
ganizations, seeking their insights on the most appropriate
and effective approach. BCMEMPR met with the leaders of
the First Nations Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative8, followed
by the tribal councils and chiefs, to outline a proposed ap-
proach and to seek their advice on the most effective means
for direct information exchange with the 17 First Nations
communities of the southern Nechako region.
Seven information workshops were organized in the com-
munities in May 2007 to initiate dialogue and relationship
building. Using limited funding from BCMEMPR, the tribal
councils and independent First Nations each identified a local
representative to organize the timing, location, catering, cul-
tural event, advertising, and other logistics associated with
their community meeting. The information sessions were
hosted around community meals catered by the communities.
The Tsilhqot’in National Government advertised the sessions
in the local press and invited the Williams Lake-area general
public to share in the dialogue.
At the 2007 sessions, BCMEMPR, the British Columbia
Oil and Gas Commission, and Geoscience BC discussed
how oil and gas is formed, what the likelihood is for their
development in the Nechako basin, what the challenges
were, and how First Nations could be involved in the assess-
ment of, and benefit from, opportunities relating to oil and
gas exploration and development. BC Ministry of Environ-
ment representatives were also present and participated in
the discussion. The First Nations responded with information
about their communities, their history and attitudes toward
development, and their initial concerns and interests related
to potential oil and gas development.
Of the 51 comments and questions recorded at the 2007
workshops (Fig. 3), the participating First Nations conveyed
the most interest in receiving more information on oil and
gas activities (16 responses), with reassurance on how the en-
vironment would be protected (13) identified as an additional
significant concern. Interest was expressed in training, em-
ployment, contracting, and other economic benefits (8), treaty
and accommodation issues (5), and capacity (2). Overall, the
communities varied widely in their potential reception to re-
search and oil and gas exploration activities. Only one First
Nation advised that ongoing litigation necessarily precluded
them 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 gas
exploration and development.
As a result of contacts made during the workshops, a Geo-
science BC seismic program was undertaken during the
Summer of 2008, funded by Geoscience BC and the North-
ern Development Initiative Trust through their Mountain
Pine Beetle Recovery Account. Geoscience BC made the
provision of training and hiring opportunities for the Nazko
First Nation, a requirement of the Nechako Vibroseis seismic
survey 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 local
communities. Nazko First Nation again assisted with a one-
day session in Quesnel, while the Carrier Chilcotin Tribal
Council (CCTC) assisted with a 1.5 day session at Williams
Lake. In a departure from tradition, both Nazko and the
CCTC 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, former
Chief of the McLeod Lake Indian Band, conveyed his band’s
experience working with the oil and gas exploration and de-
Fig. 3. Summary of topics and questions raised by First Nations
communities in the 2007 workshops.
8Chief Dan George and Don Caverley.
Haggart et al. 867
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velopment industry, particularly from a business perspective,
while Nazko First Nation representatives Titi Kunkel and
Stewart Alec reported on their experiences as part of the
Geoscience 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 of
central British Columbia and shared preliminary results from
Geological 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 to
renew associations formed at the 2007 workshops, and served
to dispel misinformation about oil and gas exploration in the
region, demystify the science, and provide the latest maps
and information for direct use by the First Nations. Research
activities 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 communities
had directly participated in the geoscience outreach informa-
tion program.
Engagement lessons learned
Lessons learned from the engagement sessions with the
First Nations communities include the following:
• Engagement is most effective if started as early as possible
before 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 factored
into the development of all exploration and development
programs.
• 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, the
research 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-fold
challenge to exploration and development. The devastation
caused by the mountain pine beetle provided an opportunity
for 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 local
communities, the engagement activities described here consti-
tute a first step in ongoing technology transfer between the
participating agencies, industry, and the First Nations of the
Cariboo-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 Mountain
Pine Beetle Project — ground surveys. Geological Survey of Canada, Scientific Presentation 5, PowerPoint presentation, 63 p.
Forpersonaluseonly.

Acknowledgments
We 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 of
Natural Resource Operations, Kamloops) is thanked for pro-
viding advice about the mountain pine beetle, as well as
graphical images. Comprehensive reviews by Dave Lefebure,
and Bob Anderson and Carmel Lowe (Geological Survey of
Canada), greatly improved the presentation of the paper. Fi-
nancial support for the research activities discussed in this
Special issue was provided by the Mountain Pine Beetle and
Targeted Geoscience Initiative 3 programs of Natural Resour-
ces Canada (NRCan), the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and
Petroleum Resources, and Geoscience BC. Financial support
for publishing costs was provided by the NRCan Targeted
Geoscience Initiative 4.
Haggart et al. 869
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