Iskut, British Columbia

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Iskut is a small, mostly aboriginal community in northwest British Columbia. It is located on Highway 37, just south of Dease Lake. The community of Eddontenajon used to be located nearby.

1 Community
2 Location
3 Recreation
4 Coal-bed methane conflict

[edit] Community

Iskut is part of the Tahltan First Nation, which also includes the communities of Dease Lake and Telegraph Creek. (Two bands comprise the Tahltan nation, Iskut First Nation and Tahltan Indian Band.) Klappan Independent Day School, the Iskut First Nation Band Office and the Iskut Valley Health Services building are the primary public service amenities. Shopping and gas can be purchased at Kluachon Center.

[edit] Location

Iskut is located at the 407 km mark on Highway 37 and is approximately 5.5 hours from both Terrace and Smithers and within 7 hours drive from Whitehorse, Y.T.

[edit] Recreation

Recreational activities in the area include fishing at any of the lakes of the Iskut Chain Lakes, which include, moving south to north, Nadatadasleen Lake, Kinaskan Lake, Tattoga Lake, Eddontenajon Lake and Kluachon Lake. Snowmobiling and ATVing are very popular activities for locals of the area.

[edit] Coal-bed methane conflict

Iskut is presently well-known for the protracted disagreement over the use of the area for resource extraction. The rapid expansion of mining throughout the area has given rise to much controversy over the level of consultation given to local First Nations' people. Of particular public interest has been Royal Dutch Shell's plans for coalbed methane extraction on the Klappan Plateau, the Tahltan people's traditional hunting and trapping territory. Klappan has been named the Sacred Headwaters due to the fact that it forms the headwaters of several significant salmon rivers, including the Skeena, Spatsizi and Stikine Rivers. It is also occasionally called the "Serengeti of the North]]" due to the diversity and number of different species that call the area home. The controversy over the Sacred Headwaters is also further complicated by the different levels of Tahltan government. The Tahltan Central Council (TCC) speaks for the entire Tahltan First Nation but between the three significant communities, some people feel that TCC does not fairly represent the feelings of all communities equally. At the forefront of the battle over the Sacred Headwaters is a group of Iskut First Nation members called the Klabona Keepers.