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25-607: The Nation is located on the West Moberly Lake 168A reserve, at the west end of Moberly Lake , about 90 km (56 mi) southwest of Fort St. John , within territory covered by Treaty 8 . Facilities on the reserve include the band administration office, the leadership offices, the lands management building, a community health centre, the Dakii Yadze childcare centre and the Dunne-za Lodge. West Moberly

50-488: A caribou penning project to stabilize and regrow the Klinse-Za caribou herd. The caribou populations had been devastated by industrial development in the region, including the severing of a major migration route by the construction of the W. A. C. Bennett Dam in the 1960s. The project is primarily run by members of the two founding nations, and involves the capture and transportation of pregnant caribou cows every March to

75-731: A custom governance system was established in 2000. Under the custom governance system, every member over the age of 19 has a vote, and council may not proceed on any action without support from 50% + 1 of its membership. (term of office) (term of office) (term of office) (term of office) (term of office) (August 2000 – present) (December 2019 – present) (July 8, 2020 – present) (September 20, 2016 – present) (June 3, 2002 – present) (December 2019 - July 2020) (February 2016 - November 2019) (at least October 2008 - November 2019) (at least October 2008 - September 19, 2016) (at least March 2015 - February 2016) (at least October 2008 - at latest March 2015) The West Moberly First Nation

100-507: A decade, the collaborative program had succeeded in bringing the herd back from extinction. A March 23, 2022 article in the Ecological Applications journal cited West Moberly Elders saying that caribou were once so numerous that they were "like bugs on the landscape". The herd had declined from ~250 in the 1990s to 38 in 2013, then with the program, had increased to 114. As of October 2019 and since at least September 2011,

125-775: A mandate to fix the Nation's financial troubles. The 1999 interim council included Roland Willson as a councillor, before he was acclaimed chief in 2000. On September 5, 2002, members of the Kelly Lake First Nation (KLFN), set up a blockade at the Rat Lake entrance of the Wapiti River to demand their recognition as an independent first nation, separate from the West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations . Up until that point, members of KLFN had been members of

150-517: A revered site for the Danezaa people , who called it "the lake you can depend on," an allusion to the bounty of the lake, where they could always find food. In 1915, the outsider settlement comprised 16 people (Fort George Herald, 9 Oct 1915). Other Danezaa regarded the lake as a place of mystique. For them, it was 'the Lake with a hole through it' or 'the lake with no bottom'. According to their lore,

175-405: A smaller portion under the provincial Environment Management Act . Another 13 resulted in orders under the provincial Oil and Gas Activities Act, 22 in warnings, 76 in letters requiring action and three in referrals to other agencies". Paul Jeakins, OGC commissioner and CEO, has publicly acknowledged that OGC inspection and enforcement reports are "a bit of a gap". In November 2013, Ecojustice ,

200-452: A spill. Court prosecutions included a $ 20,000 fine for a Water Act stream violation, $ 10,575 for another stream violation and $ 250,0000 for a sour gas release. [...] The commission would not release the names of the companies convicted". Per the OGC, in 2012, of "more than 800 deficiencies, 80 resulted in charges, largely under the provincial Water Act for the non-reporting of water volumes and

225-757: Is a signatory of the Treaty 8 but are now in discussions outside the BC Treaty Process , along with five other First Nations who have joined as the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. Prior to 1977, the people of West Moberly were part of the Hudson Hope Band, also referred to as the Hudson's Hope Indigenous Band, after the nearby region of Hudson's Hope , where a North West Company outpost had been established in 1805. Some Crees and Saulteaux arrived in

250-453: Is affiliated with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association , which is registered under the B.C. Societies Act. West Moberly First Nations Chief and Council consists of a generally elected Chief and four family Councillors that are elected according to the preference of each of the main families (Brown, Dokkie, Desjarlais, and Miller). West Moberly used to operate under a governance model set forward by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), but

275-568: Is defined under the Energy Resource Activities Act . Under this law, the BCER's purposes are to 'regulate energy resource activities in a manner that protects public safety and the environment, support reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and the transition to low-carbon energy, conserve energy resources and foster a sound economy and social well-being.' The BCER's mandate does not extend to regulating consumer gas prices at

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300-602: The Sierra Club and the Wilderness Committee filed a lawsuit against the OGC and Encana about Encana's water use from lakes and rivers for its hydraulic fracturing for shale gas, "granted by repeated short-term water permits, a violation of the provincial water act". In 2012, the OGC had granted Encana access to 20.4 million cubic metres of surface water, 7 million of which were for fracking and 54% of that were through short-term approvals. In October 2014

325-846: The 15-hectare pen on a mountaintop in the Misinchinka Ranges , where they are tagged, protected, and cared for while their calves are young, and then released in mid-summer, once the calves are old enough to survive in the wild. From an initial population of 36 animals in 2014 (including some taken from the Scott herd), the herd had grown to 95 as of July 2020. The project has received funding from crowdfunding , provincial and federal government organizations, and some resource extraction companies including TransCanada , Teck Resources , Canadian Natural Resources Limited , Spectra Energy . The project also receives technical assistance from Wildlife Infometrics Inc and West Fraser Timber . In less than

350-417: The BCER and its operations. The Board consists of five to seven directors and includes Indigenous representation. The current strategic and operational leader of the BCER is Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer Michelle Carr. In 2010–11, the OGC "issued 15 penalty tickets with fines of $ 575 (the maximum allowed for tickets) or less, which included unlawful water withdrawals and failure to promptly report

375-506: The Dakii Yadze Centre has operated a licensed child care program on weekdays to serve the families of West Moberly. The centre emphasizes holistic programming and play-based learning in its mission statement. The Dunne-za Lodge is a year-round retreat destination located on the northwest shore of Moberly Lake, with 30 acres of land, cabins that are available for rent, and a meeting space. The First Nations' website states that

400-466: The Nation headed up a study on petroleum contaminants after hunters noticed abnormalities in game. This study contributed to a change in how the BC Oil and Gas Commission dealt with reclamation fines. In 2005, West Moberly, along with several other Nations under Treaty 8, began litigation around the definition of the western boundary of the treaty, which was defined in the original document as "due west to

425-507: The area in the late nineteenth century, fleeing the North-West Rebellion of 1885. In 1914, the Nation was admitted to Treaty 8 as part of the Hudson Hope Band, referred to in the 1914-1915 Indian Affairs Annual Report as "Hudson’s Hope (Beaver) 116". The West Moberly Reserve 168A was established at the same time, the same size as it is today. They had not been admitted to the treaty earlier (as other nearby nations had) because

450-669: The central range of the Rocky Mountains, thence northwesterly along the said range to the point where it intersects the 60th parallel of north latitude," but defined differently in the map attached to Order in Council 2749 (1898). On September 27, 2017, the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled in West Moberly First Nations v. British Columbia that the western boundary was "the height of land along

475-854: The continental divide between the Arctic and Pacific watersheds," rather than an interpretation proposed by the Province and the Kaska Dena Council (and, on appeal, the McLeod Lake First Nation) of a boundary of the height of the Rocky Mountains . The British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld the ruling in May 2020. In 2014, the West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations jointly began

500-509: The day the Treaty Commission arrived in 1899 "conflicted with the annual hunt." The Chief at the time was Chief Dokkie. In 1977, the Hudson Hope Band split and became the modern West Moberly First Nations and Halfway River First Nation. In the 1980s, West Moberly First Nations began hosting an annual celebration known as West Mo Days. In 1996, West Moberly submitted its Treaty Land Entitlement claim, by which they hoped to receive

525-418: The full extent of the land they were promised as signatories to Treaty 8. The claim was accepted for negotiation in 1998, but Canada did not appoint its first negotiation team until 2002. Around 1999, during a full audit, West Moberly was found to have misspent, and was entered into a repayment program to the federal government. The community removed the council of the time, and appointed an interim council with

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550-932: The lake was the dwelling place of an ancient creature that came to the surface after long intervals below the water. This article about a location in the Peace River Regional District , Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . BC Oil and Gas Commission The British Columbia Energy Regulator ( BCER ), formerly the BC Oil and Gas Commission , is the Crown Corporation responsible for energy regulation in British Columbia , Canada . Established in October 1998, it has offices in seven cities: Fort St. John , Fort Nelson , Kelowna , Victoria , Terrace , Dawson Creek , and Prince George . The BCER

575-592: The lodge "is used to showcase our culture, traditions, host community events, cultural healing camps and other special events hosted by West Moberly First Nations". Moberly Lake (British Columbia) Moberly Lake is along British Columbia Highway 29 in northern British Columbia , Canada , and named for Henry John Moberly , a fur trader who lived on the lake. It is served by the Chetwynd Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detachment. The Moberly Lake has always been

600-420: The other two bands, despite KLFN having gained status in 1994. A few weeks after the blockade went up, Saulteau First Nations agreed to allow KLFN to separate from them. Treaty Land Entitlement claim negotiations were suspended by Canada in 2004, then resumed in 2006 with a second negotiation team, and the team changed again in 2008. In 2015, the Nation described negotiations as "effectively stalled". In 2004,

625-509: The pump. ERAA defines ‘energy resource’ as petroleum, natural gas, hydrogen, methanol or ammonia. The BCER also manages oil and aspects of geothermal resources , with an expanded role in carbon capture and storage (CCS). The BCER is accountable to the provincial legislature and the public through the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation . The BCER is governed by a Board of Directors responsible for providing oversight of

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