This series consists of Aboriginal liaison and First Nations consultation case files, primarily for the Cariboo region, from 1985-2008. These records document the Ministry of Environment and its successors' resource management involvement with First Nations groups and consultation with respect to resource management plans. Each file documents consultation and communication with a particular First Nation, Tribal Council or other Indigenous group regarding a variety of issues and practices related to resource management and use. File may be related to land claims, land use planning, the creation of sustainable resource management plans (SRMPs) and sub-regional area plans, or specific resource management and land management issues, including forestry, water rights, wildlife management and hunting, mining, protection of parks and cultural sites, and the creation of roads.

The files in this series were titled and organized in most instances as case files, based on the name of the First Nation involved in the consultation process. Many files document the creation and finalization of various kinds of agreements between the Ministry and First Nations groups. Files also include the planning and execution of joint projects, workshops and meetings to consult First Nations about the creation of resource management plans or to address specific resource management issues.

Files may include correspondence, reports, memorandums of understanding, agreements, financial records, business records of the relevant indigenous group, consultation protocols, maps, and newspaper articles and government responses to them.

Most files regard a particular indigenous group, mostly from the Cariboo and surrounding region, including: 'Esdilagh (Alexandria Band), Alexis Creek, Tl'etinqox Government (Anaham), Llenlleney'ten (High Bar), Bonaparte, Tsq’escen (Canim Lake), Stswecem’c/Xgat’tem (Canoe Creek), Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council, Carrier Chilcotin Tribal Council, Cariboo Tribal Council, Northern Secwēpemc te Qelmūcw (NStQ or Northern Shuswap Tribal Council), Esketemc (Alkali Lake), Hamatla Treaty Society, Homalco, Lhoosk’uz Dene (Kluskus), Lheidli-Tenneh, Nazko, Nuxalk Nation Government, Lhtako Dene (Red Bluff), Saik’uz, Skeetchestn, Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, Xat’sūll (Soda Creek), Simpcw (North Thompson Indian Band), Yunesit'in Government (Stone Indian Band), Tsilhqot’in National Government, Tl'esqox (Toosey First Nation), St'át'imc, Ts'kw'aylaxw, Ulkatcho Nation, Whispering Pines/Clinton, T'exelc (Williams Lake Indian Band), and Xeni Gwet’in First Nations. Other Indigenous groups may be mentioned within files.

Note that some of these files were reviewed as part of the following litigation: Xeni Gwet’in First Nations Government v. Her Majesty the Queen et al.

Ministries responsible for the creation of this series, and their dates of the responsibility, are:
Ministry of Environment (1988-1991)
British Columbia. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks (1991-2001)
British Columbia. Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management (2001-2005)
British Columbia. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (2005-2010)

Records in this series are covered by ORCS 17020-20 and 17730-25 of the Resource Management ORCS (schedule 144100).

This series consists of approved resource management plans (RMPs) primarily from the Cariboo and surrounding region, from 1969-2006. These records document the creation of the approved, published versions of the ministry’s various kinds of resource management plans and terms of reference.

Ad hoc RMPs are developed as necessary to fulfill unusual or unexpected planning needs. Files include issue specific plans for protected area strategies and road access plans. The majority of these files are lakes classification files which record the characteristics and uses of specific lakes.

Approved lake classification files may contain maps, photographs, aerial photographs, copies of fishing licenses, fish analysis, meeting minutes, reconnaissance surveys, reconnaissance lake inventories, and a brief report describing the size, shape, location, and uses of the lake. Most files list the uses of the lake and immediate area for timber, silviculture, range, engineering, fishing, recreation, commercial use, wildlife use, and First Nations use. Any commercial interests on the lakes such as traplines, guides or resorts may be listed. Files may also include correspondence regarding lake classification from government employees or interested third parties.

Ad hoc coordinated access management plans allow for the construction of roads and other infrastructure to increase access to wilderness areas. Files include letters from interested third parties impacted by the plan, alongside maps, reports, meeting records, and comments on draft plans by members of the public.

Sustainable resource management plans (SRMPs) cover a relatively small area (usually under 100,000 hectares), referred to as a landscape unit, and address the specific resource management issues in the area. This series includes records related to the 100 Mile House SRMP, including terms of reference and planning team documents used in drafting the plan.

Local resource use plans (LRUPs) were replaced by SRMPs between 1999 and 2003 and functioned similarly. The series includes LRUPs for several areas. Files may include planning team records, final approved plans, and a variety of other records which may document the creation of plans, the annual review of plans by community members and stakeholders, and the execution of the plan. Files address issues such as the construction of infrastructure, land management and various kinds of land use in the areas, particularly managing grazing land through the use of burning and fence construction.

The series includes two water use resource management plans, one for Clinton Creek and another for Michelle Creek near a Nazko Indian Reserve.

The series also includes a coastal RMP for Kyuquot Sound, a copy of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District regional growth management strategy, a regional land use plan (RLUP) for the Cariboo Chilcotin land use plan (CCLUP) and two higher level RMPs, one for the CCLUP and one for Kamloops.

It is unclear exactly which Ministries may have been responsible for the creation of these records before the 1990s. The likely Ministries responsible for the creation of this series, and their dates of the responsibility, are:
Ministry of Environment (1988-1991)
British Columbia. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks (1991-2001)
British Columbia. Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management (2001-2005)
British Columbia. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (2005-2010)

Records in this series are covered by ORCS 17430-02, 17610-02, 17610-60, 17730-03, 17730-60, 17670-02, 17790-02, 17520-02 and 17460-02 of the Resource Management ORCS (schedule 144100).

The series consists of files created by the Dept. of Agriculture between 1962 and 1971 to manage the Agricultural and Rural Development Agreement (ARDA) project #29007 funded by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia.

This project, the Initial Rural Development and Research Study, was directed by B. Thorsteinsson and J.P. Allin of the Dept. of Agriculture, along with contract director C.C. Watson between 1966 and 1970. The purpose of the study was to determine ways and means of improving the socio-economic conditions in certain low income areas in British Columbia.

The files are arranged mostly in alphabetical order. Boxes 1 and 2 contain the administrative and organizational records including contracts, project outlines, correspondence, statistics, expenses and other financial information and reports relating to the Initial Rural Development and Research Study (project #29007). Boxes 3 and 4 contain files arranged by community name and include maps, lists of residents, correspondence and other documents relating to that community.

The item is a reel of documentary film about the use of prescribed burning in forest and rangeland management to clear brush, slash and weeds, release nutrients into the soil, control pest and disease outbreaks, and encourage the growth of forage plants. Features wildlife biologist Ray Demarchi and forester Ross Tozer.

SUMMARY: Interview with E.C. Lunn, government agent at Quesnel, by John Barnes, about: British Columbia, Cariboo region, land settlements; agriculture and ranching.;

The file consists of eight audio reels which contain a recording of a 1972 public hearing conducted by the Minister of Municipal Affairs (Hon. Dan Campbell), regarding an application for a land use contract for the proposed Wildwood Estates on Gabriola Island. The application was made by Gabriola Wildwood Estates Ltd. and was recorded on June 24 and July 8, 21 and 22, 1972.

The item is a copy of a thesis on microfiche by Michael John Fumalle titled "Public policy and the preservation of agricultural land in the southern Okanagan valley, British Columbia." 1975. xvi, 284 leaves: figs., illus., maps, tables. Thesis (M.A.), University of Victoria, 1975. Vita. Bibliography: leaves 226-245. Canadian theses on microfiche, 29005.

Stock shots. Shows prescribed burning of bitterbrush, grass, etc., on a hillside, as a means of range improvement, with shots of the untreated area; Rocky mountain bighorn sheep and elk; crew lighting the burn with drip torches; helicopter with helitorch; and the progress of the fire (including aerial views).

RECORDED: Powell River (B.C.), [1975-05-01?] SUMMARY: Roy Padgett discusses: cougar hunting; agriculture attempts in the Myrtle Point area near Powell River; land use.;

Documentary. Examines the challenges, choices and conflicts arising as productive forest land is taken over by parks, reserves, communities and industry. Also discusses recent ecological concerns relating to the impact of logging on fish habitats (Riley Creek, Queen Charlotte Islands), soil erosion (Blewett Creek in the Kootenays) and wildlife (mountain caribou in the Selkirk Range).

SUMMARY: Documentary on the problems of famers facing urban encroachment in the Fraser Valley. The speakers include Michael V. Kournosoff, Alan Toop, Barney Pollock, Gary Runka, and Ray Aitken.;