End Land Use objective planning : integrating an ecosystem based approach into biodiversity and reclamation planning

Mining operations in British Columbia are governed by regulation to plan towards End Land Use (ELU) objectives. Historically, ELU objectives at Teck Coal Limited’s (Teck) operations in southeastern British Columbia have been focused on single or closely related uses represented over broad temporal periods, such as “wildlife habitat”. Teck has been moving towards the aspirational vision of achieving a Net Positive Impact (NPI) in areas where Teck operates, in as much Teck is collaboratively working with the Ktunaxa Nation Council (KNC) in redefining what the ELU objectives could be. This collaboration strategically facilitates dialogue that has occurred between KNC and Teck over many years, and aligns with guidance from Ktunaxa citizens, who are deeply connected with a vision of what the landscape would look like post-mining. The main intent was to define a holistic approach that includes elements of NPI as well as cultural knowledge and use from the Ktunaxa Nation’s perspective. Working in an open and collaborative process, Teck and KNC have developed an approach to ELU objective planning based on an ecosystem approach which defines multiple end land uses on the same areas that evolve and change over time as the successional status of the ecosystems mature. This approach has enabled Teck to present ELU objective plans that move away from managing for single, or relatively few, end land use targets that remain static over time. In addition, the approach models ecosystem successional development and identifies temporal distributions where ELU objectives adapt and change over time in relation to the evolving ecosystem conditions. The ELU objective planning is the foundation for reclamation planning and revegetation treatments and is aligned with the vision of NPI and the Ktunaxa Nation’s view of reclamation planning to achieve ecological function and natural change over time.Non UBCUnreviewedOthe