Nechako First Nations & RDBN Collaborate to Revive Nechako RiverChief Priscilla Mueller, Mayor Gerry Thiessen, Chief Robert Michell, and Chief Larry Nooski signed an MOU to collaborate on restoring the health of the Nechako River on Sept. 29. The Nechako First Nations and the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako have signed a historic memorandum that commits them to work together to restore the health of the Nechako River. The Nechako River is of spiritual significance and cultural importance to the Nechako people. The Kenney Dam, completed in the 1950s, has fundamentally altered the river, significantly impacting its fish populations and habitat, and as a result the Nechako people, their culture and livelihood. The Memorandum of Understanding commits the parties to work together to restore the health of the Nechako River, its affected tributaries and its fish populations, with a particular focus on restoring sturgeon and salmon populations that are on the precipice of extinction. It also calls for more natural flows in the Nechako River, new stewardship projects and a new governance regime to replace the one established in 1987, which excludes the Nechako First Nations and the Regional District and is widely understood to have contributed to the decline of the Nechako River.
