Know before you go
Advisories
Review the detailed guides under visit responsibly for more information on staying safe and preserving our natural spaces.
Visit responsibly
Follow these guides to ensure your activities are safe, respectful, and ecologically friendly:
Maps and location
Getting there
Located 20 km south of Kitkatla/Gitxaala and 60 km southwest of Prince Rupert. The conservancy covers the northwest portion of Banks Island. Access to the conservancy is primarily by boat and there are a number of sheltered inlets suitable for anchoring.
About this conservancy
The Banks Nii Łuutiksm Conservancy area has a long history of use by First Nations groups. Several archaeological sites (fish traps, fish weirs) registered with the BC Archaeological Branch are located in the conservancy. Additional archaeological sites are likely present but archaeological inventories are incomplete. Banks Nii Łuutiksm Conservancy helps protect a historically and currently used area and its associated cultural values, and to provide First Nations with an opportunity to conduct social, ceremonial and cultural uses.
Banks Nii Łuutiksm Conservancy helps protect the areas biological diversity and natural environments by protecting representative coastal flora and fauna, plant communities and animal species at risk, and special features, particularly lowland coastal muskeg (bogs and fens) and bog forests, limestone features, extensive kelp beds, small estuaries, marine invertebrates, and seabird and shorebird feeding and moulting areas. Together with nearby Lax Kul Nii Luutiksm/Bonilla and Gitxaala Nii Luutiksm/Kitkatla conservancies, Banks Nii Łuutiksm Conservancy protects over 48 000 ha of terrestrial and marine habitats on the outer coast.
Extensive canopy-forming kelp stands occur on the northern and western marine coastline of Banks Island, and provide important habitat for a diverse community of marine invertebrates and fish. The canopy-forming species include giant kelp and bull kelp. Currently, giant kelp is the most important commercially harvested marine plant on the BC coast and is utilized primarily for the herring spawn-on-kelp fishery. Most of the licences for the spawn-on-kelp fishery are communally held by First Nations.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.
Contact
General questions and feedback for BC Parks | We answer emails weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm Pacific Time. |
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