Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site Published Guide Collection

Islands of Beauty: A Haida-managed protected archipelago spanning mountain to ocean

Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site

Gwaii Haanas stands as a distinctive model of indigenous partnership in conservation, born from the Haida Nation's determined efforts to protect their ancestral territories from industrial logging in the 1970s and 1980s. The South Moresby movement, which sought to prevent logging on Burnaby Island, evolved into a broader campaign that culminated in the 1985 Haida Heritage Site designation and the 1987 South Moresby Memorandum of Understanding between Canada and British Columbia. The subsequent 1993 Gwaii Haanas Agreement formally established cooperative management, creating the Archipelago Management Board with equal representation from the Council of the Haida Nation and the Government of Canada. This partnership has enabled protection of both cultural heritage and ecological values, with the Haida concept of integration between land and sea reflected in the boundary-spanning protected area that includes both terrestrial and marine zones. The reserve remains in reserved status pending resolution of outstanding land claims, yet functions with full national park management principles.