Skeena West. 
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
The conservancy is located approximately 40 kilometres north of Prince Rupert.
Things to do
Hunting is permitted in this park.
Anyone hunting in British Columbia must comply with BC hunting regulations. To learn more, see the fishing and hunting guide.
About this conservancy
Wales Harbour Conservancy encompasses an area where the Coast Tsimshian have strong cultural interests, including the desire to pursue their traditional activities as they have done for millennia, in a manner that sustains the biological diversity and natural values of the area.
The conservancy is within the asserted traditional territories of the Coast Tsimshian, and specifically within the tribal area of the Gitando Tribe, one of the nine tribes that together make up the Coast Tsimshian.
Wales Harbour Conservancy falls within the Pearse Natural Protection Area for Metlakatla First Nation. This classification recognizes the Pearse Island area as being important for its high natural values. Lax Kw’alaams First Nation considers Wales Harbour to part of the Ts’msedasx Special Management Area. The Ts’msedasx Special Management Area has been, and continues to be, important in providing Coast Tsimshian people with food, medicine, raw materials, cultural items, and goods as part of their economy.
The Coast Tsimshian have numerous harvesting sites in the area and the adjacent foreshores and waterways. The conservancy protects traditional harvesting sites thereby sustaining and enhancing traditional use opportunities. To date, no known archaeological sites have been recorded in the conservancy. The lack of identified archaeological sites in Wales Harbour Conservancy is typical for the British Columbia north coast where few detailed archaeological assessments have been completed. Future archeological site inventories may yet identify additional cultural heritage and archaeological resources within the Wales Harbour Conservancy.
The conservancy also contains the site of the last commercial fish cannery to operate in the Nass/Portland Canal area.
Knowledge of the conservancy’s flora and fauna, especially ecosystems, ecological communities and species of conservation concern, is incomplete.
Marine wildlife species that have been recorded in or near the conservancy are canopy kelp beds, grey whales, harbour porpoises, humpback whales, killer whales, marbled murrelets, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and pacific white-sided dolphins.
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. |
|---|
