About
Respect for all living things
XAAYDA HAIDA CITIZENS HAVE OCCUPIED XAAYDA GWAAY.YAAY HAIDA GWAII SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL
The bounty from the land and sea have sustained Xaayda Haida citizens for generations, who in turn, have imbued their beliefs with raven and bear; salmon and the sea; forest and the land. It is a place where nature and culture are one.
Yahguudang is the word that Xaayda Haida use to describe respect for all living things and the interdependence that binds us. It is also the principle that organizes Taan Forest, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Haida Enterprise Corporation (HaiCo, the economic development entity of the Haida Nation), whose shareholder are Xaayda Haida citizens.
100% HAIDA OWNED
The Haida Nation saw the necessity to have a direct voice and management authority in managing the forest practices on Xaayda Gwaay.yaay Haida Gwaii. Shortly after HaiCo was incorporated in 2009, Taan Forest was born in 2010 as an enterprise through which the stewardship of these forests could be managed with Haida values.
CHN HAIDA GWAII MAP
HAICO
CONSERVATION & SUSTAINABILITY
In observance of these Haida values, Taan Forest achieved third-party certification to the highest standards for sustainability under the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) forest management and chain of custody certification. As part of this world class certification program, Taan Forest undergoes annual internal and external (third-party) audits to ensure that we continue to adhere to the standards.
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LOCAL ECONOMY
Consistent with the values of the Haida Nation and the strategic objectives of HaiCo, Taan Forest is committed to strengthening the Haida and local economy through employment and capacity building.
Through the employment and contract evaluation process, preference is given to Xaayda Haida citizens and local individuals and companies.
Taan Forest regularly monitors and reports on the local employment status through the FSC® Monitoring Report.
Environmental mission and strategy (ESG)
Managing forest resources responsibly
Since its inception in 2010, Taan Forest’s mandate has been to manage the timber in Haida tenures in a sustainable manner by incorporating the values of Xaayda Haida citizens - including, cedar, salmon, black bear, plants, birds, and beaches.
Our best practices combined with our direction from the shareholder (Haida Nation) has kept our annual harvest well below the allowable volume.
Of the 624,351 hectares of available forest tenure lands, Taan Forest manages 193,092 hectares. Because of our advanced forestry practices, more than half of that area has been removed from harvest to aid the preservation of fish habitat, monumental cedars, heritage features, plants like devil’s club and fairy slippers, and to allocate for cedar stewardship areas and forest reserves. Taking away steep slopes, swampland, and alpine areas, Taan Forest operates in about 85,000 hectares of the Xaayda tenure.
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Culturally responsible for our lands
By virtue of its Xaayda Haida ownership, Taan Forest has become the most advanced forestry company in the world with respect to conservancy and cultural awareness in its practices. Since the introduction of the Haida Gwaii Land Use Objectives Order in 2010, Taan Forest has evolved to protect the following features when planning cut blocks:
CULTURAL PRESERVATION
Conservation of values in Cedar Stewardship Areas created through the Haida Gwaii Land Use Objectives Order to preserve cedar for present and future Xaayda Haida generations.
Identification and maintenance of heritage features such as village sites, culturally modified trees, shell middens, and canoe runs.
Maintaining traditional forest features such as devils club, fairy slipper, hellebore, crabapple, currents, western yew.
Maintaining monumental cedar for current and future Xaayda Haida use through the Cultural Wood Access Program.
CULTURAL WOOD ACCESS
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Conservation and rehabilitation of sensitive watersheds by reducing harvest rate and timing allocation.
Management of upland stream areas by reducing harvest to 30%.
Protection of fish habitat areas by increasing riparian reserves.
Maintaining of rare ecosystems like forested swamps.
Stand-level retention of cedar by retaining 10% cedar in all harvest areas with greater than 30% cedar.
Ensuring Cedar sustainability by replanting yellow and red cedar.
Identifying and maintaining black bear dens.
Maintain Marbled Murrelet nesting habitat.
Maintain great blue heron, northern saw-whet owl, northern goshawk and other raptor nests and habitats.
SUSTAINABLE HARVESTING OF TIMBER
Prior to the Haida Gwaii Land Use Objectives Order and Taan Forest management of the forest, the allowable limit for harvesting an area of 193,092 hectares was 802,868 cubic metres; this number was widely acknowledged to be unsustainable. Since 2010, Taan Forest has reduced its share of the annual harvest to 365,000 cubic metres a year and has managed the delicate balance of being an economic engine on Xaayda Gwaay.yaay Haida Gwaii while at the same time observing our cultural and environmental responsibilities.
In addition, Taan Forest has planted 1,652,646 trees, of which 768,481 are cedar, between 2010 and 2018.
FSC® CERTIFICATION
Taan Forest also has FSC® Chain of Custody (CoC) certification to ensure a transparent tracking system from the certified forests through to the custom cut manufacturing facilities, to allow us to sell our logs and lumber products as FSC® Certified.
