By Hope Lompe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer First Nations along British Columbia’s coast are welcoming the federal government’s announcement to put $231 million over five years toward Indigenous Guardians programs, but say they are still in the dark about how the program will be administered. The new Canada Nature Strategy is the successor to the Enhanced Nature Legacy and more than doubles Ottawa’s previous $100 million Indigenous Guardians program fund that ended on Mar. 31. It also aims to establish a new Arctic Indigenous Guardians program. Guardians programs put Indigenous stewards in the field to conduct ecological monitoring, do scientific fieldwork, watch for poachers and more. In some cases, Guardians have been empowered with enforcement authority, like the ability to write violation tickets. “This is an encouraging…
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