Stikine Region, British Columbia

Categories: Regional districts of British Columbia

Stikine Region is the northwesternmost region in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It emcompasses the only area in B.C. not in a Regional District. It has a total population of 1,352 (2004 est.) including 282 aboriginals. It has an area of 135,391 sq. kilometers. Its one person per 100 sq. km makes it the least inhabitated region in British Columbia and least inhabited census division in Canada.

It has five settlements, with the following populations (2001 Canadian Census):

Settlement	Population
Dease Lake	108
Good Hope Lake	75
Cassiar	36
Lower Post	28
Atlin	17

It is bordered by the Yakutat, Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon, Juneau and Haines boroughs of the U.S. state of Alaska to the west, the Yukon Territory to the north (which has no county-like system of division), the Northern Rockies and Peace River regional districts to the east, and the Bulkley-Nechako and Kitimat-Stikine regional districts to the south.

The principal economic activity in the region is mining. The region’s largest mine was the Cassiar asbestos mine which opened in 1952. The mine was depleted by 1991 and after a failed expansion to more underground deposits it was closed in early 1992. The Erickson Gold mine was operational from 1979 to 1988. The Taurus gold mine operated between 1982 and 1988. Both were planned to re-open in 1993-1994 but neither was able. The Golden Bear gold-silver mine operated between 1990 and 1993 before closing due to cost overruns. It was re-opened in 1997 after shifting to underground mining, from open-pit, but closed again in late 2001. The new Tulsequah Chief Mine, south of Atlin, with an estimated at 7.7 million tons containing copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver is under construction.

A major discovery of copper, gold, cobalt, silver and zinc was removed from mining potential with the establishment of the Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park, located in the region western-most panhandle, in 1993. Other provincial parks in the region include the Atlin Provincial Park, Stikine River Provincial Park, Mount Edziza Provincial Park and the Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Park. The parks, and the region’s remoteness, are attracting a growing number of tourist and generating employment in outfitting, guiding and hunting.

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