The Nass Area covers almost 27,000 square kilometers. About 8% of this area is Nisga'a Lands. Nisga'a Lands roughly correspond to what people think of as the Nass Valley from Nass Camp to the coast. The Nation owns Nisga'a Lands and has control over development on them. The Nation also has substantial rights to consultation over proposed developments in the rest of the Nass Area.

The Nass Area Strategy will make sure the Nation benefits from any development within the Nass Area. The strategy is a set of principles and a process. Both are based on the Nation's rights under the Final Agreement.

The Final Agreement requires that the Nation be consulted about proposed Nass Area developments. The Nation will use this opportunity to ensure that Nisga'a interests are protected.

These interests will vary by project but will always include the rights set out in the Environment Chapter of the Final Agreement (Chapter 10). The Nation will not accept a trade off between environmental and economic benefits.

In addition to the environmental rights explicitly guaranteed by the Final Agreement the Nation will also ensure these consultations protect our traditional uses of the land, traditional and modern harvesting practices and our land ownership and land use plans.

A basic principle of the strategy is that proposed, environmentally sound development projects must include opportunities for Nisga'a Economic development. This will vary by project but might, for example, include:

• Equity Ownership;
• Revenue Sharing
• Royalties
• Contracting Opportunities
• Direct Employment
• Joint Venturing Opportunities

The strategy is being directed by the NLG Executive.