Tenures & Land Use
Copper Cayuse Outfitters (CCO) is located within the unceded territory of the Lil´wat Nation and honors the language, culture and history of the Lil´wat7ul. Locally owned and operated, CCO’s backcountry adventures are conducted within a 4000 hectare crown land use tenure granted, monitored and closely regulated by the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNR) and with the knowledge, input and consent of the Lands and Resources Department of the Lil´wat Nation.
CCO’s activities fall within the definitions of Adventure Tourism (AT) and Commercial Recreation (CR) as follows:
“Blessed with breathtaking landscapes, British Columbia is home to a geographical diversity that lends itself to a vast array of adventure activities for residents and visitors. Popular activities include: nature viewing, bear viewing, river rafting, sea kayaking, horse pack trips, ski touring, snowmobiling, ATV tours, cat-skiing and heli-skiing.
Adventure tourism, also known as nature-based tourism or backcountry commercial recreation, involves operators offering services on provincial Crown land to persons for compensation or reward. Services being offered to guests may include:
guided adventure tourism activities within an extensive operating area.
huts, cabins, lodges, wharves, anchored floating facilities, horse corrals, campsites or other improvements that are linked to a guided experience.”1
“This Adventure Tourism Policy applies to commercial recreation/tourism operators and educational institutions who provide outdoor recreation/tourism activities on provincial Crown land (including land covered by water) - these activities include: training, transportation, adventure guiding, food services, entertainment and Improvements (e.g. lodge/cabin accommodations and docks), for compensation or reward, received or promised, from residents and non - residents of BC. These activities are hereafter referred to as Adventure Tourism (AT)”2
The granting of CCO’s tenure was a public process that took approximately three years. Our requirements for the application included but were not limited to publishing newsprint advertisements of our intentions, maps of our trailheads and invitations for public comments. We were required to submit a management plan, a grizzly bear management plan and to have our camp and trail locations pre-approved by the Ministry and First Nations.
While every tenure is different, CCO’s responsibilities include but are not limited to the payment of annual fees and licenses, road & trail maintenance requirements at our expense, and responsible water usage regulated by water licensing. The trails on our tenure are available for public use and we are happy to answer any questions you may have. If you would like to read the answers to some of the commonly frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) about land use tenures, please click the button below.