Khutzeymateen Inlet Conservancy is about 45 kilometres northwest of Prince Rupert and 10 kilometres north of Lax Kw'alaams in the Coast Ranges. BC Parks says the conservancy includes 10,554 hectares of upland and 2,755 hectares of foreshore, for 13,309 hectares total.
Access is primarily by boat, while floatplane and helicopter access are tightly controlled. The two Khutzeymateen conservancies were designated in spring 2008 after land-use negotiations.
Khutzeymateen Inlet Conservancy is a tightly managed protected coast where grizzly habitat, salmon streams, intertidal areas, and First Nations traditional use are central. The inlet is beside the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary and protects important grizzly bear habitat.
BC Parks notes grizzly bear viewing tours, but all guided tours must use a permitted guide. Visitors arriving in the inlet are asked to check in at the ranger station, and very specific rules apply inside the conservancy and neighbouring sanctuary.
The cultural context is also significant. The Khutzeymateen is within asserted Coast Tsimshian traditional territories and is historically associated with local First Nations use, including fishing, hunting, trapping, gathering, and medicinal plants.
Plan around permitted guided grizzly viewing, boat-based travel, salmon-stream and intertidal awareness, cultural learning, careful photography from appropriate areas, and hunting only where open and permitted.
There is no land access in the grizzly bear sanctuary, and the Khutzeymateen River estuary is closed to public access. Check in at the ranger station, use permitted guides, and follow all closure rules.
