Chronology
Ancient history to 1807 - Nl'akapmx people, ancestors of Lytton Indians, have main village, Cumshin, at the present site of Lytton. Stein Valley used for vision questing, food and cedar bark gathering, and as a trade route.
1808 - First contact with Europeans. Simon Fraser meets people of Cumshin while searching for a new route to the Pacific.
1858 - 10,000 men rush into the Fraser Canyon in search of gold.
1859 - Henry Ball, the first gold commissioner, preempts a farm near Stein mouth, later called Earlscourt. He is the first non-native landowner in the Lytton area.
1862 - Smallpox epidemic wipes out more than two-thirds of the Lytton Indians.
1920s - First timber cruisers in the Stein find timber stands too small and road building too costly to justify logging.
1973 - B.C. Forest Service carries out a logging feasibility study for the Stein and finds logging uneconomical.
1973 - First of many citizens briefs recommending preservation of the Stein presented to B.C. government.
1974 - B.C. government announces a two year moratorium on any Stein watershed development in order to evaluate different management plans.
1975 - Federation of Mountain Clubs of B.C. completes a two volume study recommending preservation of the Stein Valley.
It recommends that the Stein be preserved because it is uneconomical to log. It also recommends that the valley be taken out of the annaul cut calculation so that the logging industry does not build dependence on the area's timber.
May 1976 - B.C. government ends moratorium and announces the Stein is available for logging, while withholding from public the moratorium study on which this decision is based. No public hearings are held.
November 1976 - Moratorium study released to public. It does not support government decision to immediately open the Stein to development. It recommends that the Stein be preserved because it is uneconomical to log. It also recommends that the valley be taken out of the annual cut calculation so mat me logging industry does not build a dependence on the area's timber. It further recommends that, should the area be profitable to log in the future, then its value in timber should be weighed against its value as a complete watershed. It recommends that the Stein be preserved because it is uneconomical to log. It also recommends that the valley be taken out of the annual cut calculation so that the logging industry does not build a dependence on the area's timber.
1977- Save the Stein Coalition, formed, including all of B.C's major environmental and recreation organizations. 1979-Exploring the Stein River Valley by Roger Freeman and David Thompson published. This book provides detailed information on the trails and hiking in the Stein. 1982 - Tourist Industry Development Committee releases a joint federal-provincial study advising that the Stein should be preserved as a Class A provincial park because of its strategic proximity to Vancouver and its unique status as an untouched watershed.
1984 - Stein Public Advisory Committee (sponsored by B.C. Forest Service) submits its final report to the Ministry of Forests. The report addresses how best to log the Stein, although the chairman of the committee points out the futility of the study since it is uneconomical to log the Stein without taxpayer subsidies. Summer 1985 - The Lillooet Tribal Council sponsors the first Voices for the Wilderness Festival. More than 500 people gather in the Stein alpine to celebrate and dedicate themselves to preserving the watershed.
October 1985 - B.C. government forms a Wilderness Advisory Committee to make recommendations on 16 proposed wilderness areas, including the Stein. Committee members include one token environmentalist, from Scotland!
Summer 1986 - Stein Rediscovery program established to put youth back in touch with themselves and their ancestral roots in this sacred valley.
March 1986 - Wilderness Advisory Committee-report released. In view of the heritage and spiritual values of Stein Canyon to the Lytton Indian Band, the committee recommends that no road be constructed up the canyon without a formal agreement between the Lytton Indian Band and the provincial government, and that the wood volume be removed from timber available for cutting if an agreement cannot be reached with the band.
Summer 1986 - Under the auspices of the Lytton and Mt. Currie bands, Western Canada Wilderness Committee recruits volunteers and upgrades the Stein Heritage Trail from Cottonwood Creek to Stein Lake.
Sept. 1986 - Lytton and Mt. Currie bands invite Premier Vander Zalm to the Stein for discussion of the Wilderness Advisory Committee recommendation. Premier declines invitation. October 1986 - Lytton and Mt. Currie Indian bands host a two day gathering at the mouth of the Stein River. Over 700 supporters attend.
Summer 1987 - WCWC continues work on Stein trail system, completing a trail from Blowdown Pass to Cottonwood Creek.
August 1987 - Lytton and Mt. Currie Indian bands host another Voices for the Wilderness Festival in the Stein alpine. More than 2,000 people gather for three days of speeches and musical inspiration.
September 1987 - Provincial government announces road building into the Stein Valley will proceed as rapidly as possible. No negotiation or discussions with Lytton Band take place.
October 1987 - Lytton Indian Band and Mt. Currie Indian Band sign the Stein Declaration stating, "Under the cooperative authority of our two bands we will maintain the Stein Valley as a wilderness in perpetuity for the enjoyment and enlightenment of all peoples and the enhancement of the slender life thread on this planet"
November 1987 - Lytton Indian Band again requests a meeting with the provincial government to discuss the Wilderness Advisory Committee's recommendations on the Stein.
January 1988 - The Lytton Indian Band announced it will be requesting a United Nations investigation on violations of religious rights in the imposed logging of the Stein.
January 1988 - The Lytton Indian Band accepts a Feb. 4 meeting date with Forest Minister Dave Parker on the condition that he "confirm in writing that he will come to Lytton with full authority to represent the provincial government and that the agenda for the meeting is dictated by Stein recommendation No.3 of the Wilderness Advisory Committee." Parker responds, "A minister of the crown speaks for the government in the discharge of his/her ministry duties, and we will be discussing the report of the Wilderness Advisory Committee."
February 4,1988 - B.C. forest minister meets with Lytton and Mt. Currie bands and promises that no road will be built into the Stein without a formal agreement with the bands. The meeting results in a proposal for a seven month moratorium on logging and a search for solutions.
