Local Environmental History

I grew up in a small rural community called Fort St John which is located in Northern British Columbia. The neighbourhood that I live in currently is one of the older residential areas in the community. The land in Fort St John is also flat with some wooded areas, and is located a few minutes away from Charlie Lake, Beatton River, and the Peace River. This community is industry-driven and relies heavily on agriculture, forestry, and oil and gas for income.

The first inhabitants of Fort St John were the Dane-Zaa people, and they continue to inhabit this region to this day. In Charlie Lake, which is just outside of Fort St John, a cave has been discovered which contains spear tools and stone tools. These artifacts are significant as it proves that Indigenous groups have been present in this region for over 10,500 years. Treaty 8 was first negotiated in 1899 between the Europeans and the Dane-zaa people, and this Treaty dictated what the Dane-zaa were able to do, and placed limits on land ownership. This demonstrates that colonialism did play a role in the early development of Fort St John.

Fort St John is the oldest fort in British Columbia. There are conflicting reports on who created this European settlement, but many sources have viewed Alexander Mackenzie as being responsible for the creation of the fort in the 1800’s. The first fort was burnt down by Indigenous groups present in the area, and this forced the Northwest Company to build a new fort closer to the Beatton River and the Peace River.  The new fort functioned in this region until 1925 with gradual settlement occurring, but the fort was closed with the development of a new wagon trail that went through Fort Nelson instead. Greater settlement did not occur in the Peace region until 1942,  when the Alaska Highway was created. Fort St John was not acknowledged as an official city until 1981.

The creation of the Alaska Highway allowed Fort St John to become a transportation hub which translated to greater settlement and residential development. Resource extraction did not occur in Fort St John until 1951 with the discovery of the first natural gas deposit, which shaped Fort St John into an oil and gas community. Due to our heavy reliance on oil and gas,  the Provincial Oil and Gas Committee has become based out of Fort St John. In recent years, the forestry industry has also become of significant importance within this area, and this occurred due to the development of the mill. A recent industrial development in Fort St John is the Site C Dam. The building of the Site C Dam was responsible for a greater influx of workers into the community and is considered valuable as it generates hydroelectric power. The Site C Dam project is controversial as many people were opposed to it due to environmental concerns which included the flooding of the Peace River Valley. The Site C Dam was completed in 2025 despite the controversy. These examples demonstrate how Fort St John is heavily reliant on natural resources.

Important urban development occurred in Fort St John following the creation of the Alaska Highway in 1942 by the United States Army. In 1958, the Pacific Great Eastern Railway came to Fort St John. Fort St John also has a small airport that gives us the ability to get to larger cities such as Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary. For water and sewer, there are four lagoons that are located near the Peace River, and the sewage is processed by these lagoons. The sewage is also sent into the Beatton River and the Peace River. Education wise, the community has numerous elementary schools, two middle schools and one secondary school, and offers post secondary opportunities through  Northern Lights College.

The environment surrounding Fort St John is flat, but does have wooded areas, lakes, and rivers which are near the community. Wildlife in the area is also diverse. Animals that are present include black bears, grizzly bears, elk, deer, moose, coyotes and wolves. Other species that are also present include rainbow trout, owls, eagles, grouse, magpies and crows. Invasive species within this region include the Canadian Thistle (Cirsium Arvense), the Common Tansy (Tanacetum Vulgare), and the Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum Vulgare).

In regards to stewardship and looking after the land and the natural resources that we rely on, there are different actions and plans within the community that look after this.  One example is the Regional Strategic Environmental Initiative (RSEA), which works with local Indigenous groups in order to protect both the environment and Treaty rights from the adverse effects of natural resource extraction. Specific goals of the RSEA include the protection of moose, old growth forests, and water.

For a small and rural community, Fort St John offers job opportunities for people involved in the trades and in the oil and gas industry. There continues to be a struggle between resource extraction and maintaining balance with the environment. Environmental issues tend to be overlooked and projects such as the RSEA and other stewardship initiatives are crucial when it comes to protecting the environment. Fort St John, like any other community, has its own issues and is not perfect by any means, but there is a cohesiveness and closeness present within the community which makes it an enjoyable place to live.

                                                                                                              Bibliography 

 “02-029: A Derelict Fort in Northern British Columbia.” South Peace Historical Society. https://calverley.ca/article/02-029-a-derelict-fort-in-northern-british-columbia/.

BC Geographical names. https://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/3602.html

Ministry of Forests. “Northeast Region.” Province of British Columbia, March 4, 2026. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/natural-resource-stewardship/cumulative-effects-framework/regional-assessments/northeast

“Fort St. John, British Columbia.” Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_St._John,_British_Columbia

“Fort St. John History: BC’s Oldest Mainland Settlement.” https://www.kupi.com/en-ae/explore/canada/fort-st-john/history 

“Invasive Plants.” City of Fort St. John, https://www.fortstjohn.ca/parks-and-recreation/trees-and-gardens/weeds-and-diseases/invasive-plants

“Site C Dam.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Site_C_dam 

The History of Fort St. John.” Canadian History Ehx, October 6, 2022. https://canadaehx.com/2021/05/04/the-history-of-fort-st-john/

“Wildlife Viewing in the Peace Region.” https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/wvpeace.pdf