THUNDER BAY – Technology keeps marching forward. One of the issues across Canada is land management. ULlamaZOO, a Spatial Business Intelligence provider with a SaaS platform, has signed an agreement with Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation, enabling them as the first-ever First Nation to use digital twinning software technology for improving land management and stewardship. Leveraging LlamaZOO’s TimberOps software, Mowachaht/Muchalaht will use a digital twin of the nation’s 350,000+ hectares of territory (land and water) on Vancouver Island to facilitate meaningful reconciliation through shared decision-making as well as provide greater certainty for responsible development proposals of the land with industry (forestry and mining), and government.
“A digital twin of land data through TimberOps enables authorized users to virtually experience all aspects of the land, at any vantage point, from their office or home, limiting the need for field visits,” said Charles Lavigne, LlamaZOO CEO and Co-Founder. “It will be transformative for First Nations, governments and industry in reaching agreements about land use stewardship, co-management and decision-making for responsible resource development because it enables information continuity between all parties, particularly in a post-COVID world where travel and face-to-face interactions are restricted.”
With the most data layers ever seen in a digital twin at LlamaZOO and over 100 years of historical BC logging data, the technology will replace previously used tools such as Google Earth and physical maps, and turn large amounts of complex landscape-level data into an intuitive, 3D digital twin. Mowachaht/Muchalaht will use the materials that are stored in their Cultural Resource Center; such as the recorded Culturally Modified Trees, places of sacred significance, named Places, places to gather food/seafood, and other cultural information to complement the new technology.
“This technology will assist our people in showing the world what is within our Traditional Territory,” said Chief Maquinna, Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation. “It will provide prospective business partners and forestry companies with a real-time view of the results of logging, mining and other resource extraction. TimberOps is going to play a critical role in how we manage our lands and resources.”
