A wildfire risk reduction initiative led by the Lower Nicola Indian Band Development Corporation (LNIBDC) has significantly decreased wildfire hazards in the Steffens Estates area, just north of Merritt, while setting an example for Indigenous-led land stewardship in British Columbia. The multi-phase project, which began in 2022 and was completed in March 2024, combined strategic timber harvesting with intensive fuel mitigation efforts to create safer forest conditions near the Steffens Estates subdivision—land bordering private residences and Crown forests. With more work planned near Steffens Estates and around critical communications infrastructure on Iron Mountain, the project is part of a broader effort to proactively manage wildfire risk in British Columbia. B.C. Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar also praised the initiative: “Wildfire risk reduction is one of the most important ways we can protect people, homes, and vital infrastructure – especially as our province faces the growing impacts of climate change.”