Often with surface, subsurface and harvesting rights comes the right to participate in wildlife and environmental management boards or committees. This gives modern treaty holders an equal seat at the decision-making table when development projects, wildlife harvest quotas and many other matters are being considered.

Joint management (also called co-management) organizations ensure that decision-making responsibilities are shared among modern treaty holders, federal and territorial/provincial governments, and, sometimes, other residents or stakeholders. It is through these bodies that modern treaty holders and other governments work together to manage land.

Common modern treaty joint management organizations are:

• Land use planning boards and councils
• Land and water regulation boards
• Environmental assessment and renewable resources boards

Note: In Part 3 of this course we’ll cover joint management organizations in more detail.