Lelu Island is an island of the

Range 5 Coast Land District Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

, of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, located in the Skeena Estuary between Smith and Ridley Islands. Historically it has been inhabited by area First Nations. Immediately southwest and associated with the island is the Flora Bank, a unique

geomorphic Geomorphology () is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topography, topographic and bathymetry, bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. Ge ...

feature supporting a critical fish habitat.

Proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG export facility

Petronas Petroliam Nasional Berhad, commonly known as PETRONAS (stylised in all caps), is a Malaysian Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. Established in 1974, it is a lega ...

made a proposal for a

liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...

export facility on this island in 2013. In September 2015, members of

Lax Kw'alaams A lax is a salmon. LAX as an acronym most commonly refers to Los Angeles International Airport in Southern California, United States. LAX or Lax may also refer to: Places Within Los Angeles * Union Station (Los Angeles), Los Angeles' main tr ...

Nation began occupation of a camp on the island in opposition to the facility. In April 2016, the

Prince Rupert Port Authority The Port of Prince Rupert is a seaport managed by the Prince Rupert Port Authority that occupies of land and water along of waterfront. The port is located in Prince Rupert Harbour in the North Coast Regional District of British Columbia. The ...

ordered a stop to construction of the camp. In September 2016, the Canadian federal government approved the project with 190 conditions, but members of the Lax Kw'alaams nation maintained their camp opposing the project. The proposal had previously been opposed by unanimous vote but then supported by John Helin the mayor of the Lax Kw'alaams First Nation while still finding opposition among its hereditary chiefs, and is supported by

Premier of British Columbia The premier of British Columbia is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s, the title ''prime minister of British Columbia'' was often used. The word ''premier'' is derived ...

Christy Clark Christina Joan Clark (born October 29, 1965) is a Canadian politician who served as the 35th premier of British Columbia from 2011 to 2017. Clark was the second woman to be premier of BC, after Rita Johnston in 1991, and the first female premi ...

. On July 25, 2017, Petronas announced they were abandoning the proposed export facility. The reasons for ending the project included market factors as well as political opposition.

References

{{Reflist Islands of British Columbia Range 5 Coast Land District