Okanagan band gives B.C. government an ulimatum.

The Okanagan Indian band is calling on the Provincial and Federal governments to appoint negotiators to help resolve its logging dispute with Tolko Industries.

Area natives staged blockades recently to prevent Tolko from logging in the Browns Creek watershed, west of Vernon.

Chief Fabian Alexis says hte province has a choice: it can jail up to eighteen hundred band members for interfering with logging, or it can declare Browns creek a protected watershed and compensate Tolko.

Chief Alexis adds he's relieved Tolko has delayed harvesting until the spring, saying it creates a window of opportunity for a settlement.