Pecking Artist?
This colorful little woodpecker pecked repeatedly at this totem pole in Saxman before flying away. Now to wonder, did this woodpecker have an irresistible urge to contribute its artistic talents?
Front Page Photograph By CINDY BALZER ©2014
(Please respect the rights of photographers, never republish or copy
without permission and/or payment of required fees.)

Ketchikan: B.C. Mines Spark Worry in Southeast Alaska By PAULA DOBBYN - Concern is mounting among Southeast Alaska fishermen, community leaders and tribes about a mining boom in British Columbia that could affect wild salmon and other species on the U.S. side of the border.

The Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell project threatens the Unuk River, a notable Chinook salmon producer that flows across Southeast Alaska and empties into the sea near Ketchikan.

Spurred by the construction of a major power transmission line, and relaxed environmental regulations in Canada, a rash of mining activity is occurring in the transboundary region, a remote area laced with salmon rivers that joins Alaska and British Columbia. At least ten B.C. mine projects are in various stages of development, according to published reports. Five are located on salmon rivers that flow into Alaska’s southern panhandle, home to the lush, 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest. The mining push comes as B.C.’s provincial government tries to promote development in the sparsely populated region. In a jobs plan unveiled two years ago, B.C. Premier Christy Clark vowed to see eight new mines constructed and nine others expanded by 2015.

From a fishing and tourism perspective, the most worrisome project for Alaska is called Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell, or KSM. It’s a massive gold, copper and molybdenum deposit located above critical salmon habitat in the headwaters of the Unuk River, one of Southeast Alaska’s largest producers of Chinook salmon. The 80-mile river begins in B.C. and empties into Misty Fjords National Monument, a popular tourist destination near Ketchikan.

“It couldn’t be in worse location,” said Rob Sanderson of Ketchikan, second vice president of the Tlingit and Haida Central Council, a Juneau-based tribal government representing 28,000 Alaska Natives. “We have five species of Pacific salmon that use this waterway. Salmon is our traditional food.”

A major threat

Tlingit and Haida is one of several tribal governments in Southeast that have passed resolutions in opposing KSM. And in a recent letter to a Canadian Parliament member, a coalition of Southeast Alaska fishing and tribal groups called on Canada to ensure downstream fish and wildlife habitat is protected and a dialogue with Alaskans is opened.

“Proposed Canadian mining and energy developments in several headwaters within this transboundary region pose a major threat to fisheries and local communities downstream within the U.S.  Our concern about Canada’s rush to develop this extraordinary region is compounded by recent legislative initiatives that have weakened Canadian and provincial environmental assessment standards and oversight,” the letter said.

The letter referred to recent revisions of Canada’s main fish protection law that makes it more development friendly and less protective for fish, and also to a weakened navigable waters law.

“Without strong oversight, new mining projects will likely result in the destruction of fish and wildlife habitat and a diminishment of water quality on both sides of the border. Cumulatively, the effect could be devastating,” the letter said.

Among the signers were the heads of Alaska Trollers Association, Petersburg Vessel Owners Association, Southeast Alaska Fishermen’s Alliance, Douglas Island Pink and Chum, and United Southeast Alaska Gillnetters. - More...
Monday PM - March 10, 2014

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