Call To Action: Protect Our Waterways

Just a few days ago, I shared Transboundary, a new short film highlighting the concerns with large scale open pit mining in the border region between Alaska and British Columbia. First of all, if you have not watched the film please do so before reading the rest of this by clicking the link above.

Once you have watched it and understand the challenges currently facing the pristine watersheds in southeast Alaska, please consider signing this petition. From mountaintop removal coal mines in the eastern United States to large scale open pit mines for copper, gold, silver, and other metals in the western part of the country, I have seen first hand what happens during the mining process.

The land will not be the same for a long time, much longer than our own lifetimes. Sadly the Canadian government seems comfortable making the decision to allow these mines to go forward, even with clear historical precedents showing the disaster that can occur when the mining process fails. This petition is short and to the point and encourages Secretary of State John Kerry to use all forms of diplomacy available to bring pressure on the Canadian government and companies choosing to go forward with the proposed mines in British Columbia.

At stake is not only pristine wilderness and clean waterways, but huge anadromous runs of fish that provide the basis of the local economy in southeast Alaska. Endanger those fish and the economy they support, and you endanger peoples' livelihoods. Sign the petition today to encourage Secretary Kerry to do all that he can to protect these waterways.

Xboundary: Wild Alaska is Threatened by Canadian Mines

This new film from Salmon Beyond Borders tells the story of the disaster at the Mt. Polley Mine in British Columbia while making a call to action to prevent further open pit mine development throughout the region. 

Unfortunately, it seems like money usually wins out in these cases. Looking back in history we can see numerous examples of huge environmental disasters that have affected broad geographic areas, but ultimately companies keep using the same dangerous practices because they are getting rich from them.

Watch this film to see the threats facing southeast Alaska and the pristine environment there.


Xboundary from Salmon Beyond Borders on Vimeo.

Alaska is on my bucket list of places to fish as well as British Columbia. Unfortunately the Canadian government is choosing to risk the future of these fisheries as well as the beautiful landscapes that contain them.

Having lived in Colorado and seen the landscapes there that are affected by mining, not to mention the effects we still experience here in Tennessee due to coal mining, I am skeptical about just about any mining. Retaining dams with earth fills fail more often than most people probably care to acknowledge. Here in Tennessee, we had a coal ash spill near the Kingston coal fired power plant that caused a lot of damage. Unfortunately, in the name of progress we go right on destroying the world around us.

More from the Trout Zone:

• Why I Love Winter Fishing
• Frosting on the Trees
• Master Fisherman
• Country Evenings