Washington State - It's Not Just the Skagit River
Our collective voices - from Alaska, to Washington, Montana, and Idaho - are all needed to defend our transboundary rivers, jobs, and way of life.
Join us and our friends at Conservation Northwest in taking action by sending a message to Washington legislators and Governor Jay Inslee, calling on them to pressure leaders in B.C. to protect international watersheds!
Take the action from Conservation Northwest below!
Join us and our friends at Conservation Northwest in taking action by sending a message to Washington legislators and Governor Jay Inslee, calling on them to pressure leaders in B.C. to protect international watersheds!
Take the action from Conservation Northwest below!
Imperial Metals owns the B.C. Mount Polley mine and its failed waste dump, when the dump's dam burst in 2014 it sent 6.6. billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the Fraser River watershed, making the breach B.C.'s worst environmental disaster. Months later, B.C. gave Imperial Metals the green light to open the Red Chris mine in the transboundary Alaska/B.C. Stikine River watershed, without holding them accountable for the disaster at their Mount Polley mine. Now, Imperial Metals is looking to develop the donut hole between two protected areas in the Skagit watershed, which flows into Washington.
The Skagit serves as the largest producer of Chinook salmon for the Puget Sound and Southern Resident Killer Whale population and is a key source of power for the City of Seattle. A massive effort is under way to protect the Skagit River from Imperial Metals' mining activity — but the threat isn't only to the Skagit.
B.C. is also considering more than 30 mining exploration projects, most of which will include large mine waste dumps (tailings dams), in the headwaters of transboundary rivers that flow into Washington State.
The Skagit serves as the largest producer of Chinook salmon for the Puget Sound and Southern Resident Killer Whale population and is a key source of power for the City of Seattle. A massive effort is under way to protect the Skagit River from Imperial Metals' mining activity — but the threat isn't only to the Skagit.
B.C. is also considering more than 30 mining exploration projects, most of which will include large mine waste dumps (tailings dams), in the headwaters of transboundary rivers that flow into Washington State.
Our collective voices - from Alaska, to Washington, Montana, and Idaho - are all needed to defend our transboundary rivers, jobs, and way of life.
Skagit River News Updates:
‘The border is this imaginary line’: why Americans are fighting mining in B.C.’s ‘Doughnut Hole’
-The Narwhal, January 8th, 2020
"Logging permits in the Skagit River headwaters will no longer be issued by the B.C. government but mining exploration is causing friction with Americans downstream. We travelled the river to meet the people fighting an Imperial Metals permit."
B.C. bans logging in sensitive border area after urging from Seattle mayor
- Vancouver Sun, December 4th, 2019
Why an international coalition is going all out to stop mining in B.C.’s Skagit headwaters
-The Narwhal, June 17, 2019
"Imperial Metals, the company responsible for the Mount Polley tailings pond disaster, has applied to drill in southwestern British Columbia, in the headwaters of a river that provides water for millions of people."
Canadian company applies for permit for exploratory mining in headwaters of Skagit River
- Seattle Times, March 21, 2019
The Skagit River
The Skagit River originates within E.C. Manning Provincial Park in B.C., draining almost 2 million acres of the Cascades Range, before terminating into the Puget Sound. The Skagit River, Puget Sound’s biggest salmon river, has spawning populations of all 5 species of pacific salmon as well as bull trout, and coastal cutthroat trout. Winter and summer run steelhead are also present, both of which are listed under the Endangered Species Act. The Skagit still has a large amount of spawning habitat and the potential for native fish recovery is high, maybe the best in the Puget Sound region. Three Tribes call the Skagit home, the Upper Skagit, the Lower Skagit and the Swinomish. The tribes have Co-Manager Status of the resources of the Skagit.
Much of the Skagit’s headwaters are protected by Canadian parks. But, to preserve historic mining rights, the B.C. government set aside a forested area (the size of Manhattan) that’s surrounded by parkland. It’s known now as the “donut hole.”
Imperial Metals, who owns B.C.’s Mt. Polley mine that failed in 2014, sending 6.6. billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the Fraser River watershed, and the operating Red Chris mine in the Stikine River Watershed that drains into Alaska, is now looking to develop the donut hole, "Giant Copper" in the Skagit watershed.
With the increasing concern for salmon populations & the impacts to communities, fisheries, and the Southern Resident Killer Whale population, it is vital that the Skagit River remain as productive as possible.
Much of the Skagit’s headwaters are protected by Canadian parks. But, to preserve historic mining rights, the B.C. government set aside a forested area (the size of Manhattan) that’s surrounded by parkland. It’s known now as the “donut hole.”
Imperial Metals, who owns B.C.’s Mt. Polley mine that failed in 2014, sending 6.6. billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the Fraser River watershed, and the operating Red Chris mine in the Stikine River Watershed that drains into Alaska, is now looking to develop the donut hole, "Giant Copper" in the Skagit watershed.
With the increasing concern for salmon populations & the impacts to communities, fisheries, and the Southern Resident Killer Whale population, it is vital that the Skagit River remain as productive as possible.