Chris Harris tours to launch his new book: Motherstone

Coming soon to a venue near you (if you live in BC, that is).

MOTHERSTONE
British Columbia's Volcanic Plateau

In the high country of British Columbia's Central Plateau lies the Motherstone. It is a land that few people have walked over or seen before. It includes a chain of shield volcanoes formed over a mantle hot spot rising from a depth of 2,900 kilometers, a sea of crystallized basalts stretching 300 kilometers from Anahim Peak to the Painted Chasm, a river of obsidian, underwater volcanoes sitting high up above the world's only inland temperate rainforest, and a field of cinder cones still rising from among the trees they burned through when they were formed.

Tour Itinerary

 

Beetle-killed trees probably less flammable than green trees

NASA Satellites Reveal Surprising Connection Between Beetle Attacks, Wildfire
The results may seem at first counterintuitive, but make sense when considered more carefully. First, while green needles on trees appear to be more lush and harder to burn, they contain high levels very flammable volatile oils. When the needles die, those flammable oils begin to break down. As a result, depending on the weather conditions, dead needles may not be more likely to catch and sustain a fire than live needles.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

For some years Dave Neads has been pushing this point. Perhaps it takes an authority like NASA to get past the sceptics and vested interests. In 2004, in his series, The Other Side of the Story, he wrote:

On the bright side, once the trees are dead, they actually are less of a fire hazard than the green tree that used to stand so prettily in your garden. This is because all those oils and turpentines have left the tree needles, and they are actually not as prone to explosive crown fires as green trees.

One they reach the gray stage, they are very low risk for naturally occurring fires, but once felled, these naturally air dried trees make good firewood, so there may be a bonus if you have several of them on your property.

From Backyard Beetles by Dave Neads

Other posts by Dave Neads:

• The pine beetle aftermath requires a fundamental culture change
• Perspective on the Lodgepole Pine
• Factory fences: aliens in the Chilcotin

Dave's personal blog: Chilcotin Ark

Flooding in the Chilcotin along Highway 20

Reports are starting to come in from friends and clients of mine:

From Chris Czajkowski, heading home after her season at Nuk Tessli:

Sunday, September 26

I was expecting to drive to Williams Lake at 4.00am Monday morning to arrive at the garage at 8.00 for a brake job on my van . . .   That was when someone said something about the road being closed near the McClinchy Bridge.  My turnoff is maybe 100 metres on the Nimpo side of the McLinchy Bridge.  So I drove along in warm, quite sunny weather - the surface of the road was dry and everything looked  peaceful.  Then, round a bend, just a mile or so from the bridge, was a police wagon parked across the road.  The cop pointed to two orange cones on the highway - "half an hour ago, there were 5", she said.  

 

Dave Neads.

Monday morning September 27 

As of this morning HWY 20 west of the McClinchy bridge has a washout 1km long,  and just east of Wolverine Ranch, another patch several metres long has disappeared. Louie Creek has washed out, Young Creek bridge on the hill is compromised, and "several" bridges in the valley are gone.

 http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_cariboo/williamslaketribune/breaking_news/103861119.html

Talking to Interior Roads, they feel it could be several weeks until the Bella Coola valley  and probably a week until the McClinchy section is temporally repaired.  We are OK. It is raining hard again - expect another 30 to 40 mm overnight.

Rosemary Neads. 

Monday afternoon September 27

Anahim and Nimpo are now completely cut off from the rest of the world.  About 1 km of highway west of the McClinchy bridge (25 min east of Nimpo) and a large chunk east of the bridge are missing.  Estimates are at least 1 week, if it stops raining and the river drops.  That snow on the upper slopes last week has all been washed away - nto our rivers.  Just on our deck, yesterday we had 2.5 inches fall in about 8 hours - and this was after the worst of the storm .  Anahim and Nimpo get their power from a diesel generator, and that is in danger of running out of fuel.  And no way to get any here. The highways trucks also are very low. There's a run on the grocery stores!

Bella Coola is in a far worse situation, so far as regular supplies.  Luckily, their fuel gets there  by barge.  But their highway is washed out in many places and a number of bridge are gone - the Bella Coola River has overflowed its banks in many places.  The community around Hagensborg has been out of water since Friday, but of course there is lots of rain water.  A major bridge on the Hill has lost its approaches, although the Hill itself is holding.  Estimates from Interior Roads suggest it could be as much as two months before everything is restored, and probably several weeks before even limited travel is possible.

Chris again.

Monday afternoon September 27

It was lovely and sunny this morning and the air was filled with planes and helicopters.  But now, at 11.30 am it is pouring rain again.  I don't think it will bring the river up any more because all the snow at higher elevations has melted.  But it will hamper rebuilding efforts as the soil is so saturated it will be unworkable.  It is a couple of days before we can expect the weather to clear.  I will be out of food in 3 days - so will the stores at Nimpo and Anahim so goodness knows what will happen.

Chris' journal on the flood.

 

Earthship building going up in the South Cariboo

This type of energy-saving and energy-efficient structure was pioneered some years ago. As the design and especially the materials used (including much use of used car tyres and pop cans) gains credibility, "Earthships" are becoming more widespread. As I write, one of these is being built on my doorstep - in the South Cariboo, near 100 Mile House.

BC Government has lost its environmental credibility

Bob Peart, a member of the B.C. Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy from 1989-1992, reviews the many ways in which the BC government has alienated those concerned about support and protection for BC's natural environment.

A war in the woods appears to be heating up again in British Columbia to the point that a B.C. cabinet minister was caught calling a group of environmentalists eco-fascists for being critical of his position on the creation of a park in the Flathead Valley.

 The list is long and pretty damning.

British Columbia's government is cancelling funding for monitoring and updating land-use plans that took a decade of hard work to put in place; eliminating research budgets in the Ministry of Forests and Range, thereby deregulating forestry standards and moving to a system of private forestry practices; refusing to increase the number of conservation officers to a level required to protect our fish and wildlife; and failing to renew funding for valuable projects such as Biodiversity B.C., which contribute to environmental policy decisions.

Provincial policy isn't safeguarding our abundant natural resources

Old Man's Beard is out there

A very promising new band from BC's Elk Valley.

See them this summer:

• Jul 25 Royal on Baker - Nelson, BC
  
• Jul 27 The Central - Fernie, BC
• Aug10 Shuswap Lake - Salmon Arm, BC
• Aug 14 + 15 Roots and Blues Festival - Salmon Arm, BC

Web site

Teztan Biny / Fish Lake still in jeopardy

According to resource planner Tony Pearse in The Tyee, the recently-announced Federal environmental assessment leaves loopholes for the federal government to justify approving the Taseko plan, which includes using the lake as a tailings pond.

The panel had expert evidence before it that Taseko had substantially overestimated the economic benefits of its project and yet, in providing information to the ministers concerning justifiability, it did not pass on the only independent analysis available. This is bad news, because it is virtually certain that the ministers will examine the issue of economic benefits if they contemplate approving the project despite the serious environmental and cultural consequences identified by the panel.

This evidence, from resource economist Marvin Schaffer, "told the panel that the BC EAO's conclusion that 'there is no expected cost to future generations except for the loss of Fish Lake and Little Fish lake' was factually incorrect. There would be a very large, on-going cost to present and future generations from this arrangement."

Read the full article

The Campaign to protect Fish Lake

Fish Lake / Teztan Biny 

Taseko / Fish Lake Panel sees B.C. mine as environmental threat

Promising news for Fish Lake (Teztan Biny). According to this report, almost all the evidence supports preserving Fish Lake in its present pristine state. On the face of it, it's a no-brainer but, as we see around us, corporate interests sometimes act as if they have no brains and use profits and a few jobs to sweeten the pot. Apparently all that can stop this recommendation to preserve Fish Lake is a decision by the federal government to ignore all the evidence and give this sort-sighted and destructive project the go-ahead.

CBC News - British Columbia - Panel sees B.C. mine as environmental threat

Executive Summary of panel findings.

The New Campaign to protect Fish Lake

The HST in BC: Some helpful clarification

Wrong HST Question, Premier Campbell

He asks how we can afford to drop the hated tax, so he can give the wrong answer.

By Bill Tieleman, Today, TheTyee.ca


The real question on killing the HST isn't about cutting services or raising the provincial sales tax.

The real HST question Premier Gordon Campbell fears is this: "Do you want to personally pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars in new taxes every year to subsidize big business?"


Read the article

Birds from a Cariboo Deck No.10: White-crowned Sparrow

The bird of the moment: our back yard is presently filled with these cute, little birds.

More Birds from A Cariboo Deck

Prosperity Mine Environmental Hearing (affecting Fish Lake and area) in 100 Mile House. Testimony - Post No.2

PROSPERITY GOLD-COPPER MINE PROJECT

CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REGISTRY #09-05-44811

___________________________________

FEDERAL REVIEW PANEL PUBLIC HEARING

PURSUANT TO: SECTION 34 OF THE CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ACT

______________________________________

PROCEEDINGS AT HEARING

GENERAL HEARING SESSION - (Day and Evening Sessions)

March 26, 2010

Volume 8 Pages 1221 to 1425

________________________________________

Held at:

The Lodge & Conference Centre

Valley Room

100 Mile House

British Columbia

Presentation of the Lower Bridge Creek Water Stewardship Society by Gordon Hoglund

MR. HOGLUND my name is Gordon Hoglund, H-O-G-L-U-N-D, and I'm speaking on behalf of the Lower Bridge Creek Watershed Stewardship Society.

I'm a relative newcomer to the Cariboo, only been here 40 years and when I'm speaking with people who have had innumerable generations born here, I do feel like a newcomer.

We have several concerns about the Taseko Mine's proposed Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project in the Chilcotin area of British Columbia.

First, the use of Fish Lakes as a tailings pond, a core component of the scheme, is highly questionable. Prior to 2002, this would never have been allowed to happen. Under the Federal Fisheries Act at that time, this lake would have been protected.

But, in 2002, the Metal Mining Effluent Regulation of the act was introduced and suddenly freshwater lakes can now, identified freshwater lakes can now be used as tailings ponds.

This was a gift, I'm not saying it was paid for, but it seems to me that it was a gift to mining companies.

Anyway, the destruction of a presently viable wild lake for the short-term economic benefits of the mine is to turn the calendar back to a time when we gave corporate interests carte blanche with regards to the environment.

In the face of worldwide ecological collapse, it is unwise to start a project that has, at its centre, the potential destruction of a freshwater ecosystem.

To suggest that a man-made lake can adequately replace a fully functioning natural one, borders on the absurd.

In addition, as pointed out and demonstrated by Dr. David Levy's Review of Prosperity Mine's Aquatic Assessment, MiningWatch Canada, November 2009:

"The compensation proposal is inadequate and does not account for differences and literal habitat between Fish and Prosperity Lakes, time lags and artificial lake functionality, inherently lower trout production in Prosperity Lake, and predicted reduction in Prosperity Lake productivity over time."

When these factors are considered, Prosperity Lake would need to be four to five times larger than the proposed to meet the No Net Loss principle, the DFO Policy for the Management of Fish Habitat.
And I hope that the DFO Policy for the Management of Fish Habitat and the No Net Loss principle are still standards to be met.

Our concern is compounded by the fact that the destruction of Fish Lake by filling it with tailings and slag produced from the mine was predicated on the mine having an operational lifetime of 20 years.
Taseko, on November 2nd, 2009, announced that Prosperity might operate for 33 years. A 67 percent increase in operational time.

No one seems to know what the cumulative environmental effect of this change will be, nor where the extra waste in this relatively inefficient mine operation will end up.

We're told it will be piled higher.

This really puts in question many of the conclusions reached in the Prosperity Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, which is, by the way, a very amazing document.

I found it really informative and I really - the amount of work that went into this document, if you haven't read the sections that you're interested in, you really should, because it contains a lot of great information.

You can mine a lot, even kernels of gold from this document.

Second, the proposed mine lies within the traditional territory of the Tsilhqot'in First Nation People who have not voiced approval for this industrial intrusion to take place in their backyard.
Indeed, two First Nations spokeswomen, Chief Marilyn Baptiste, who spoke here recently, just a few minutes ago, and Anne Marie Sam wrote in The Vancouver Sun February 16th, 2010:

"This mine would kill the pristine and culturally and ecologically important Fish Lake by turning it into a massive toxic tailing pond."

They also note the Tsilhqot'in have a court case underway to establish fishing rights and protect Fish Lake.

Without First Nation approval, this Project should not go ahead.

On page 96 of the B.C. Environment Assessment Office, EAO Report for the Project, it is noted that:

"Cross dating and information provided by First Nation communities suggest the continual use of Fish Lake locality from approximately 5500 BP."

BP or "before present" means the First Nations Peoples have used this area since roughly 3550 B.C..

We don't feel that the First Nations people are going to take solace in the concluding statement of page 98 of the same report:

"EAO is satisfied the Proposed Project is not likely to have significant adverse effects on archaeological and heritage resources."

To me, it borders on the absurd.

We sincerely hope that Federal authorities do not reach a similar conclusion.

You should keep in mind that the archaeological stuff that was done by Terra Archeology contains a bit of a disclaimer in part of its summary.

It says:

"It is important to note this assessment is intended to identify physical archaeological evidence of past human activity protected under the Heritage Conservation Act. It does not address traditional land use or other heritage concerns of the First Nation people with asserted traditional territory in the study area."

It's a historical record only.

If this Project does go forward without strong First Nation consent, we believe that national and international media will react to it in much the same manner as they would if China, without the consent of resident Tibetans, decided to destroy a part of Tibet for economic returns most fully felt in the stock markets of China.

A third concern is the amount of groundwater to be pumped from deep local aquifers to supply the immense needs of the mine operation.

Freshwater consumption is at least 1,200,000 cubic metres per year, according to the EIS, Volume 3, page 6-45. I've seen other figures that place it at close to 4 million. 1,200,000 cubic metres is 1 billion 200 litres. This is a huge amount of fresh water going out of deep aquifers.

Even though Taseko proposes a massive water reclamation process, the long-term impacts on the local aquifers and watersheds are really unknown.

Of note is the following comment by John S. Adams, a senior vice-president, investments, for a Swiss banking conglomerate, UBS Financial Services, that appeared in his article:

"If we don't invest to protect our natural world, we'll plunge our economy into crisis."
Vancouver Province, March 17, 2010.
"When watersheds no longer provide freshwater, forests no longer help prevent droughts and floods, and oceans no longer support healthy fish stocks, governments will be called upon to provide these services in other more expensive ways. Yet expenditures on extracting natural resources globally now dwarfs spending on conserving nature by over 100:1.
This is a stunning imbalance. We must protect the ecosystems that provide trillions of dollars worth of goods and services to humanity each year before they crash like the world financial system did."

We believe it's time for Canada to lead the way in recognizing the innate importance of the natural world by curbing enterprises that call for an inordinate amount of destruction to natural systems.
Prosperity Mine may lead to a sense of well-being for its investors, but it does not address many local unemployment concerns. It's hardly a panacea for this problem.

We heard some statistics that I wished I had heard earlier so I could be better prepared to question them.

But anyway, I'll carry on as I have here.

During an average operating year, less than 2 percent of the regional service area labour force will be employed at the mine and their wages will represent less than three percent of the total wages paid in that same regional area service, Williams Lake and surrounding regional districts.
This is from EIS, their document, volume 6, 2-21.

It's not to downplay the importance of these jobs, it's just that the number looks large when you say it as a number. When you look at it as a percentage of the actual number of people employed in an area, it is quite small.

Many of these employees would likely come from beyond local and regional labour markets, as was mentioned. And its stated right there in EIS, volume 6, page 2-9: "And equally probable, very few will be from the First Nations labour force." Stated indirectly twice in EIS the Environment Impact Study, volume 6, page 2-11 and 2-13.

Even the spin-offs, it sounds large, a thousand spin off jobs. That's 1,000 of 25,000. That's a 4 percent decrease in an area where unemployment in the Williams Lake area is often, even worse now, I think, 10 percent. So even with this $800 million enterprise going in, it is not going to significantly solve the employment situation in that region on its own.

But the jobs are worth having, I'm sure. I'm not trying to belittle that, but look at it in terms of just what the impact really is. For these relatively small income numbers, the integrity, stability and beauty of this naturally thriving, that is presently prosperous - and I kind of resent them stealing that word, by the way - by all, that the community will be permanently altered.

We must go beyond the thought that Crown and public lands have no value other than the potential products buried beneath or growing in the soil. We must move towards a concept inherent in the attitude of some First Nations Peoples toward the land.

In essence, the land is their church, the place where sacred and essential ceremonies and rituals take place. If you desecrate the land, you disrespect the people by destroying evidence of their heritage.

In closing, we find it ironic that GoBC, the unofficial BC Travel and Tourism Guide, has printed postcards of wilderness sites they view as must-sees by visitors to our province. We leave you, and I left with the Panel, a postcard featuring Fish Lake in the Chilcotin.

We believe that the destruction of this Crown-owned, unpolluted freshwater ecosystem with deep intrinsic values to the First Nation people is too high a price for the benefits promised by this Project.

Thank you.

---------------------------------------------------
The New Campaign to protect Fish Lake  2012 - 2013

Prosperity Mine Environmental Hearing (affecting Fish Lake and area) in 100 Mile House

Many powerful presentations made the case strongly against the plan, which includes filling pristine Fish Lake with mine tailings.  The few presentations in favour (beyond those from the mining company, Taseko) were based on the usual mantra of dependence on the mine to provide jobs which provide taxes which pay for social services.

As it happens, the South Cariboo has at least two well-advanced projects that are likely to provide increased income and employment for the area:

• South Cariboo Meat Co-op.
• Agriculture Enterprise Development Centre

And these are sustainable: environmentally, socially and economically; no devastated environment left behind after 20 years.

I requested and was given permission by Martin Zibeau to publish his presentation to the 100 Mile House hearing (you can reach him at zibeau.ecojournal at gmail.com):

Presentation by Martin Zibeau at the Federal Environmental Assessment Hearing for the Prosperity Gold Mine (Fish Lake) Proposal

PROSPERITY GOLD-COPPER MINE PROJECT
CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REGISTRY #09-05-44811
___________________________________
FEDERAL REVIEW PANEL PUBLIC HEARING
PURSUANT TO: SECTION 34 OF THE CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ACT
_______________________________________
PROCEEDINGS AT HEARING
GENERAL HEARING SESSION - (Day and Evening Sessions)
March 26, 2010
Volume 8 Pages 1221 to 1425
________________________________________

Held at:

The Lodge & Conference Centre
Valley Room
100 Mile House
British Columbia

Presentation by Martin Zibeau

I was born in Quebec City.

And that was 42 years ago and as I've been listening to people talking today, I realize that in the very short period of time, Quebec City has gone from a very small, well, a fairly small town, and even we can go back 400 years ago where it was pristine and we could drink water everywhere, to now where it's impossible to actually drink the water from anything two hours of driving, to a two-hour driving radius.

I just want to give you a little bit of background on me. I just came from Yellowknife in the Northwest Territory where I've lived the past 10 years. And in a mining town, well, which is Yellowknife, a fairly big mining town, that the native people call Sumbukay (phonetic), which is the place where the money is, and it is also the place where a high rate of social problems are.

And now we've moved here in the area about six months ago. And I couldn't help but to come to the hearings today to share or just to participate as a Canadian citizen in a process like that to, to voice my concerns and to share my ideas.

And I hope that at some point more people, ordinary people like myself will take the stand and not fear that you have to be a specialist to talk about our own environment, the place we live in.

I have written a few words and those words are harsh. And they came out of my heart and my head but I still mean them as respectfully as I can.

And I will be speaking to the people of the mine Project, but I certainly do not wish to attack anybody personally.

The Project itself, as you probably will figure out, I don't believe is a good idea, but I certainly don't want to appear as wanting to attack anybody personally. And that's true for the Panel as well. So I will read my words.

I would like to say as politely as I can that the so-called Prosperity Mine has to be one of the most insensitive projects I have ever heard of. Once again, in the name of prosperity, we, through the decision making processes of our government are willing to defy the laws of reason and of logic. I would like to understand how we have come to think that we have the power to move a lake thousands of years old, a self-reliant well-functioning ecosystem from one place to another. And for what? Is it for gold and copper? If this is the answer, here is a suggestion: Mine the dumps of the world until no gold and no copper is found in the millions of dumps of the world. Leave the natural world along.

As a Canadian citizen, a long-time taxpayer, I am appalled to see that this kind of project is even considered.

Members of the Panel, I can imagine how complicated your job is assessing this Project. I can imagine how deep under bureaucratic kerfuffle you find yourself at the end of a journey like the one you are on now. Yet, I cannot imagine that justice, the law, or whatever else you want to call it, may provide the kind of buffer that you would need, you would be needed to live with yourself after okaying such a grossly disruptive project.

How could we, in 2010, knowing in what state the world is in, still think of allowing an open pit mine when what we really need to preserve our green spaces, which are the lungs of our planet.

Is money the only thing anyone working for the government cares for?

Are a few slightly richer stakeholders enough to justify the kind of damage we are about to cause?

Is there still room at the Assessment Agency for the question: How many Canadian citizens will benefit from this Project compared to how many will be harmed and for how long?

To the lucky few that will be lining up at the doors of Taseko Mines for a job, I would like to ask if the few dollars that they will bring home will offset the damages caused to their own neighbourhood?

What legacy are you going to leave to your children's children by taking part in such a project?

I can understand the appeal that a saviour like a big mining company can have on people. But let's not forget what these saviours leave behind when they have sucked the life out of the land and out of the spirit of the people they cared so much about.

Is it worth it?

There are other more sustainable options that could benefit members of a community in the long-term.

Instead of accepting that our government keeps spending large amounts of money to assess and rubber stamp projects proposed by big corporations that greatly benefit small numbers of people, we should demand that this money be spent helping us organize ourselves to create a future that we can be proud of.

I could not leave without underlining how embarrassed I feel regarding the treatment we give the members of our Canadian First Nations.

How is it possible for us to feel so superior to a people to whom we owe so much?

Please correct me if I am wrong, but haven't they taken care of the land we live on for thousands of years before we came and wrecked it, exploited it ruthlessly in just a few hundred years?

Should we not listen to the wisdom of the Elders for our own sake instead of bullying them like we do?

I really hope that one day we can set our feeling of superiority aside and use our intelligence to stop and listen for a little while.

And maybe then will we be able to stop being afraid.

Yes, I think we are afraid of these people that we have been living with for so long and of whom we have so little knowledge. Let's stop being afraid and let's sit face-to-face, people-to-people, governing-body-to-governing-body, and prove that there is still a possibility for adult human beings to be reasonable, efficient, and respectful.

I would be lying if I said that I am not angry.

But I am also worried for the future of my children if we continue to let our government be lobbied out of reason.
We need to react to the inbreeding created by the passing between the corporate world and the governmental world of individuals we elect.

The division that should exist between those two worlds is starting to be blurry for the citizen that I am. Therefore, it is harder and harder for me to trust that a Panel like this one is working in my best interests and the best interests of the rest of us ordinary citizens instead of in the interests of corporations.

If you cannot protect us from the doings of corporations, whose top priority is making money for their shareholders and not our collective well-being, then who will?

And finally, I would like to make a suggestion. If this Project goes ahead, and I strongly remember that it doesn't, in case it hasn't been clear so far, the names associated to the infrastructures, tailing ponds, access roads, the open pit, et cetera, should bear the names of the players in the Project.

Instead of the Prosperity Mine, I suggest that we call it the "Russell Hallbauer Mine" in honour of the President and CEO and the Director of Taseko.

To remember what happened to Fish Lake, the "Ronald Thiessen, Taseko Chairman and Board of Director, Tailing Pond." And surely, to remember how it came to be, the "Bob Connelly Access Road."

If this project ends up being as great as I assume you think it may be, then I will be glad in 20-some-years to admit that I was wrong about the "Russell Hallbauer Mine."

-----------------------------------------------------
The New Campaign to protect Fish Lake  2012 - 2013

The Tsilhqot'in Fight for Teztan Biny / Fish Lake

There are areas in the Chilcotin region (and elsewhere in BC) where significant elements of the indigenous culture are still viable. This, despite the decimation of smallpox, evidently encouraged by the early settlers in their wish to take over inhabited land. The occupation continues to this day, currently in a plan to start a mine and dump the tailings in a nearby lake. This became possible after the government removed protective laws on such a practice. The video is about the lake and the people whose lives are entwined with its presence. It provides an insight into the lives of the Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) people and a culture still significantly integrated with the natural world - and what we all stand to lose if the mine goes ahead.

Blue Gold: The Tsilhqot'in Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) from Susan Smitten on Vimeo.

March 26: DFO raises concerns with Taseko fish plan.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada raised concerns about Taseko Mines Ltd.’s fish compensation plan for the proposed prosperity mine while at the federal review panel hearings Wednesday.
March 22, 2010: Williams Lake BC; Commencement of Federal Environmental Assessment Review Panel's public hearings on Taseko Mines Ltd's proposed Prosperity Mine, which would destroy Teztan Biny (Fish Lake). This coincides with 2010 World Water Day and events will be held in Williams Lake and other communities to highlight this fact.

• March 22-25: Movie may be shown at Public Hearing in Williams Lake
• Tom Swanky: The Tsilhqot'in War and the Smallpox Plot
• First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining

Many well-intentioned and good people have been induced by the usual false hopes for windfall profits fanned by mining speculators, or by a fear of the always unknown and certain future, to campaign in favour of Prosperity. To exhaust the natural resources owned by the Tsilhqot’in without their consent; to destroy a heritage site with a future potential for the useful education of all concerning different approaches to resource utilization; to risk the contamination of a river system; to risk a new error in the hope of compensating for the mismanagement of the forest industry; and so on. All for what gain? All for the benefit of less than $100 a head for twenty years and an artificial lake suited to the tastes of rich sports fishermen from elsewhere.  -  Tom Swanky. From a submission to the upcoming Environmental Assessment Panel.

The New Campaign to protect Fish Lake  2012 - 2013

Nuk Tessli Alpine Experience for Sale

A wilderness ecotourism business in one of the more remote corners of British Columbia is for sale. Chris Czajkowski, author, botanist and wilderness dweller continues to run her Nuk Tessli Alpine Experience but has put the business up for sale.  Here's what she says:

As readers of my books will know, I started Nuk Tessli single-handedly, from scratch, 21 years ago. There was not so much as a chainsaw mark on the place; now there are three cosy, rustic cabins and an extensive network of alpine trails. Of course it will be a wrench to give up my "queendom", but my big love is exploring new territory for alpine plants. While I have a special relationship with the flora in my area, I also long to visit other mountain ranges when the alpine flowers are blooming. Each rock base produces different species and there are many alpine plants that I have never seen. I will not be able to fulfil my dreams if I spend every summer at Nuk Tessli. If you wish to see the listing, go to http://www.fsbo.com/121316 (Be aware that the lease is set up as a commercial venture and the cabins cannot be for private use.)

You can pause the images at any point or back up and, if you prefer, turn the captions off or on.

More from Chris' photojournals

Tom Swanky: The Tsilhqot'in War and the Smallpox Plot

"Researching the B.C. smallpox of 1861 to 1864. And the Tsilhqot'in response, culminating in the 1864/65 hanging of Tsilhqot'in leaders, the largest public execution in Canadian history."

Tom will be presenting his updated information in Williams Lake at 7:00 pm on Wednesday February 3rd. He says: "Now includes targeting 'William' with smallpox and Killing the Northerners at Victoria. Improved the story of smallpox as a biological weapon to steal the site of Quesnel from the Lhatko Dene. Should be about ten minutes shorter than in Oct. Looking forward to meeting everyone.".

Sled dog racing at 108 Mile Ranch

Yesterday, we went to the annual sled dog races here at 108 Mile Ranch. For the first time they were held at the heart of the 108 community, with the course running around the lakes around which the community developed.  We were very impressed - with the new venue (the base was the Heritage Site), the organization, the atmosphere and, of course, the dogs, the mushers and the dog-handlers. Here are a few images: