Sacred Headwaters
The Sacred Headwaters is the name given to a subalpine basin in northern British Columbia that is the source of three wild salmon rivers: the Skeena River, Nass River and Stikine River. It is also referred to as the Klappan Valley, although the Klappan—a tributary of the Stikine River—is only one of the area's watersheds. Local Tahltan people call the area "Klabona", which is loosely translated as "headwaters."
The area has a significant population of grizzly bears, stone sheep, caribou, wolves, and goats.[1] Salmon swim over 400 kilometres from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the upper reaches of the river.[citation needed]
Industrial development
The Sacred Headwaters is rich in mineral and energy resources, particularly coal and coalbed methane. Several industrial development projects are planned for the area, including Fortune Minerals' open-pit Klappan Coal Mine[2] and Royal Dutch Shell's Klappan Coalbed Methane Project.[3] Shell Canada's website reports to be conducting several environmental baseline studies being carried out within the Klappan tenure area.[4]. The British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources estimates the Klappan coal deposit could contain as much as 8.1 trillion cubic feet (230 km3) of coalbed methane gas.[5]
Klappan Coalbed Methane Project
The Klappan Coalbed Methane Project is a proposal by Shell Canada to develop a coalbed methane methane project in the area known as the Sacred Headwaters. In 2004, the British Columbia government granted Royal Dutch Shell (which is now a parent company of Shell Canada) a 400,000 hectare (4,000 km2) tenure for coalbed methane development. It is accessed by road via the abandoned BC Rail grade, which intersects British Columbia Highway 37 south of Iskut. As of Summer 2008, Shell's project is in the exploration phase. Shell drilled three exploratory wells in 2004 and is preparing to drill an additional 14 wells in 2008, 8 of which are proposed for the headwaters of the Skeena River.[needs update] If developed, Shell's project will entail a network of gas wells connected by roads and pipelines, as well as a pipeline to deliver the gas to market. Shell has disclosed neither how many wells will be necessary to make the project economically viable nor route options for the delivery pipeline. The Klappan Coalbed Methane Project has been met with opposition by both First Nations groups and Non-governmental organizations. The Pembina Institute, an environmentalist think-tank, released a report on the potential impacts of the Klappan Coalbed Methane Project on wild salmon, calling it a "risky experiment" as commercial coalbed methane production has never been attempted in a salmon-bearing watershed.[6]
References
- ^ "Fort St. James Land and Resource Management Plan". 1999. Retrieved 2009-03-27. [dead link]
- ^ "Klappan Coal mine".
- ^ "Klappan Coalbed Methane project".
- ^ "Shell Canada – Protect the Klappan Environment".
- ^ A Summary of Coalbed Methane Potential in British Columbia, Barry Ryan, BC Ministry of Energy and Mines, British Columbia (no date).
- ^ "Coalbed Methane & Salmon" (PDF). Pembina Institute. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
Bibliography
- Wade Davis, "Don't sacrifice the Sacred Headwaters.," The Globe and Mail, October 8, 2007.
- Andrew Findlay, "A methane battle is brewing," The Georgia Straight, August 23, 2007.
- Monte Paulsen, "A gentle revolution," The Walrus, December/January 2006.
- Bassett, Monty, "Dewatering the holy headwaters," Northword Magazine, Spring 2005.