About the Region
Critical Issues
When an international tribunal established the Southeast Alaska border in 1903, giving the US control of the mouths of the transboundary rivers, Canada pledged to limit access to and commerce in the ‘Panhandle,’ and to ensure that resources from northern Canada didn’t get hauled away on roads leading to US ports. These politics resulted in a notable lack of industrial impacts on the transboundary landscape, leaving instead a vast series of interconnected, intact, and healthy ecosystems. Now, over 100 years later, political decisions will again have immense bearing on the future of this region.
Exploration companies are currently swarming these wild, remote watersheds as demand for commodities, such as gold, silver, copper, and energy, brings global markets to the transboundary region. Individually the threats to these places are great, but the gravity of the threats is best understood in light of the cumulative developments proposed across the region. Once energy transmission lines and access routes are in place, there will be no limits to the pace and scale of industrial mining and energy development.
The location, kind, and number of industrial projects in a given area bears greatly on their impact in an ecosystem. Access routes into previously remote regions can completely alter the character of the area by opening it up to increased traffic, further industry, and additional impacts, like poaching. Projects located in or upstream from sensitive areas or critical habitat can devastate an entire system. Similarly, multiple industrial projects reduce an ecosystem’s ability to cope with change. Large, intact ecosystems can more easily adapt, as their biodiversity helps to prevent a sudden collapse of their functions. Rapid development also creates boom and bust economies and can pose societal challenges in small communities.
In addition, the transboundary region is alive with First Nations culture and traditions. Their interactions with the land are of critical importance to their lifestyle and livelihood. While a First Nation may not oppose all development, they have rights on their traditional lands that must be upheld before any development takes place.
The watersheds of the transboundary are world-class and are of global significance. They are irreplaceable and need to be valued as such. At present, the greatest threats are in the Taku and the Iskut-Stikine watersheds, so much of our work is concentrated in those areas. However, we maintain a regional focus, which empowers our campaigns locally, and ensures that the values of and the threats to the entire region are addressed with a view to big picture, policy level change.