RIVERS WITHOUT BORDERS

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Taku River system needs same protection as Bristol Bay

Nancy Lord, Alaska’s writer laureate, sent this editorial
to the Alaska Daily News:

 Anchorage Daily News

Published: April 27, 2010

Taku River system needs same protection as Bristol Bay

COMPASS: Other points of view

By NANCY LORD

Secretary Salazar, in announcing the Department of the Interior’s new oil and gas development strategy, set aside Bristol Bay, "a national treasure that we must protect for future generations." Those of us who care about salmon and the communities they support were glad to hear this. Now, if those same salmon and communities can also be protected from mining pollution and other threats.

This thought led me to think of another of our salmon rivers and its threats and opportunities. Back in 2004 I had the good fortune to spend eight days rafting down the Taku River, from a drop-off in the mountains of northwest British Columbia to Taku Inlet near Juneau. (I wrote about the experience as a special feature for this paper that year.) I hadn’t known before floating the river what stunning, wild country the Taku traversed, nor that that river is the largest salmon producer in Southeast Alaska, with a monetary value of more than $8 million that year. I was astonished then that a river and watershed of such enormous value were unprotected. Six years later, they still lack deserved protections, and it’s beyond time to do something about that.

 Here’s the deal: The Taku River watershed, roughly the size of Massachusetts, lies mostly in British Columbia but crosses into Alaska northeast of Juneau. Most of its salmon spawn on the Canadian side, but much of the juvenile rearing habitat lies on the Alaska side and, significantly, most of the catch occurs in Alaska’s marine waters.

And here’s what may be the bigger deal: All up and down the West Coast, salmon fisheries have been in major decline, mostly because their river systems have been degraded by dams, logging, agriculture, mining and industrial development. The Taku system is the last, best, most intact home for salmon remaining along the west coast. It doesn’t need rehabilitation. It just needs to be left in its own good health, with free-running, clean and cool water.

There are opportunities, now, to act.

On the Canadian side, a land-use planning process between the provincial government and the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, people with long and deep cultural ties to the region and its resources, is under way. Alaska and the U. S. have not been involved — but certainly could add to the discussions and offer commensurate protections on our side of the border.

"Salmon Strongholds" already identified on the West Coast — in Washington, Oregon, California and British Columbia — are set to protect watersheds valued for wild salmon abundance, productivity and diversity through the use of public-private partnerships that work across political boundaries and land ownerships. The Pacific Salmon Stronghold Conservation Act of 2009, sponsored by West Coast senators including both Sens. Murkowski and Begich and supported by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game among many others — would establish and fund the program federally. Why wait? Alaska has the strongest of the strongholds, certainly in Bristol Bay but also in the Taku. A Salmon Stronghold designation for the Taku would provide a formal vehicle for coordinating with Canadian governments and Native and First Nation tribes on Taku protections.

In this time of rapid environmental change, it’s significant that Taku salmon are known for their genetic diversity, critical for adaptation. Indeed, the whole watershed has been termed a "biodiversity ark" for its potential to adapt to climate change and other stresses.

When I rafted down the Taku six years ago, a major concern was the pending permitting of the multi-metal Tulsequah Chief Mine, just a few miles across the U. S.-Canada border and a source of acid discharge pollution from an earlier operation. Last year, the mining company went bust and left the area — leaving, still, the acid pollution. Now, a new venture is hoping to take over the mineral deposits and environmental permits.

This is a very appropriate time for us in Alaska to take a good look at Taku values and work with our cross-border neighbor to protect an international treasure.

Nancy Lord, Alaska’s writer laureate, formerly fished commercially for salmon. Her latest book is "Rock, Water, Wild: An Alaskan Life."