Aerial photo of Middle Creek, a tributary of the Chuitna River which PacRim plans to completely destroy to extract coal. Photo courtesy of Alaskans First. Click on photo – visit Alaskans First
PacRim promised, in writing, what it will do. You can assume that they watered it down . . .
[dropcap]J[/dropcap]ust 45 miles across Cook Inlet from Anchorage lies the Chuitna River, a pristine watershed that is home to all five species of wild Pacific salmon. It is at the headwaters of this picturesque river that PacRim Coal proposes to build one of the largest open-pit coal mines in the country – a plan that would directly destroy nearly 14 miles of salmon stream in the first phase alone and “. . . discharge on average 7 million gallons a day of coal waste and runoff into the Chuitna River.”
This first-of-its-kind proposal to coal mine directly through a wild salmon stream would set a precedent that would leave salmon streams across Alaska at risk
PacRim’s proposal to strip mine directly through a salmon stream leaves Alaskans with a clear choice: Salmon or coal? People around the state are joining the fight to protect the future of salmon in Alaska by stopping this dangerous proposal.
Kiss Chuitna River’s wild salmon and pristine headwaters goodbye
If permitted, the Chuitna River mine would be the first strip mine in Alaska excavated directly through salmon spawning habitat. In August 2009, scientific reports commissioned by an environmental law firm in Anchorage concluded that the proposed mine would cause irreversible damage to local wetlands and headwater streams in the area, as well as to salmon fisheries.
