Canada: No more mining threat for Skagit River headwaters
The government of British Columbia announced Wednesday an agreement to put to rest concerns over potential mining in the headwaters of the Skagit River.
The province has entered into an agreement with Imperial Metals Corporation – which has long held mining claims at the headwaters and in March 2019 proposed to search for gold and copper – and the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission. Under the agreement, Imperial Metals will surrender its mining claims.
“Protecting the Skagit River by extinguishing these mining tenures is a historic step forward in the stewardship of the Upper Skagit watershed. Protecting this sensitive and diverse ecosystem with its significant fish and wildlife populations starts at the headwaters,” Thomas Curley, Canada co-chair of the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission, said in a news release from Canada’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation.
Mining in a patch of land referred to as the donut hole has long been a concern for environmentalists and communities downstream in the Skagit River watershed.
“This is a really big deal,” Washington Wild Executive Director Tom Uniak said upon learning of the agreement.
The organization has been fighting British Columbia for years over land use in the donut hole region between Skagit Valley and E.C. Manning provincial parks, first working to halt logging activity, then making a case against mining.
British Columbia leadership agreed in 2019 to discontinue logging in the region but was largely silent when it came to addressing Imperial Metals’ latest request to mine in the region.
Washington Wild launched a campaign called the Skagit Headwaters Coalition, and nearly 300 stakeholders across local, county, state and federal government levels, tribes and First Nations, nonprofits and businesses added their voices to the opposition.
Objections from Indigenous communities on both sides of the border were a critical part of the discussion.
Tribes along the Skagit River are celebrating Canada’s decision.
“This is an extraordinary conservation success that will benefit current and future generations of Coast Salish People, and we express our gratitude to all our conservation partners who advocated with us to protect our salmon and ecosystem forever,” Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Chairman Steve Edwards said in a news release.
Uniak said Skagit Watershed Council Executive Director Richard Brocksmith also helped make the campaign a success.
“Here in Skagit County, this is great news,” Brocksmith, who is also a Mount Vernon City Council member, said in a news release. “The magic Skagit River is central to how we live, work and play. A proposed mine … would have threatened our community’s investments in salmon recovery, the supply of clean water for drinking and farming, and the health of Puget Sound while contributing zero financial or social benefits to our community.”
For those who want to see permanent environmental protections for the Skagit River headwaters, the surrendered mining claims are cause for celebration, but not a stopping point.
“There is still work to do,” Uniak said. “I think we will continue in addition to this victory to try to get some kind of permanent protection up there.”
Canadian leadership also wrote that it plans to work toward permanent protection of the 22.4-square-mile donut hole, in consultation with First Nations.
“Since time immemorial, Indigenous Peoples, including the Sto:l , Syilx and Nlaka’pamux First Nations, as well as the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Upper Skagit Tribe and Sauk Suiattle Tribe, have depended upon the pristine ecosystem and diversity of wild salmon running in the Skagit River watershed,” the release from Canada’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation states.