Sacred Headwaters Tops List of Endangered Rivers
April 19th, 2011
We've been working for years to protect the Sacred Headwaters from Shell's proposed drilling projects, and the good folks at the Outdoor Recreation Council (ORC) just released a study making it even more clear why this work is so important. Yesterday, the ORC named the Sacred Headwaters one of the most endangered rivers in BC--for the second year in a row.
The Council's study placed the Sacred Headwaters number two on the list of Canada's most endangered rivers. This pristine area in northern BC is home to three of Canada's most important salmon rivers: The Skeena, Stikinie, and Nass.
Right now, these rivers, and all of the Sacred Headwaters, are being threatened by a proposed energy-extraction project by Shell. Shell wants to use hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking', to extract coalbed methane and other forms of natural gas. This dangerous process mixes an enormous amount of freshwater with an industry-guarded recipe of toxic chemicals and pumps that mixture into the ground to release the natural gas.
'Fracking' has come under fire by community activists in both the United States and Canada. Some residents in Alberta and Colorado have actually been able to light their tap water on fire after fracking projects contaminated nearby water tables. Recently, New York state and Quebec banned fracking until more is known about the effects it has on health and the environment.
In the face of massive community opposition, Shell wants to take this risky drilling method straight to the heart of the Sacred Headwaters. The company proposes drilling thousands of wells, creating an industrial checkerboard of roads and pipelines across this pristine land.
Together, we can get Shell the "frack" out of the Sacred Headwaters.
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