In 2015, the British Columbia government committed to ending Tulsequah Chief’s pollution of the Taku. It has been nine years since this commitment was made and the pollution continues unabated. The abandoned Canadian mine has been discharging toxic mine wastewater into the transboundary Taku river system for 67 years and counting.
The Taku watershed spans 4.5 million acres, making it the largest intact watershed on the Pacific coast of North America. A vast and remote network of rivers and wetlands make up the Taku headwaters. From B.C.’s boreal forest and snow-capped peaks, to Southeast Alaska’s Tongass rainforest, the river system pours into the Pacific Ocean just southeast of Juneau.
This watershed is traditional territory to Tlingit people on both sides of the border: the Taku River Tlingit First Nation (TRTFN) in Atlin, B.C., and the Douglas Indian Association (DIA) in Juneau. Both the TRTFN and DIA have been leading voices in advocating for the mine’s cleanup, along with Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission, a commission of 15 Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian Nations. Grizzlies, moose, wolverines, wolves, lynx, caribou, goat, sheep, deer, steelhead trout, and all five species of salmon are just a few of the animals who depend on this ecosystem.
The Tulsequah Chief mine discharges acid mine drainage. This occurs when sulfide minerals are exposed to water and air, producing sulfuric acid. This acid dissolves surrounding rock and releases harmful metals — such as arsenic, copper and lead — into the watershed.
Even small concentrations of copper, within water quality standards, can prompt sub-lethal implications in salmon. This can include: altered behavior, deformities, gill damage and affect salmon’s ability to return to their spawning grounds and repopulate. Alaska fishermen have also made their voices heard, advocating for the cleanup of the mine.
The Taku watershed is typically Southeast Alaska’s top salmon producer, but according to the TRTFN’s Spring-Fisheries 2024 newsletter, Chinook salmon numbers have not met escapement standards in the Taku since 2015. With wild salmon populations declining along the Pacific coast, it is crucial, now more than ever, to protect these salmon by safeguarding their freshwater spawning, and rearing, habitats. The restoration of the Tulsequah is an important, and obvious, way to do so. If we can ensure that the Taku stays intact, and becomes once again pristine, it will be a critical habitat refuge for salmon as the effects of climate change continue to ramp up.
B.C.’s proposed remediation plan is vague about any particular deadlines, with not much to show for the past nine years of proclaimed work. The Tulsequah Chief mine is relatively small compared to other active and proposed mines along the transboundary region. B.C. continues to point to the remoteness of the Tulsequah being a significant challenge in the cleanup, so what does this say for the inevitable cleanup’s of the larger, more complex, remote mines? The cleanup of the Tulsequah Chief mine could serve as a model for effective and efficient remediation possibilities.
There is broad-based support and no opposition to the cleanup of the abandoned mine. The problem instead lies in the lack of urgency. The cleanup has been just within reach for so long. It’s time for Alaska’s elected delegation to build on this positive momentum, represent Alaskans’ interests, and use their influence across the border to ensure B.C. follows through on its promised remediation.
The Taku is an extraordinary cultural, ecological, and economic resource and B.C. needs to follow through upon its commitment to ending the degradation of it. Anything less, is disrespectful to the Indigenous people who have stewarded this land since time immemorial, to the commercial fisherman and processors who depend on the salmon, and to the future generation of both Alaskans and Canadians.
• Kayla Heidenreich is a Juneau resident and the Taku Watershed Conservation Campaigner for Rivers Without Borders.
