Chilkat and Klehini Rivers Named Among America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2023
American Rivers has named the Chilkat and Klehini Rivers among America’s Most Endangered Rivers®, pointing out the threats of a proposed copper and zinc mine that would likely result in contamination of nearby creeks that feed directly into the two rivers. The proposed Palmer Project, a copper/zinc mine, will seriously impact the rivers of the Chilkat Valley, crippling the entire ecosystem. Learn more about the proposed Palmer mine here.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of salmon swim from the Pacific Ocean into the Jilḵáat Aani Ḵa Héeni (Chilkat River watershed) to spawn. The Klehini is a main tributary of the Chilkat, and both flow through the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, which is critical habitat hosting the largest congregation of eagles in the world. Additionally, it is home to the Chilkat Tlingits and the people of Haines, Alaska, who depend on these waters for their food, economy, and culture. Public support will play a significant role in advocating for co-management of the watershed with the Chilkat Indian Village of Klukwan, whose people have been caretakers of this land for thousands of years.
““Land utilization is fundamentally important to the people of the Chilkat Indian Village at Klukwan (Federally Recognized Tribe). Our ability to live off the land and continue to harvest the wild stocks of salmon, to hunt the bear, and gather the berries that grow in our traditional territory sustains us today, as it has since time immemorial. The natural riches of these lands and waters have allowed our people not only to survive, but to thrive, for untold generations. Endangering the Chilkat River ecosystem with a hard rock mine will have devastating effects on our Tribal people that rely on the Chilkat River and Chilkat Valley as our sustainable food source.””
The Palmer Project is moving to the next stage of mining development where developers look to dig a mile-long “exploratory” tunnel under the Saksaia Glacier. This is directly above the Klehini River and the excavation will create huge waste storage piles and a major wastewater discharge that will almost certainly contaminate the creeks and rivers downstream. This development would be extremely dangerous for the already fragile ecosystem of the Chilkat Valley.
View the listing here:
What you can do to help
Please join us in urging Congress to direct the EPA to intercede immediately and require the mining consortium to apply for a standard wastewater discharge permit that will require meeting all applicable state and federal Water Quality Standards, by signing on to the following letter to Alaska Representative Mary Peltola and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski or by writing your own letter.
Email your letter to: Simone.Auger@email.house.gov and aaron_thiele@murkowski.senate.gov
You can copy the following letter and paste it into a new email:
Dear Representative Peltola and Senator Murkowski,
I am among the thousands of Americans in Alaska and the rest of the country who recognize the urgent need to protect the Chilkat and Klehini Rivers in Southeast Alaska. The Chilkat/Klehini watershed has been named one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers by American Rivers. This critical watershed supports all five species of wild salmon, hundreds of brown bears, and the world’s largest congregation of bald eagles – our nation’s symbol. Additionally, it provides the foundation for the culture, sustenance, and economy of the Tlingit Village of Klukwan, one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in North America, and the town of Haines, Alaska.
It is hard to imagine a worse place to site a copper/zinc mine, given the known toxicity of trace amounts of copper and other heavy metals to salmon. The proposed Palmer Project would be located in a tributary that flows directly into the Klehini River a few miles before it merges with the Chilkat River and enters the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. The Preserve cannot protect the Chilkat Valley’s bald eagles if we allow the waters and fish that sustain them to be contaminated with toxic waste.
Challenges have been filed to permits issued by an underfunded, understaffed, and unconcerned State agency to the consortium developing the Palmer Project that will authorize the digging of a mile-long tunnel under the Saksaia glacier. This will create a waste stream of hundreds of thousands of gallons of contaminated water every day, in perpetuity. Independent hydrological analyses have confirmed that the State agency’s review of the project has been significantly flawed, and their decision to support the proposed permits could be extremely detrimental to this critical watershed.
Congress and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must act now to ensure the fundamental protections guaranteed by the federal Clean Water Act are upheld and a grave environmental injustice is not committed. EPA must intercede immediately and tell the State of Alaska to direct the mining consortium to apply for a standard surface water discharge permit that will require meeting all applicable state and federal Water Quality Standards. One of the most unique and biologically diverse ecosystems in our nation must not be sacrificed for the short-term profits of these foreign mining companies. There is no time, nor water, to waste.
Thank you.