Death by Coal for Alaskan River Wildlife, Salmon and Beluga Whales

Sign ORI Letter to Stop Coal Strip Mine near Beluga, AK Tell the AK Governor to protect the Chuitna River, its tributaries and surrounding wetlands from destructive open pit coal mining because, like Humpty Dumpty, once the ecosystem is taken apart it can never be put back together. Mercury from the coal pit in watershed and mercury leaching out of 500,000 tons of coal on the shore of Cook Inlet will poison our ecosystems and our communities.

Take Action

Join with Alaska community and environmental groups in telling Alaska Governor Sean Parnell to NOT trade wild Alaskan salmon and natural environments for dirty coal mining. PacRim Coal plans to mine completely through a wild salmon stream to extract over 1 billion tons of sub bituminous coal for export to Asian countries. This would be the largest coal strip mine in Alaska history. The open pit strip mine proposal includes an area covering 30 square miles, a 12 mile long conveyor to transport coal to tidewater, and a 500,000 ton coal storage area along shores of Cook Inlet, home of an endangered population of beluga whales.

Background

The Chuitna Citizens Coalition (CCC) was formed in 2007 by community members of Tyonek and Beluga, which lie 45 miles west of Anchorage, Alaska in the Chuitna River watershed on the west side of Cook Inlet. Community members came together when they learned of plans to mine in the Chuitna River Valley. PacRim Coal's proposed mine would completely remove 11 miles of Middle Creek (Stream 2003), a major tributary of the Chuitna River. The proposed strip mine is a direct threat to life in the Chuitna River watershed, wildlife of Cook Inlet, and the livelihoods Alaskan communities.

This tributary ecosystem is a woven fabric of wetlands, tundra, forests, and tiny headwater streams that gather and eventually pour into the Chuitna River. Forty-one percent of the watershed will be destroyed by mining and backfilling. What occurs in these headwaters is vital to the water quality and the fish downstream. Carbon and nutrients stored here are cycled from detritus to microbes, from microbes to insects. The wetlands are particularly vital to storing water that seeps down into flow paths beneath the ground, to surface at the bottom of streams. This keeps them flowing when there is no rain or snow.

Assist locals to prevent the destruction of a cold-stream river complete with salmon, and epic environmental degradation of Cook Inlet, home of beluga whales. Please sign ORI’s letter and take a moment to add your own words. CCC asks you to “Point out the Chuitna River, its tributaries and surrounding wetlands, are unsuitable for mining because, like Humpty Dumpty, once the ecosystem is taken apart it can never be put back together.”

Tell Governor Parnell No Sacrificing Salmon and Natural Environments For Coal Mining!

Unless state and federal agencies reject permits for the project, the proposed mine will destroy this wild river’s surrounding watershed and dump billions of gallons of mining waste into rich fisheries habitat every year. Beyond the obvious impacts of this huge mine, state and federal agencies should also consider the impacts of more mercury in Alaskan fish, and the effects of more greenhouse gases on the “poster state” for global warming. (American Rivers, 2007)
The Chuitna River was named by American Rivers to the top ten of America’s Most Endangered Rivers.

Give $10 or more to save the Chuitna River and to protect Alaskan Salmon Habitat

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