Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition

Last updated

The Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition is a non-governmental organization based in British Columbia which opposes Royal Dutch Shell's Klappan Coalbed Methane Project [1] in a region dubbed the Sacred Headwaters by the Tahltan people, which is located in a mountainous area where the Klappan, Stikine, Skeena and Nass Rivers all have their origin. It was founded in 2004 by a diverse group of people living and working in the Skeena River watershed.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsimshian</span> Indigenous people of the northwest coast of North America

The Tsimshian are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their communities are mostly in coastal British Columbia in Terrace and Prince Rupert, and Metlakatla, Alaska on Annette Island, the only reservation in Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stikine River</span> River in British Columbia and Alaska

The Stikine River is a major river in northern British Columbia (BC), Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States. It drains a large, remote upland area known as the Stikine Country east of the Coast Mountains. Flowing west and south for 610 kilometres (379 mi), it empties into various straits of the Inside Passage near Wrangell, Alaska. About 90 percent of the river's length and 95 percent of its drainage basin are in Canada. Considered one of the last truly wild large rivers in BC, the Stikine flows through a variety of landscapes including boreal forest, steep canyons and wide glacial valleys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skeena River</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada. Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose names mean "inside the Skeena River" ,and "people of the Skeena River," respectively. The river and its basin sustain a wide variety of fish, wildlife, and vegetation, and communities native to the area depend on the health of the river. The Tsimshian migrated to the Lower Skeena River, and the Gitxsan occupy territory of the Upper Skeena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tahltan</span> First Nations people native to northern British Columbia, Canada

The Tahltan or Nahani are a First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group who live in northern British Columbia around Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, and Iskut. The Tahltan constitute the fourth division of the Nahane.

Iskut is a small, mostly Indigenous community in the Stikine Country of northwestern British Columbia. It is located on Highway 37, at the north end of Eddontenajon Lake just south of Dease Lake and the crossing of the Stikine River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gitxsan</span>

Gitxsan are an Indigenous people in Canada whose home territory comprises most of the area known as the Skeena Country in English. Gitksan territory encompasses approximately 35,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi) of land, from the basin of the upper Skeena River from about Legate Creek to the Skeena's headwaters and its surrounding tributaries. Part of the Tsimshianic language group, their culture is considered to be part of the civilization of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, although their territory lies in the Interior rather than on the Coast. They were at one time also known as the Interior Tsimshian, a term which also included the Nisga'a, the Gitxsan's neighbours to the north. Their neighbours to the west are the Tsimshian while to the east the Wetʼsuwetʼen, an Athapaskan people, with whom they have a long and deep relationship and shared political and cultural community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skeena Mountains</span> Mountains in British Columbia, Canada

The Skeena Mountains, also known as the Skeenas, are a subrange of the Interior Mountains of northern British Columbia, Canada, essentially flanking the upper basin of the Skeena River. They lie just inland from the southern end of the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains, and also of the northern end of the Kitimat Ranges. Their southern limit is described by the Bulkley River and the upper northwestern reaches of Babine and Takla Lakes, and on their northeast by the upper reaches of the Omineca River.

Maitland Volcano is a heavily eroded shield volcano in the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is 83 km (52 mi) southeast of the small community of Telegraph Creek in what is now the Klappan Range of the northern Skeena Mountains. This multi-vent volcano covered a remarkably large area and was topped by a younger volcanic edifice. Little remains of Maitland Volcano today, limited only to eroded lava flows and distinctive upstanding landforms created when magma hardened within the vents of the volcano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacred Headwaters</span> Drainage basin and source of three rivers

The Sacred Headwaters is a large subalpine drainage basin centred around Klappan Mountain of the Klappan Range in northern British Columbia. It is the source of three wild salmon rivers: the Skeena River, Nass River, and Stikine River. It is also referred to as the Klappan Valley, although the Klappan—a tributary of the Stikine River—is only one of the area's watersheds. Local Tahltan people call the area Klabona, which is loosely translated as "headwaters".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stikine Plateau</span> Plateau in British Columbia, Canada

The Stikine Plateau is a plateau in northern British Columbia, Canada. It lies between the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the west and southwest and the Cassiar Mountains along its northeast, and between the Skeena Mountains on its south and southeast and the Jennings and Nakina Rivers on the north.

The Klappan Coalbed Methane Project is a gas project owned by Shell Canada that looks to develop the coalbed methane from an area in northern British Columbia, near the source of three rivers: the Skeena River, Nass River, and Stikine River, and also the namesake Klappan River. The area is known in environmental politics and native lore as the Sacred Headwaters or Kablona. The project is the source of controversy and is opposed by First Nations groups and non-governmental organizations. If developed, the project will include a network of gas wells connected by roads and pipelines, as well as a pipeline to deliver the gas to market.

The Klappan Range is a small subrange of the Skeena Mountains of the Interior Mountains, located between Klappan River and Iskut River in northern British Columbia, Canada.

The Klastline Plateau is a plateau in the Stikine Region of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. A subplateau of the Stikine Plateau, it is located between the Stikine River (N), the upper Iskut River (S), Mess Creek (W) and the Klappan River (E). The Skeena Mountains are to the south, the Tahltan Highland to the west, the Spatsizi Plateau to the east, and the Tanzilla Plateau to the north, on the other side of the Stikine. The Spatsizi and Tanzilla Plateaus, and the Tahltan Highland, are also part of the Stikine Plateau.

The Klappan River is a major tributary of the Stikine River in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It flows north from an area known as the Sacred Headwaters, which is the source not only of this river but also of the Nass, Skeena, Spatsizi and Stikine Rivers. The headwaters region is the site of a controversial coal-bed methane project.

Stand.earth is a grassroots environmental organization founded in 2000. The organization protects endangered forests by transforming corporate policy and governmental laws in the United States and Canada. Stand.earth uses public education, advocacy, protest, negotiation and non-violent direct action tactics to achieve its goals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell-Irving River</span> River in British Columbia, Canada

The Bell-Irving River is a tributary of the Nass River in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. It originates in the Sacred Headwaters region, and flows about 165 km (103 mi) south to the Nass River. It course lies between the Oweegee Range of the Skeena Mountains to the east and the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yukon Telegraph Trail</span>

The Yukon Telegraph Trail, also known simply as the Telegraph Trail, is a historic pathway in the Canadian province of British Columbia that extends from the village of Ashcroft in the south to the community of Atlin in the north. It was used for servicing the Yukon Telegraph Line which ran from Ashcroft in the south to Dawson City, Yukon in the north. The telegraph line was constructed by the Dominion Government Telegraph Service from 1898 to 1901. It was abandoned in 1936 with the advent of radio communication. Along the length of the trail are remains of telegraph cabins, telegraph cable and other artifacts that were used during the construction of the telegraph line.

The Ecstall River is a tributary of the Skeena River in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It originates in the Kitimat Ranges, and flows about 110 km (68 mi) to the lower tidal reach of the Skeena River at Port Essington, about 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Prince Rupert, 95 km (59 mi) southwest of Terrace, and 85 km (53 mi) northwest of Kitimat. Its drainage basin covers about 1,485 km2 (573 sq mi) and contains the largest blocks of unlogged land on the north coast of British Columbia, although large-scale industrial logging operations, both active and proposed, have been occurring in the watershed since the 1980s.

The Mosque River is a tributary of the Skeena River in the Stikine Region of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It originates in the Tatlatui Range of the Skeena Mountains, and flows southwest about 50 km (31 mi) to the Skeena River, about 140 km (87 mi) north of Hazelton and about 160 km (99 mi) east of Stewart. Its watershed covers about 148 km2 (57 sq mi), and its mean annual discharge is 15.4 m3/s (540 cu ft/s).

The Zymagotitz River is a tributary of the Skeena River located in the North Coast Regional District of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It originates in the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains, and flows south and west about 45 km (28 mi) to the Skeena River, about 10 km (6.2 mi) downriver from Terrace and about 100 km (62 mi) east of Prince Rupert.

References

  1. Stanfield, Scott (12 November 2007). "Group wants Shell to end exploration". Prince George Citizen. Retrieved 27 March 2009.