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We have been looking into the effects and consequences of hardrock mines, and copper mines in particular. Here are five short fact sheets we have found or compiled (all files are PDFs):
Courtesy of the First Nations Environmental Health Innovation Network:
Compiled from other sources:
Download all five in a ZIP file by clicking here. (550 K)
We are hosting a Catface Café to update people about the potential for a open-pit copper mine on Catface Mountain. Multimedia presentation by Dan Lewis, followed by a community discussion about the issues, your concerns, and potential solutions.
Wed. July 21, door 7:30 p.m., presentation 8-8:30, discussion to follow.
Darwin's Café, Tofino Botanical Gardens. Everyone welcome. Refreshments available for purchase.
24 July — The Catface Cafe was standing-room-only, so we are going to stage it again on Wed., Aug. 11. Announcement forthcoming.
Click to download (2 Mb, PDF)
Using mostly original research and 15 years of our ForestWatch files, FOCS has written Overview of Logging in Clayoquot Sound: 2000–2009, with 8 photos and 10 maps. The report provides a one-stop synopsis of logging in Clayoquot for locals and the public, written in accessible language and including background prior to 2000.
Topics covered include: how much forest exists in Clayoquot, which logging companies operate here, how much wood they cut, what their logging looks like, and more. The report has inserts updating it to April 2010. We thank the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust for partially funding this project.
Access the full report, including maps, at this page.
Catface protest rally in Vancouver, May 19 Imperial Metals, the Vancouver-based mining co. working toward an open-pit copper mine on Catface Mountain, held its AGM in Vancouver on Wed., May 19. Three dozen people from FOCS and the Wilderness Committee held banners and handed out leaflets on the sidewalk outside the building to let shareholders and the public know what a BAD idea a Catface mine would be.
Click here to take action if you didn't make it to the rally.
Independent energy analyst Arthur Caldicott will give a presentation called Catface Mine: Context & Considerations at Tofino Legion on Wed., May 11. Thanks to our NDP MLA Scott Fraser for arranging this presentation.
NOTE: Over 60 people showed up to the event. For those who couldn't make it, a video will soon be available. In the meantime, Arthur has generously made his informative presentation slides available for download at this link (PDF, 2.2 Meg).
Get Out Migration — Tofino departureFOCS cheers on Alexandra Morton's Get Out Migration in support of B.C.'s wild salmon and the devastating toll that open net-cage salmon farms along the wild salmon's migratory routes are taking.
Two Tofino Migration walkers, Cosy Lawson and her 11-year-old daughter Laterra, left our town after the Earth Week Pancake Breakfast, accompanied for a few km by dozens of local supporters. They walked across Vancouver Island to join hundreds of others for the final, 5,000-strong May 7 rally on the legislature lawn in Victoria. Wonderful dedication to a great cause!
Much info on the walk, and the reasons behind it, can be found at Alex's website salmonaresacred.org.
Imperial Metals says it will decide in a year or two whether to apply for a huge open-pit copper mine on Catface Mountain in Clayoquot Sound. The mine would be in the ecologically sensitive UNESCO Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve, within view of the tourist town of Tofino. We cannot let the colossal blunder of a copper mine that would remove the top third of Catface Mountain happen! Help us stop the mine!
Click here to read more and to take action
More drilling approved on Catface Mountain . . . 10 years of ocean research in Clayoquot Sound . . . New First Nations national leader . . . FOCS 30-year anniversary . . . and more!
Download here (4Mb, PDF)
On National Aboriginal Day June 21st, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation announced completion of the establishment phase of Ha’uukmin Tribal Park in their traditional territory. The Tribal Park encompasses Kennedy River, Kennedy Lake and Clayoquot River and reflects the stewardship vision of Tla-o-qui-aht chiefs and elders. (If you’ve driven to Tofino, you’ve driven along Kennedy River and Lake through the Tribal Park.)
Click here to read the “Ha’uukmin Tribal Park” newspaper
Selkirk Metals of Vancouver has applied for a second season of exploratory drilling on Catface Mountain, planned for the summer of 2009. The application to BC’s Ministry of Energy and Mines is for 22 drill holes at 11 sites, to be accessed by rebuilding old deactivated logging roads, and building new roads through old growth forest.
Selkirk’s exploration has revived the possibility of a huge open-pit copper mine on Catface Mountain in Clayoquot Sound.
A new report from environmental organization Oceana entitled Hungry Oceans: What Happens When the Prey is Gone? illustrates the detrimental effects that fishing down the food chain (catching smaller fish species because there are too few large fish left) is having on many different marine creatures. The report states that scientists are finding numerous cases of malnutrition in fish, marine mammals, and seabirds because of the global depletion of the small prey fish these remaining animals need to survive. Prey fish are extremely important in marine food webs and are under continual pressure from climate change, heavy fishing and an ever-increasing demand for aquaculture (fish farm) feed.
Read the Oceana press release here
Friends of Clayoquot Sound are disappointed to learn that the Trilogy Fish Co. is once again selling farmed chinook salmon that were grown in open net-pen facilities.
An application to allow a logging company to drop logs into the water at four sites near Tofino is being opposed by environmentalists and tour operators.
FOCS has learned that on the evening of Dec. 18, 2008, thousands of Atlantic salmon escaped into the waters around the Mainstream Cermaq salmon farm at Mussel Rock in Clayoquot Sound. According to a Mainstream representative, the Atlantic salmon escaped during harvesting through a hole in the draining apparatus on the back of the harvest boat. As of today, 2,093 Atlantic salmon are unaccounted for.
On October 14th, Selkirk Metals released results from the second exploratory hole it drilled this summer on Catface Mountain in Clayoquot Sound. Selkirk’s exploration is assessing the feasibility of developing an open-pit copper mine on Catface.
At a September 26th public meeting in Tofino, the BC Creek Protection Society presented info about the proliferation of private ‘run-of-river’ hydro proposals for BC’s rivers and streams. Friends of Clayoquot Sound gave details about Synex Energy’s application for a run-of-river project in the intact wilderness valley of Bulson River in Clayoquot Sound.
Take Action against private hydro power project in intact Bulson River, Clayoquot Sound
B.C. Ministry of Mines has refused to rescind the permit it issued to Selkirk Metals for exploratory drilling on Catface Mountain. FOCS made the request because the permit was granted without being reviewed by the local Central Region Board, as is required for all resource use applications in Clayoquot Sound. Drilling began July 15th and is ongoing.
Read Ministry response to FOCS
200 concerned citizens gathered at our August 2nd rally to hear about increased industrial threats to Clayoquot Sound -- impending logging of intact valleys; ongoing exploratory drilling on Catface Mountain and potential open-pit copper mine; and a hydro power application for the intact Bulson Valley.
Click here to watch Victoria’s CHEK TV news coverage of the event. .
July 16, 2008
Exploratory drilling for copper begins on Catface Mountain --
local Central Region Board not consulted
Selkirk Metals Corporation has begun exploratory drilling for copper on Catface Mountain, located 13 km north of Tofino, in the heart of the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve. Drilling began yesterday, after the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources issued a drilling permit without obtaining approval from the Clayoquot Sound Central Region Board, as is required for all resource applications in Clayoquot Sound.
Friends of Clayoquot Sound asked for and received a report called “Description of the Catface Property” from Doublestar Resources (now owned by Selkirk Metals). This report, prepared by SRK Consulting Engineers and Scientists, summarizes all the info collected up to 2003 about the Catface copper deposit and also analyzes waste rock and tailings disposal options.
Wonderful images of Clayoquot Sound from some of the area's most renowned photographers.
Friends of Clayoquot Sound survey of damaged salmon net farm site - Sept 5, 2007
Video: Windows Media (2.7 Mb) mac - Quicktime (2.7 Mb)
Update, Sept. 24: Number of escaped Atlantic salmon still unknown. Read More
Tofino's fresh seafood store has decided not to sell farmed salmon and instead will sell only wild salmon! The decision was made that Trilogy will now sell only seafood that is listed by the SeaChoice guide as being environmentally sustainable. Further to that, with the exception of Alaskan scallops, only Clayoquot Sound and Vancouver Island Seafood and shellfish will be sold!
This is excellent news and we applaud Trilogy for this progressive move to local & sustainable products.
You too can make environmentally responsible and healthy seafood choices. Click here to view the SeaChoice Seafood Guide.
Vancouver, BC-May 25, 2007—Environmental groups today decried Minister Pat
Bell’s decision to approve a new open net-cage salmon farm just one week after
the Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture (SCSA) recommended fundamental
improvements to the industry. A licence, near Gold River, B.C., has been granted
to Norwegian multinational Grieg Seafood, the same company responsible for the
recorded escape of 33,000 Atlantic farmed salmon in B.C. in
2004.
Click Here To Read More (Mac users: open file in Acrobat, not Preview.)
Read the BC Government Bulletin (Mac users: open file in Acrobat, not Preview.)
VANCOUVER, BC -- May 16, 2007 -- The Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform(CAAR) today applauded the key recommendations of the Special Legislative Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture and called on the provincial government to act immediately to implement the changes required. CAAR also released a poll showing 80.7 per cent of British Columbians surveyed support a transition to closed containment technology for salmon farms....
Read the News Release (Mac users: open file in Acrobat, not Preview.)
So far this year, 110 sea lions have become entangled and drowned in Creative Salmon’s fish farm nets in Clayoquot Sound. Sea lions feed on fish, so placing nets full of farmed salmon into the ocean is like ringing a dinner bell for sea lions and other marine predators. These deaths are an example of the inherent and unacceptable risks posed by open net-cage salmon farming. Salmon farms need to be moved into closed containment tanks that provide a solid barrier between farmed fish and the ocean.
Friends of Clayoquot Sound, allied environment groups and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation lobbied BC Timber Sales and won a 5-year deferral on logging in the intact Upper Kennedy Valley of Clayoquot Sound. 10,000 acres of magnificent old-growth temperate rainforest are safe for another 5 years.
WASHINGTON, DC — The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) Livestock Committee is recommending that fish raised in open net-cages and those using wild caught fish in their diet be excluded from forthcoming United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic aquaculture standards. Three major groups are commending the Committee for upholding the principles of organic production and are urging the NOSB to follow the Committee’s lead when they meet in Washington,
Click here to read full Press Release
Click here to read submission from Friends of Clayoquot Sound and CAAR
Photo Tour
Friends' staff and volunteers explored Satchie and Hesquiat Lake Creeks – two remote wilderness valleys in northern Clayoquot Sound. The expedition was part of our ongoing campaign to protect these intact (pristine) valleys from imminent logging.
Our team visited the area as guests of the Hooksum Outdoor School, run by Steve and Karen Charleson of the Hesquiaht First Nation. With Steve as our guide, we boated from Hooksum to the north end of Hesquiat Lake, to the mouth of Satchie Creek and the mouth of neighbouring Hesquiat Lake Creek. From there, we explored the valleys on foot, bushwhacking along the creeks, taking photos and video footage.
Click here to read about the 2006 Satchie and Hesquiat Lake Creek Expedition -NEW
Friends still concerned about antibiotic use
Friends of Clayoquot Sound continues to be very concerned by the contamination of the environment. FOCS is still concerned about the 250 kg of antibiotics used on brood stock in Clayoquot Sound by Creative Salmon in 2004.
Creative Salmon's Use of Antibiotics in Brood Stock Documented (information provided by Ministry of Environment):
Eagle Bay (PDF)
Indian Bay(PDF)
Dawley Pass(PDF)
A new peer reviewed scientific paper shows that up to 95 per cent of wild juvenile salmon are killed by parasites from salmon farms.
Fly over Clayoquot's incredible wilderness, including the pristine valleys, while enjoying the music in our new video clip: "A Rockin' Tour of Clayoquot Sound." Special thanks to rock legends Canned Heat and also to Lighthawk for donating the aerial flights.
Click on one of the following to see the video (1min 30sec):
Then visit our friends at www.cannedheatmusic.com and www.lighthawk.org
Friends of Clayoquot Sound
PO Box 489, 331 Neill St., Tofino BC V0R 2Z0
Tel: 250-725-4218 Fax: 250-725-2527
Email: info@focs.ca
Photo by Adrian Dorst
The health of the global environment depends on intact ecosystems. It is our responsibility to act as peaceful
and courageous advocates for marine and terrestrial life in Clayoquot Sound.
Join us!
Donate now and become a member!
Learn more about fish farming in Clayoquot Sound
Learn more about industrial logging in Clayoquot Sound
Newsletters:
Fall 2009/Winter 2010 (4 Mb, PDF)
Summer 2009 (600k, PDF)