Mining proposed next to cherished parks & important headwaters

The small unprotected patch of land surrounded by Skagit Valley and E.C. Manning Provincial Parks is under threat from logging and mining. Help protect this cherished area!

Imperial Metals has applied for a 5-year exploratory mining permit in a little patch of land, nicknamed the Donut Hole, between Skagit Valley and Manning provincial parks. If granted, this would further the impacts created by logging in 2018. These parks are iconic recreation areas and important wildlife habitat that deserve protection, not extraction.

To make matters worse, this mining is being proposed by the company responsible for the Mount Polley mine disaster, Imperial Metals. This disaster saw a four square kilometre sized tailings pond full of toxic copper and gold mining waste breach, spilling an estimated 25 billion litres of contaminated materials into neighbouring lakes, contaminating drinking water sources and major spawning grounds for sockeye salmon. Imperial Metals has not been fined or charged in response to the disaster, leaving landowners and business operators out to dry.

The Skagit Valley parks are headwaters for an internationally significant watershed which leads back to the Salish Sea. Mining would threaten recent efforts to recover salmon and bull trout in the US Skagit River. Metals, especially copper, are toxic to salmon – a necessary food source for the southern resident killer whales, already imperiled from multiple factors including lack of their salmon-dependent diet. Allowing mining to occur here would put these salmon and whales at an increased risk from damaging that Upper Skagit, referred to as the crown jewel of the Salish Sea.

This Skagit Valley parks are the northern tip of a system of connected protected areas which reaches all the way into California. The North Cascades Grizzly Bear population unit is one of the most imperilled in the province. These protected areas are important habitat to maintain wildlife connectivity and provide recreation opportunities for people to connect with nature.

We stand with many partners including 22 US conservation organizations who voiced their opposition to the application. This project would be a disaster for species from spotted owl to the iconic orcas and grizzlies who make their home in BC’s land and waters. By joining the chorus of opposition to this project, you can ensure a safe home for these species and the enduring protection that this area deserves.

Take action to protect the Skagit.