Rivers Without Borders is a nonprofit organization fiscally sponsored by the

Tides Center Tides Foundation is a left-leaning donor advised fund based in the United States that manages over $1.4 billion in assets. It was founded in San Francisco in 1976 by Drummond Pike. Tides distributes money from anonymous donors to other organizat ...

in the United States. Rivers Without Borders works as a project o
Tides Canada Initiatives
in Canada. Tides Canada's mission is to provide uncommon solutions for the common good by leading and supporting actions that foster a healthy environment and just Canadian society. Rivers Without Borders promotes a watershed-based conservation vision for the Transboundary Watershed Region of

Southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, often abbreviated to southeast or southeastern, and sometimes called the Alaska(n) panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian provi ...

and northwest

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. In a time of declining wild salmon populations, diminishing biodiversity, and climate change pressures, Rivers Without Borders promotes and protects the extraordinary ecological, wildlife habitat, and cultural values of the Transboundary Watershed Region. Rivers Without Borders has staff in U.S. offices in

Juneau, Alaska Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...

, and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, as well as contract staff in

.Rivers Without Borders
/ref> Rivers Without Borders collaborates with First Nations, community leaders, commercial fishermen, scientists, local businesses, and other environmental organizations to keep the Transboundary Watershed Region one of North America's most valuable conservation assets.

History

Rivers Without Borders began in 1999 as a network of Canadian and U.S. member organizations called the "Transboundary Watershed Alliance," coordinating efforts on regional environmental, indigenous rights and sustainability issues. The effort was intended to continue coordinated work that had begun in the

Taku River The Taku River (Tlingit language, Lingít: ''T'aaḵu Héeni'') is a river running from British Columbia, Canada, to the northwestern coast of North America, at Juneau, Alaska. The river basin spreads across . The Taku is a very productive salmon ...

watershed in 1995 and extend the model of transboundary collaborative work to the Stikine and other transboundary watersheds. The organization took as its major goals ensuring permanent protection of large, interconnected expanses of wilderness and supporting regional communities in developing alternative economies. While maintaining its original organizational ties and creating new alliances with commercial fishermen, biologists, guides, community leaders and others, Transboundary Watershed Alliance officially became Rivers Without Borders in 2007 and now functions as a distinct organization.

River systems of focus

Rivers Without Borders focuses on seven watershed systems within the Transboundary Watershed Region that support abundant wildlife and all five species of

Pacific salmon ''Oncorhynchus'', from Ancient Greek ὄγκος (''ónkos''), meaning "bend", and ῥύγχος (''rhúnkhos''), meaning "snout", is a genus of ray-finned fish in the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae, native to coldwater tributarie ...

, which are critical to regional economies.

The Taku River Watershed

A pristine river basin in

and northwest

, it covers . More than twice as large as

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

, it is the largest unprotected and basically undeveloped watershed on the Pacific Coast of North America. The Taku is the top salmon-producing river in Southeast Alaska and routinely ranks in Alaska's top five salmon producing rivers. According to the

Alaska Department of Fish and Game The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is a department within the government of Alaska. ADF&G's mission is to protect, maintain, and improve the fish, game, and aquatic plant resources of the state, and manage their use and development i ...

,Taku River Salmon Stock Assessment
/ref> the river sees nearly 2 million wild salmon annually, including up to 100,000

Chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Oncorhynchus, Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinn ...

(king salmon), 350,000

sockeye salmon The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a ...

(red salmon) and 400,000

coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon (or "silvers") and is often ...

(silver salmon), 50,000

chum salmon The chum salmon (''Oncorhynchus keta''), also known as dog salmon or keta salmon, is a species of anadromous salmonid fish from the genus ''Oncorhynchus'' (Pacific salmon) native to the coastal rivers of the North Pacific and the Beringian Arctic ...

(dog salmon), and 1 million

pink salmon Pink salmon or humpback salmon (''Oncorhynchus gorbuscha'') is a species of euryhaline ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the type species of the genus ''Oncorhynchus'' (Pacific salmon), and is the smallest and most abundant of t ...

(humpy salmon). Beyond its bounty of salmon, the Taku is home to eight other fish species, including steelhead, bull trout, Dolly Varden char, rainbow trout, lake trout, Arctic grayling, whitefish and Southeast Alaska's largest population of cutthroat trout. In addition, hooligans (

eulachon The eulachon ( (''Thaleichthys pacificus''), also spelled oolichan , ooligan , hooligan ), or the candlefish, is a small anadromous species of smelt that spawns in some of the major river systems along the Pacific coast of North America from no ...

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

and

halibut Halibut is the common name for three species of flatfish in the family of right-eye flounders. In some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish are also referred to as halibut. The word is derived from ''haly'' (holy) and ...

are harvested at or near the river's mouth. That marine wealth supports major sport, commercial and tribal fisheries in Alaska and British Columbia. A 2004 reportThe Taku River Economy
/ref> estimated "the annual economic impact from all activities on the Taku River to be $26.7 million." Commercial fishing generated about $6 million, sport fishing about $2 million, and commercial air activity generated $18 million with $13 million of that directly related to tourism. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game periodically updates the commercial salmon statistics.Estimated Salmon Harvest by Area
/ref>

The Iskut River-Stikine River Watershed

One of North America's largest and most intact wild salmon watersheds, the Stikine River is 400 miles/640 km long from its headwaters in British Columbia's Spatsizi Plateau to its estuary near

Wrangell, Alaska Wrangell (, ) is a List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, borough in Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 2,127, down from 2,369 in 2010. Incorporated as a consolidated city–county ...

. The Iskut River, the largest tributary of the Stikine, flows for 145 miles/236 km from Kluachon Lake near Iskut, British Columbia, to its confluence with the lower Stikine River near the US/Canada border.

The Unuk River Watershed

The Unuk is 80 miles/130 km) long and drains some 1500 square miles/3885 square km. It supports the largest runs of king (

Chinook Chinook may refer to: Chinook peoples The name derives from a settlement of Indigenous people in Oregon and Washington State. * Chinookan peoples, several groups of Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest ** Chinook Indian Nation, an organiza ...

) salmon in southern Southeast Alaska.

The Whiting River Watershed

The wildest and most remote watershed in the British Columbia-Alaska transboundary region, the Whiting measures 50 miles/80 km long and lies between the Iskut-Stikine and Taku watersheds. The Canadian drainage area of the Whiting is 915 square miles/2,375 square km.

Rivers Without Borders Taku River protection efforts

An effort by a Canadian company, Redfern Resources Ltd., to reopen th
Tulsequah Chief Mine
located on the

Tulsequah River The Tulsequah River, formerly the Talsekwe River (Lingít: ''Taaltsux̱éi''), is a tributary of the Taku River in northwestern British Columbia, located south of the Atlin District and inland from Juneau, Alaska. The unincorporated settlement of ...

in British Columbia about northeast of Juneau, Alaska, ended early in 2009 when Redfern filed for protection under Canada's

Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act The ''Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act'' (CCAA; ) is a statute of the Parliament of Canada that allows insolvent corporations owing their creditors in excess of $5 million to restructure their businesses and financial affairs. The CCAA with ...

(Part of Canada’s bankruptcy law). Prior to that, Rivers Without Borders had been providing information to the public about a proposed Redfern plan to use hoverbarges to haul mine ore to the sea on the Alaska side of the border, a transportation scheme that came to be eyed skeptically by Alaska state officials and Taku River residents. The hoverbarge proposal was dropped because of Redfern's bankruptcy in early 2009. The mine, however, continues to pose a threat to the Taku River environment. In September 2010, a new company
Chieftain Metals
purchased the Tulsequah Chief Project, and currently plans to develop it. Though the Tulsequah Chief Mine and the related Big Bull mine have not operated for decades, they have been leaking toxic acids into the Tulsequah River, a tributary to the Taku River. Since 1989, the Canadian government has monitored the Tulsequah Chief mine site, issuing several cleanup orders in the interim,.Chronology of Cleanup Orders and Company Responses
/ref> In a letter sent July 2009, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin urged British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell to cooperate with Alaska to find a way to mitigate the mine leakage and protect the Tulsequah and Taku Rivers.Gov. Palin urges Canadians to address mine's acid drainage
/ref> Late in 2011, Chieftain Metals installed an interim water treatment plant which is a short term solution to the historical

acid mine drainage Acid mine drainage, acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD) is the outflow of acidic water from metal mines and coal mines. Acid rock drainage occurs naturally within some environments as part of the rock weatherin ...

issue. Rivers Without Borders is now seeking Alaska action to add stiffer environmental protection measures to the American end of the Taku River. In June 2010, Rivers Without Borders launched the Taku Wild Salmon Stronghold campaign with a presentation to the board of the Salmon Stronghold Partnership in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, asserting that the Taku watershed would be a natural and ideal addition to the Strongholds thus far designated in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, and southern British Columbia. The watershed hosts robust populations of all five Pacific

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

species, is the top salmon producer for southeast

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, and is one of Canada’s most steady and significant salmon systems. For these reasons, Rivers Without Borders’ Wild Salmon Stronghold campaign has worked to secure the Taku as North America’s first International Wild Salmon Stronghold. Formal recognition would ensure that the Taku’s salmon values are properly prioritized and that indigenous, federal, provincial, and state government biologists and managers, as well as stakeholders, are coordinated in management, monitoring, and safeguarding fisheries resources. Rivers Without Borders and the Rivers Institute at the

British Columbia Institute of Technology The British Columbia Institute of Technology (also referred to as BCIT), is a public polytechnic institute in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The technical institute has five campuses located in the Metro Vancouver region, with its main cam ...

prepared A Taku Salmon Stronghold report to assess the Taku’s suitability to join the North American Salmon Stronghold partnership
A Taku Salmon Stronghold: Initial Assessment of an Exceptional International Watershed

References

{{Reflist

News

Juneau Empire, (July 12, 2009) story: ''"Palin urges Canadians to address mine's acid drainage"''

Globe Mail, (July 28, 2009) column: ''Palin's parting words to B.C.: "Don't spill baby, don't spill"''

Yukon News, (July 31, 2009, story: ''"Redcorp's bankruptcy threatens salmon-rich Taku"''

External links

Official website

Alaska Southeast United Gillnetter's Association

Alaska Marine Conservation Council

First Nations (British Columbia)

Taku River Tlingit First Nation (British Columbia)
Environmental issues in Canada Environmental organizations based in Alaska Environmental organizations based in Washington (state) Politics of British Columbia Water organizations in the United States