The Sacred Headwaters is a large

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

centred around Klappan Mountain of the Klappan Range in northern

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 ...

. It is the source of three wild salmon rivers: the

Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose na ...

, Nass River, and

Stikine River 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 ...

. 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 , which is loosely translated as "headwaters".

Ecology

The area has a significant population of

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

s, stone sheep,

caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

, and

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a cloven-footed mammal that is endemic to the remote and rugged mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to truly alpine species, it is a s ...

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 ...

swim over 400 kilometres from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the upper reaches of the river.

Cultural significance

Tahltan Nation has a culture that is intricately woven into all aspects of their language, art, governance, and everyday life. The Tahltan Nation is divided into two clans, Crow and Wolf; each clan is further divided into several smaller family groups. Placing an importance on culture is how the Tahltan Nation has been able to preserve their heritage, language, and lands for so long. The Sacred Headwaters are located right in the middle of the Tahltan's territory. This shows how long these Sacred Waters have been culturally embraced by the Tahltan Nation, using it as a ceremonial and cultural event grounds. The Sacred Headwaters have been a part of the Tahltan Nation's territory for thousands of years, and they had been struggling for decades to have access to the waters and preserve the land for future generations. There are three major zones that are being heavily affected by major industrial activity: Zone A has been under major industrial activity for a minimum of 20 years; Zone B, an area with high concentration of Tahltan values, is under economic development; and Zone C is proposed for economic development that is environmentally and culturally responsible, and conforms to regulatory processes and agreements between the Tahltan Nation and the BC government. In August 2019, the Tahltan Nation won the right to culturally preserve and save their sacred headwaters in a court case between the Nation and the government of BC.

Industrial development

The Sacred Headwaters is rich in mineral and energy resources, particularly coal and

coalbed methane ''Coalbed methane'' (CBM or coal-bed methane), coalbed gas, or coal seam gas (CSG) is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, Australia, and other co ...

. Several industrial development projects were planned for the area, including Fortune Minerals' open-pit Klappan Coal Mine and

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

's Klappan Coalbed Methane Project. Shell Canada in 2009 conducted several environmental baseline studies within the Klappan tenure area. The British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources estimates the Klappan coal deposit could contain as much as of coalbed methane gas.

Klappan Coal Mine

Fortune Coal Limited (FCL) entered on 13 July 2011 into an unincorporated

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with Posco Canada (POSCAN). The venture, an 80–20 split, was based on mineral rights held by FCL and finances provided by POSCAN. FCL was 100% controlled by Fortune Minerals Limited, an Ontario-based company that traded on the

TSX Venture Exchange The TSX Venture Exchange is a stock exchange in Canada. It is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia, with offices in Toronto and Montreal. All trading through the Exchange is done electronically, so the Exchange does n ...

. POSCAN, which contributed $30 million to the project, was a subsidiary of one of the world's largest steel producers, and had strong ties to the

Government of South Korea The government of South Korea () is the national government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and ...

." Company Overview of POSCO Canada Ltd." on Business Week
/ref> The financial resources of the FML were not sufficient to bring any of its properties into commercial production as of 2012. The Klappan project was estimated to need $789 million to begin production, and to generate substantially less than 1,000 jobs.Fortune Minerals 2012 Annual Information Form
/ref> FML called this the "Arctos Anthracite Project"."Arctos Anthracite Project" web page.
/ref> The

government of British Columbia The Government of British Columbia () is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The term ''Government of British Columbia'' can refer to either the collective set of all three institutions, or mo ...

, in whose jurisdiction the mineral rights are held, planned on 20 September 2013 to dispatch a minister to deal with the First Nations' blockade of the project.CBC.ca: "B.C. minister to visit First Nation blockade"
/ref> Some First Nations groups committed to defending the Sacred Headwaters. "We dare Fortune to get us arrested," said group spokesperson Rhoda Quock. “We have cameras here. We will make sure the world knows what’s going on.”Business in Vancouver 20 Sep 2013: "Tahltan Elders ramp up Sacred Headwaters mine protest after mediator appointment"
/ref> On 23 September Quock was interviewedCBC interview, "As It Happens" 23 Sept 2013
/ref> on

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

's '' As It Happens'', and asked Fortune to obtain an injunction. The CEO of FML said on 24 September that the company would not seek an injunction, and that they would let the BC government mediate a settlement instead."As it Happens" edition 24 September 2013
/ref>

Klappan Coalbed Methane Project

The Klappan Coalbed Methane Project was a proposal by

Shell Canada Shell Canada Limited () is the principal Canadian subsidiary of British energy major Shell plc and one of Canada's largest integrated oil companies. Exploration and production of oil, natural gas and sulphur is a major part of its business, as ...

to develop a

project in the Sacred Headwaters. In 2004, the British Columbia government granted

a tenure for coalbed methane development. It was accessed by road via the abandoned

BC Rail The British Columbia Railway Company , commonly known as BC Rail, is a railway in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Chartered as a private company in 1912 as the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), it was acquired by the provincial ...

grade, which intersects British Columbia Highway 37 south of Iskut. As of summer 2008, Shell's project was in the exploration phase. Shell drilled three exploratory wells in 2004 and was preparing to drill 14 additional wells in 2008, 8 of which were proposed for the headwaters of the Skeena River. If developed, Shell's project would have entailed a network of gas wells connected by roads and pipelines, as well as a pipeline to deliver the gas to market. Shell disclosed neither how many wells would have been necessary to make the project economically viable nor route options for the delivery pipeline. The Klappan Coalbed Methane Project was opposed by both First Nations groups and

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

. The Pembina Institute, an environmentalist

think-tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

, released a report on the potential impacts of the Klappan Coalbed Methane Project on wild salmon, calling it a "risky experiment" as commercial coalbed methane production had never been attempted in a salmon-bearing watershed. On December 18, 2012, the B.C. government announced that Shell Canada would relinquish its tenure on the land, and that oil and gas development would be banned in the Sacred Headwaters.

Developments since 2015

In April 2015, the Government of British Columbia bought all coal licences in the area around Mount Klappan, halting development for the foreseeable future. At the same time, the Tahltan First Nation and provincial government began working on a long-term plan for the Sacred Headwaters. The campaign to protect the Sacred Headwaters from industrial development is profiled in a 2022 documentary film, ''

The Klabona Keepers ''The Klabona Keepers'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Tamo Campos and Jasper Snow-Rosen and released in 2022.Hannah Schmidt"Documentary filmed in Northwest B.C. to be screened at Toronto film fest" CFTK-TV CFTK-TV ( analogue channe ...

''.Hannah Schmidt
"Documentary filmed in Northwest B.C. to be screened at Toronto film fest"

CFTK-TV CFTK-TV ( analogue channel 3) is a television station in Terrace, British Columbia, Canada, airing CTV 2 programming. Owned and operated by Bell Media, it is part of the Great West Television system. CFTK-TV's studios are located on Lazelle Ave ...

, May 17, 2022.

References

External links

Sacred Headwaters portal site

Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition
{{British Columbia parks Tahltan Stikine Country Politics of British Columbia Environmental issues in Canada Drainage basins of the Pacific Ocean Watersheds of Canada Watersheds of Alaska Unconventional gas Indigenous politics in Canada Environmental policy in Canada Land use 2010s in Canada 2010s in the environment Sacred rivers Environmental racism in Canada