Yukon’s Three Rivers threatened by proposed mining exploration roads

Posted on November 15, 2007

Public comments needed by Monday, December 10, 2007

A mining company plans to bulldoze winter roads into the heart of the Yukon’s Three Rivers wilderness. This plan to save cash on a highly speculative uranium exploration play pre-empts the land use planning process and jeopardizes the future of the Three Rivers. Due to the extreme hazards of radioactive wastes from uranium mining, many jurisdictions have imposed moratoriums on uranium mining. In the Yukon, there has been no public debate on the impacts uranium mining.

On October 24, Vancouver-based Cash Minerals submitted plans to build a 289 km network of winter roads into and along the Wind River to access their multiple uranium claims in the Wind and Bonnet Plume watersheds. The Bonnet Plume is a designated Canadian Heritage River; the Wind River is one of the North’s finest wilderness watersheds supporting existing tourism businesses. For the past several years the mining company has used airstrips for access. Now they want to bulldoze winter roads along the valley bottoms and build a new airstrip beside the Wind River. The proposal will save the company some cash, while the public will be left to deal with the long term environmental fall-out.

Take action!

Submit your comments on this land use permit application to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) by December 10, 2007. You can make comments online on the YESAB site. Just go to project 2007-0205, Wernecke Winter Road Access Project, Cash Minerals.

Comments | Commentaires

Note: Any opinions expressed here, except as specifically noted, are those of the individual commenters and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of CPAWS.

I visited the Yukon many years ago. I remember the Yukon as a very special place - fresh and clean and wild and beautiful. Someday i hope to return for another visit. I do hope that as Yukoners you appreciate the unique and wonderful land you inhabit. I hope you are good stewards of the land. i hope you do not give in to the demands of industry. I hope you protect your land and not go the way of Alberta. Our leaders in government and industry have betrayed Albertans. They have allowed much of our north to be desecrated. We will pay dearly for this - our children will pay dearly. I hope you value what you have and don't let industry build unnecessary roads into your wilderness merely for their benefit.

Posted by maureen grier on December 3, 2007 6:20 PM

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