 April 26, 2002
The bill, entitled the Cape Fox Land Entitlement Adjustment Act of 2002, exchanges private timber lands near Ketchikan for public National Forest lands near Slate Lakes where Coeur Alaska, operator of the Kensington gold mine, hopes to dump mine tailings. "Dumping mine tailings in lakes near Berners Bay is a bad idea," says Katya Kirsch, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council's executive director. "Giving away pristine Tongass National Forest lands to a private corporation to do this is still worse." Since 1997, Coeur has possessed all the permits necessary to operate the Kensington mine just north of Berners Bay but has not begun operations because of low gold prices according to the news release. Late last year, Coeur submitted an amended plan of operations to the Forest Service that proposes dumping mine tailings into Slate Lake within the Berners Bay watershed. Presumably, the amended plan of operations makes Coeur's processing costs viable, but it also shifts the impacts from mining development into this wild watershed. Rosa Miller, Tribal Leader
of the Auk Kwaan, the original settlers of Juneau, expressed
outrage at this bill's introduction. "In the old days, when
you traveled to someone else's territory, you could not land
your canoe until you got permission from the clan in the area,"
she explained. "We've heard nothing from Cape Fox about
their intentions for our lands in Berners Bay." The Berners Bay watershed is well known for its abundant wildlife, including 4 species of salmon, wolves, and brown and black bears. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, City and Borough of Juneau, and commercial fishermen have supported protection of Berners Bay's high value fisheries and vast recreational opportunities. According to the news release, the Cape Fox bill follows in the footsteps of another large Native Corporation land exchange introduced by Senator Murkowski. The Huna Totem Corporation Land Exchange bill, S. 506, would allow Huna Totem Corporation to select as-yet-undetermined public National Forest lands it could log in return for corporation lands near Hoonah that have not been logged because of public opposition.
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Source of News Release:
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