In recent weeks I have become involved in a local lobby group that is attempting to stop the development of open pit coal mines in the eastern slopes of the Rockies. I have been sending countless e-mail messages to the Premier, the Environment Minister, the Energy Minister, local County Councilors, and numerous others.
On the Friday before the May long weekend [in 2020] in the middle of the pandemic, the UCP government in Alberta quietly rescinded a decades old policy that seriously limited the development of any coal mines. It turns out this had been in the works for quite some time, and is likely the reason that they also tried to close a whole bunch of provincial parks and natural areas last year. The government, in their foolishness has decided that China would be a reputable customer for our coal, and has gone about selling mineral leases all over the eastern slopes, with absolutely zero consultation. This has resulted in a huge push back from vast number of private citizens, including me.
There are many petitions circulating and all sorts of action being taken. A couple weeks ago the Provincial Government temporarily reinstated the old coal policy. But, that suspension did not affect any projects that had gone ahead through last year and only halted new projects. And, this pause is only a temporary measure. Recently I found out that the old policy significantly limited but did not actually totally ban open pit mining.
A group of locals out in Nordegg is preparing a presentation on the negative impacts of the mines and I allowed them to use a bunch of my photographs. Earlier this week I dug through 20 years of negatives and found a whole bunch of good ones that illustrate the concerns about the area. It was actually fairly easy to find them all as I have a massive index on a spreadsheet. But, I had to spend a couple of days physically locating all the negatives and scanning them.
The resistance to the policy is growing and we are gaining some traction. Hopefully we are able to stop this destructive and stupid idea. This is one of several factors that is contributing to discontent with the UCP government and hopefully it brings them down... at least eventually...
This is a shot of Ram Falls that I took in October of 2012. This river is one of the best habitats in the province for Bull Trout. Bull Trout [Dolly Varden] are the provincial fish of Alberta and are at risk and in decline. This river drains into the North Saskatchewan and contributes to the water supply for hundreds of thousands of people in central Alberta and Saskatchewan. If the provincial government has their way, an open pit mine will be developed in those mountains you can see in the background. In fact a haul road has already been upgraded, a power supply is being installed, and exploratory roads and test drilling are underway. I'm not sure of the exact location of this proposed mine but those mountains visible may be the ones that are proposed for removal to expose the coal. If it is not those, then it is some others nearby. This must be stopped...!
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