Nestled in the northeast corner of British Columbia, the Peace River Valley is home to Treaty 8 First Nations’ hunting, fishing, and trapping grounds, fertile agricultural lands and farms, old growth boreal forests, and is one of the most important wildlife corridors in the Yellowstone to Yukon migration corridor chain.
But the beautiful Peace River Valley is under threat. There are already two huge dams on the Peace and now BC Hydro wants to build a third dam, in the heart of this spectacular valley. The proposed 60 meter high Site C mega dam would flood over 100 km of river valley, drowning a land area equal to 14 Stanley Parks, and causing landslides as the banks of the reservoir erode over time.
The land in question happens to be some of the best agricultural land in northern BC, with the only class one soil north of Quesnel. As we have to adapt to climate change, agricultural land and food security is only going to become more important.
So why are we going ahead with this destructive project?
BC Hydro says it is because we need the energy, but we don’t: their own reports say we can meet current demands through energy conservation. Site C is not about meeting the electricity demands of British Columbians; it is about exporting electricity (for air conditioners in California) and expanding BC’s oil and gas and mining industries. It’s an $8 billion taxpayer subsidy to private power producers who threaten hundreds of BC rivers with destruction, and to a dirty fossil fuel industry that needs cheap energy to expand.
We can’t let this happen. The Site C Dam would destroy critical ungulate habitat that has sustained wildlife that has supplied generations of First Nations people with food and cultural sustenance for thousands of years. It will destroy one of the largest and most important wildlife corridors on the continent, and submerge valuable carbon sinks instead of promoting food security and the need to adapt to climate change.
We already have enough electricity. We already have enough rivers in pipes and behind dams. Let’s look at alternatives that make sense. Let’s keep the Peace flowing and free.
