Write Wild - Stand up for Bute Inlet

Bute Inlet is one of the most stunning areas of the BC coast, a remote place full of towering mountains, beautiful rivers and abundant wildlife. The area has mountain goat, marbled murrelet and grizzly bear habitat, and is home to 23 varieties of fish, including all five major types of Pacific salmon.

Plutonic Power and US-based corporate giant General Electric had planed to build a private power megaproject that would involve building 17 dams and river diversions, more than 100 bridges, over 250 km of roads, and over 440 km of transmission lines. This project would have been the largest private power project in British Columbia.

On June 3, 2010, Bute Hydro Inc. wrote to the Chair of the Federal Environmental Assessment Review Panel saying that the company does not see “advancing through the Environmental Review Process at this time.” We are concerned that the company may be waiting for the federal government to further weaken the environmental assessment rules.

We can’t let that happen. We say that British Columbia needs to take advantage of this delay to ensure that the Bute Inlet region’s wild salmon rivers are fully protected from industrial power schemes. We are calling on the provincial government to revoke General Electric’s water license application and to declare the rivers of the Bute an official Salmon Sanctuary, forever protected from being dammed, diverted and ruined for the private profit of the owners of these power companies.

Tell Premier Campbell what you think about this threat to BC rivers and wildlife. Please include your address in the letter.

Your Name: *

Your Email Address: *

Some points to consider:

Bute Inlet is home to all five major types of Pacific salmon. With salmon runs under threat across BC, we need to protect places like the Bute area. Bute Inlet should be a Salmon Sanctuary, off limits to industrial development forever, and Bute Hydro Inc should have it’s water license applications revoked.
Bute Inlet is home to many endangered and threatened species, like grizzly bears, mountain goats and marbled murrelets. Construction on such a massive project will result in major wildlife disturbances. This project is too big and too far away from where we use the power in BC.
BC Hydro reports show that we can meet our energy needs simply by conservation. Bute Inlet is too important to sacrifice for power we don’t need.
The cost of this power is too high. It’s far above the market rate, and erodes BC Hydro’s ability to meet its conservation goals.

My Letter: *

Submitted by sven on Wed, 12/02/2009 - 23:48