National Audubon Society - Mining Could Pollute Alaska's Chilkat Valley. A Tribe and Local Groups Defend their Way of Life.
Read the full story by Megan Moriarty on Audubon.org
The people of Klukwan chart the seasons based on what can be found in the Chilkat Valley and its network of interconnected waterways. In early spring, dip nets are used to catch eulachon, a small fish known as hooligan and nicknamed “candlefish” because they're so oily you can light them on fire. Then at low tide it’s time to gather red ribbon seaweed, which is washed thoroughly before being hung up to dry.
“So it’s busy,” says Lani Strong Hotch, a textile artist and culture bearer in the Alaska Native community. “Then it’s time to harvest the stinging nettles and the cottonwood buds and all that for medicinal use." This ancient village of about 100 people branches off Haines Highway along the banks of the Chilkat River. In the Tlingit language, the river’s name is Jilkaat Heeni, which translates to “Storage Container for Salmon,” and five species of salmon regularly run up the river during spawning season.
Her husband Jones Hotch serves as Tribal Council President for Klukwan’s Tribal government. “We have enjoyed our way of life for centuries, seasonal harvests and living off the land, a river kitchen of salmon, picking our berries,” he says. “But now, we are eyeball to eyeball with losing that forever because of the proposed mine upriver from us.”
“So it’s busy,” says Lani Strong Hotch, a textile artist and culture bearer in the Alaska Native community. “Then it’s time to harvest the stinging nettles and the cottonwood buds and all that for medicinal use." This ancient village of about 100 people branches off Haines Highway along the banks of the Chilkat River. In the Tlingit language, the river’s name is Jilkaat Heeni, which translates to “Storage Container for Salmon,” and five species of salmon regularly run up the river during spawning season.
Her husband Jones Hotch serves as Tribal Council President for Klukwan’s Tribal government. “We have enjoyed our way of life for centuries, seasonal harvests and living off the land, a river kitchen of salmon, picking our berries,” he says. “But now, we are eyeball to eyeball with losing that forever because of the proposed mine upriver from us.”
Confluence of the Chilkat, Tsirku and Klehini rivers in the Chilkat River Valley in Klukwan, Alaska on June 4, 2024. Within the Chilkat Valley sits the 49,000-acre Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Important Bird Area (IBA). It’s home to the world’s largest congregation of Bald Eagles and was found to be globally significant hosting 1% or more of the population of 18 different bird species, according to a 2024 study by the National Audubon Society Science Team. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Artist and Tlingit Culture Bearer, Lani Strong Hotch, in her weaving room at home in Klukwan, Alaska on June 4, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Tarragon from a local garden, a part of subsistence lifestyle in Klukwan, Alaska. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Tribal Council President, Jones Hotch, in his home in Klukwan, Alaska on June 4, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
A Bald Eagle in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Important Bird Area in Alaska. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Chilkoot Lake near Haines, Alaska on June 3, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Head of Tlingit Whale House and tour guide at Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center, Daniel Klanott, in Klukwan, Alaska on June 4, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
People on the LeConte ferry near Haines, Alaska on June 2, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Executive of Great Bear Foundation, Shannon Donahue, in Haines, Alaska on June 3, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Executive Director of the Takshanuk Watershed Council, Derek Poinsette, in Haines, Alaska on June 3, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Port Chilkoot in Haines, Alaska on June 3, 2024. The community of Haines is largely sustained by commercial fishing of wild salmon. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Banner in Takshanuk Watershed Council office in Haines, Alaska on June 3, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Brown Bear near Klukwan, Alaska on June 4, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Science Director at Takshanuk Watershed Council (TWC) and Board President at Lynn Canal Conservation, Stacie Evans, in Haines, Alaska on June 3, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
A bumper sticker protesting the proposed Palmer Mine. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Proposed Palmer Mine site near Klukwan, Alaska on June 4, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
The town of Haines, Alaska on June 4, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
Chilkat Forever Organizer and small business owner, Rose Fudge, in Haines, Alaska on June 5, 2024. (Sydney Walsh/Audubon)
That proposed mine is the Palmer Project, a controversial operation run by an international conglomerate that's exploring a mineral reserve for copper, zinc, and other metals along a tributary of the Klehini River, which flows into the Chilkat. Both rivers are now considered endangered because the project would cause harmful acid mine drainage. The Tribe and groups in the nearby town of Haines have fought for years to save the watershed from contamination.
The Chilkat Valley is known for having some of the most stunning scenery in the Inside Passage, with ice-capped mountain chains and braided rivers that take on a teal blue color in the summer months. Temperate rainforest meets subarctic tundra in a unique overlapping of biomes. These conditions make the Chilkat Valley one of the most biologically diverse regions in the state, according to Stacie Evans, an avid birder and the science director at Takshanuk Watershed Council. “We have the most mammal species here in Alaska, the most vascular plant species here in Alaska, the most breeding bird species here in Alaska,” she says.
If the site is mined, or even explored, wastewater discharged into groundwater will likely reach the tributaries of the Chilkat River because the waterways are so connected. Despite this concern, the company and officials responsible for public safety seem eager to advance this project through any underhanded means they can manage. Constantine has shown a remarkable lack of public input or transparency about project plans. They have repeatedly advanced development without formal notice to residents of Klukwan, which has Tribal sovereignty and must consent to any decisions that impact their welfare, and actively deceived Tribal leaders about their activities.
If the site is mined, or even explored, wastewater discharged into groundwater will likely reach the tributaries of the Chilkat River because the waterways are so connected. Despite this concern, the company and officials responsible for public safety seem eager to advance this project through any underhanded means they can manage. Constantine has shown a remarkable lack of public input or transparency about project plans. They have repeatedly advanced development without formal notice to residents of Klukwan, which has Tribal sovereignty and must consent to any decisions that impact their welfare, and actively deceived Tribal leaders about their activities.