Golden residents ask government to halt local run of river projects
Submitted by admin on February 23, 2011 - 16:22
Norm MacDonald,
provincial MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke presented a
petition signed by 510 of his constituents in the B.C.
legislature on Wednesday, February 16. The petition initiated by the Golden chapter of the
Council of Canadians (CoC), asked the government to halt
plans for run-of-river, Independent Power Producer (IPP)
projects in Cupola and Ventego creeks. Both creeks are
located just north of the Glacier National Park boundary and
west of Highway 1. Ventego is an unroaded, pristine
wilderness and contains unique subalpine wetlands.
Neighbouring Alder Creek, also pristine, has now been
proposed for development as well. Rachel Darvill, Wildsight’s Columbia Headwaters program
manager, applauded Macdonald for delivering the petition. “Wildsight does not support run-of-river hydro
development in watersheds such as Ventego and Alder Creek,”
Darvill said. “Such pristine drainages are rare. They are
home to at-risk species and high wilderness values that,
once removed or displaced, will likely never come back.”
