ello News Group
Please find attached to this email
today's news release.
We wish the decision had gone differently. We are committed to finding a path forward for the Morrison project and will consider various options within the next month.
Again, the Ministers determined that:
- There is potential to affect a unique wild sockeye salmon population that contributes to the Skeena River sockeye;
- The potential for long-term liability for the province and risk to the environment were not acceptable in this case; and,
- There is insufficient data about Morrison Lake and the potential diminished long-term water quality in Morrison Lake was not an acceptable risk.
These are the same concerns raised in 2012. A letter prepared by KCB late in 2012 to clarify the potential issues that may have led to the 2012 decision to “not” approve the EAC for the Morrison Project is available at the following link:
https://www.pacificbooker.com/pdf/121030L-MorrisonEACRejectionResponse.pdf Contrary to some press articles, the Morrison Project
is not located at the Skeena River headwaters. And Morrison Lake
does not produce the second-largest number of sockeye salmon in BC. That "title" belongs to the entire Skeena River, which is the second largest producer of sockeye salmon after the Fraser River in BC.
The Project footprint, which is 25 square kilometers represents 0.046% of the of the Skeena River watershed which is 54,400 square kilometers. The Morrison Watershed is a significant contributor to salmon spawning and rearing habitat in the Babine Watershed, contributing between 3.5% of the Sockeye population (Gottesfeld, 2002) and 6% of the total Coho population (Bustard, 2004).
Some information on Morrison Watershed Salmon Spawning (2011 report prepared by the LBN and funded by PBM), is available at the following link:
https://www.pacificbooker.com/pdf/LBN_Salmon%20Spawning%20Report%202010-reduced.pdf