2. The Challenge
Mining currently poses the most significant industrial threat to parts of the Atlin-Taku, but other industries could look to develop in this landscape in the future. It is essential that key cultural and ecological areas in the Atlin-Taku are protected from industrial development.
From now, through March 2010, we are calling on British Columbians to champion the Atlin-Taku by urging the planning process to protect its large, diverse landscape. That chorus of voices will be heard far and wide. The negotiations underway aren’t only important for the Atlin-Taku – the ultimate decisions over ecosystem stewardship, wilderness values, protected areas, and culturally significant places will have far-reaching and permanent implications in British Columbia and elsewhere.
This is a pivotal time in wilderness conservation. The Atlin-Taku could serve as a model for visionary stewardship in a time of climate change and imperiled salmon fisheries around the world.
