Wildlife Promise » boreal forest

Northeasterners Fight Back Against Tar Sands Project

Carol Oldham — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:33:01 +0000

NTSB Photo – Ruptured Enbridge tar sands pipeline, Line 6B

The tar sands industry — responsible for toxic oil spills across the Midwest and Arkansas — is plotting to bring this dirty fuel straight through New England. They seek to reverse the flow of two existing pipelines in order to ship tar sands oil from Alberta in Canada through Vermont and New Hampshire to the Maine coast. And what’s even worse? They want to transport up to 300,000 barrels a day of this corrosive, tarry oil through a 60 year old pipeline where the risk of a spill isn’t a matter of if but when.

Big Oil is trying to keep this project under the radar and avoid a scrutinizing presidential permitting process. A presidential permit is required for any project that crosses the American border and since the Exxon & Enbridge pipeline would cross into Canada, the permit requires that the administration assess the project and allow for public discussion (think Keystone XL).

Exxon & Enbridge Pipeline Project Under Scrutiny

Legislators from Vermont, Maine, & New Hampshire are joining tens of thousands of Northeast residents in speaking out against this proposed project. Out of the 12 northeast congressional members in the pipeline right of way states (VT, ME, NH), only Senator Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire has yet to stand with her community in opposing the project. Members are sending letter after letter after letter urging Secretary Kerry to require a new presidential permit for the proposed Exxon & Enbridge pipeline project.

When Senators Susan Collins and Angus King of Maine were visited by the tar sands lobby (including the pipeline director for the American Petroleum Institute) a few short weeks ago, the lobby were told to be prepared for lengthy and appropriate government scrutiny over the project.

King told the group that reversing the flow of the Portland-Montreal Pipe Line “is presidential-permit-worthy. And it’s up to the petroleum industry to convince me otherwise.”

Collins, in a prepared statement Tuesday, recalled that the pipeline officials “were not definitive in response to my questions” about exactly what they were up to.

“Should the company decide to seek approval for this new use,” Collins added, “I would expect that appropriate environmental impact reviews would be completed.”

Moose photo by Rick Libbey

Protecting Moose from Dirty Tar Sands

The Exxon & Enbridge pipeline project runs through important moose habitat in New England. If this dangerous project is not stopped, toxic tar sands oil would threaten the waterways where moose live–and would fuel more tar sands operations in Canada that are destroying the boreal forests and polluting fresh water.

Speak up against the risks that the Northeast tar sands pipeline poses to wildlife and our communities>>>

Keystone XL Paints Bleak Future for Caribou

Robyn Carmichael — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 21:47:56 +0000

I remember seeing the images of the tar sands region in Alberta, Canada for the first time: a lifeless wasteland of massive open pit mines, smokestacks spewing thick black fumes, and toxic waste ponds. “How can this happen?” I thought, “and in Canada, no less”—a country I associated with lush green forests and strong conservation values, certainly not capable of one of the worst environmental travesties in the world.

Tar sands mining in Alberta, Canada. Photo: Chris Evans, The Pembina Institute, www.oilsandswatch.org

This, I learned, is what happens when the “easy oil” runs out. Alberta’s vast tar sands oil deposits are extremely difficult to reach, mixed into sand or locked deep underneath the boreal forest—one of the largest and oldest intact rainforests on earth. To produce one barrel of oil, extractors level the forest, dig up four tons of earth, consume two to four barrels of fresh water, burn large amounts of natural gas and create toxic sludge holding ponds.

And since the boreal forest is one of the world’s largest storehouses of land-based carbon, when trees are logged or the soil is disturbed, carbon is released into the atmosphere. Overall, tar sands production emits three times more carbon dioxide than conventional oil production—exacerbating climate change and extreme weather events such as Superstorm Sandy.

Tar Sands and Caribou

Woodland Caribou (Photo: US Fish & Wildlife Service)

This all has a profound effect on local wildlife, and as this wasteland grows even vaster, the survival of several species is left hanging the balance.

Woodland caribou—the shy cousin to the reindeer—are struggling to survive as their boreal forest habitat is destroyed. Over the last 50 years, about half of caribou habitat has disappeared due to timber, oil and gas development in the heart of their range, leading to steep declines of populations.

Now, the dramatic expansion of tar sands is threatening to destroy what remains of their fragile habitat—and if development continues unchecked, scientists predict that some herds in the tar sands region could disappear in as little as 30 years. The situation has spiraled so out of control that it’s even prompted misguided plans by the Canadian government to “rescue” caribou by shooting hundreds of wolves.

Keystone XL Decision Looming

Following the opposition raised by hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens across the United States, in January 2012, President Obama denied the request to build the 1,700 mile-long Keystone XL pipeline—a project that is key to Big Oil’s plans to expand tar sands operations in caribou’s boreal forests.

Now, Keystone XL is back and President Obama is expected to make a final decision on the project early this year.

We’ve seen that the American public will not sit idly by while Keystone XL is rushed through, but we need strong leadership to stop this disastrous project once and for all. President Obama has identified climate change as one of the three priorities of his second term. Now, he has the chance to make good on his promise by considering the broader environmental implications of Keystone XL and addressing just how this pipeline fits into his vision of a clean energy future.

Protect crucial habitat for caribou by telling President Obama to stop Keystone XL pipeline.

Infographic: Keystone XL – Big Oil’s Poison Pill

Peter LaFontaine — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:55:35 +0000

More than two full years into the fight against Keystone XL, the stakes are as high as ever. Big Oil’s friends in Congress have made construction of the pipeline their biggest energy priority, while conservationists, Native American tribes, landowners along the route, and concerned citizens everywhere have called on the White House to reject the project and pull the plug on the tar sands industry.

With a new permit application, Keystone remains very much a threat, and Congress is debating a measure that would force construction of the dangerous project. But you can help: Speak up now to protect people and wildlife at risk, and prove to Big Oil that their money can’t buy our votes.

Graphic: Peter LaFontaine/National Wildlife Federation

Speak up now to protect people and wildlife at risk from tar sands and the Keystone XL pipeline.

TransCanada Reapplies for Round 2 of Keystone XL Fight

Kendall Mackey — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:36:35 +0000

AP Photo

Keystone XL, the “zombie pipeline,” is officially back from the grave. TransCanada, the corporation behind the massive tar sands project, reapplied on Friday for a Presidential Permit to begin construction. The pipeline would carry up to 900,000 barrels a day of Alberta tar sands crude oil 1,700 miles to refineries on the Gulf Coast.

Jeremy Symons, senior vice president of the National Wildlife Federation, said:

“It’s hard to tell what’s really new about TransCanada’s application, which continues to threaten Nebraska’s iconic Sandhills and its critical Ogallala aquifer. It’s just the latest broken promise from TransCanada, which has threatened to seize Nebraskan lands by eminent domain and claimed its Keystone I pipeline would spill very rarely, then spilled 12 times in its first year of operation.”

The Alberta-based company is already planning to move forward with the project’s southern segment(from Cushing, OK to the Port Arthur, TX). Because the southern segment won’t cross an international boundary, the State Department won’t require a presidential permit for it to be built, but the southern segment still needs water permits from the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). TransCanada wants limited review of this dangerous project and they want to stay out of the public eye after the bruising they took during the first round of this fight.They’re betting that it will be harder for the State Department to say no to the rest of the pipeline if a significant portion of it is already in place — However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already said more scrutiny is needed.

Gulf Coast Project

There are two different ways the government could choose to approach this application: first, TransCanada is pursuing what is called a Nationwide Permit (NWP) for the Gulf Coast segment of the project with the Corps. Approval under a NWP allows a project like the pipeline to proceed with little project-specific environmental review and almost no public input. In fact, landowners impacted by the project may not even know approval has been granted to dig up their land until the bulldozers show up. Under a second scenario, the project would have to be considered for “individual permits” under the Clean Water Act, one of our nation’s bedrock environmental laws. The EPA has stated that TransCanada must apply for individual permits because the impacts of the pipeline are too significant for authorization under a nationwide permit. The individual permit process provides for more rigorous examination as well as an opportunity for landowners and the public to review the application materials and provide comment. Given the fact that 900 wetlands and waters would be impacted, and considering TransCanada’s terrible track record (Keystone 1 pipeline spilled 12times in its first year of operation), it is imperative that this project is carefully considered under a transparent process before any construction begins.

As NWF’s Jeremy Symons argues,

“The only thing this pipeline would guarantee is billions in annual profit for oil companies, while risking long-lasting damage to our waters and lands. That’s why oil companies have pushed so hard to have their allies in Congress take this decision out of the hands of safety regulators – they know if Keystone XL is judged fairly on its impacts on America’s land, water, wildlife and climate, it doesn’t stand a chance.”

Protesters carry an inflatable Keystone Xl pipeline around the White House during the Nov. 6th rally. (Photo: Marine Jaouen)

It’s not just US citizens who are concerned about TransCanada’s project and its effects on our land, water, wildlife, people, and our climate. Canadians are also worried about the development of this dirty fuel. Tar sands is the world’s dirtiest form of oil and its extraction is extremely destructive to the Boreal Forest. Booming tar sands operations in Canada are destroying wildlife habitat at an increasing pace–pushing woodland caribou to the brink of extinction and prompting plans to poison and shoot thousands of wolves in a cruel effort to “protect” the caribou.

Help us make sure this dangerous pipeline gets the scrutiny it deserves. Speak up now for wildlife and people affected by tar sands and the Keystone XL pipeline:

Sandhill Cranes: an Ancient Bird, a New Threat, and How You Can Help

Peter LaFontaine — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:18:45 +0000

If you’re looking for one of the most spectacular migrations in the world, the word “flyover state” takes on a much nicer meaning. Every March, a half million Sandhill cranes converge on the Platte River valley in central Nebraska, where they feast for weeks to build strength for the long migration north. In mid-April they rise in enormous flocks and leave for summer grounds in northern Canada and as far away as Siberia. The phenomenon been going on like clockwork for millennia, drawing bird watchers from around the world who want a glimpse of these and other animals like the critically-endangered Whooping crane.

Sandhill cranes near Kearney, Nebraska on the Platte River earlier this spring (photo: flickr/stpaulgirl)

There are actually six different subspecies of Grus canadensis, three of which are non-migratory and don’t make the journey. But the mass gathering along the Platte is so breathtaking that it gave the animal its common name, after the Sandhills region of Nebraska that the river passes through.

The Sandhills, in turn, are a unique landscape: 20,000 square miles, part desert, part grassland, with lakes and wetlands scattered throughout. Formed after the last Ice Age by winds that steadily built the dunes as high as 400 feet, the Sandhills are now stabilized by native grasses that allow farmers and ranchers to make a good living there. It is home not just to ranchers and cranes but also pronghorn antelope, porcupines, elk and bison, along with hundreds of other wildlife and plant species.

Making all this possible is a vast underground reservoir — the Ogallala aquifer — that sits beneath the Sandhills. It is our biggest water reserve, providing 30% of the groundwater used for irrigation in the entire US and drinking water for millions of Americans, and at some places the water table is so high that it’s actually at the surface, creating those lakes and wetlands. The Ogallala enabled the Great Plains to become “America’s bread basket,” but overuse threatens to suck this vital resource dry and now Big Oil (always eager to kick Mother Nature when she’s down) has raised the stakes for farmers and cranes alike.

Big Oil’s Dangerous Gamble

Tar sands pipelines spell big trouble for species like cranes (photo: Andrea Westmoreland)

Conservationists and the oil industry have battled for years over Keystone XL, a 2,000 mile pipeline that would send corrosive “tar sands” oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf coast, crossing the Ogallala aquifer and countless other water sources on its way south. Tar sands are a particularly toxic form of crude oil that poses serious risksto people and wildlife:

The Global Labor Institute at Cornell University has concluded that spills from pipelines of tar sands-derived oil are three times as likely to occur per mile as spills of crude oil. And when they do, the researchers say, the damage is greater, the public health risks larger, the clean-up harder, the costs higher.

A spill over the aquifer would be a disaster. After a local and national outrcry — including criticism from Nebraska’s Republican governor and senators from both parties — sent Keystone XL back to the drawing board, the company has recently proposed another route. But the revised project still crosses the Ogallala aquifer, and critics charge that the “official” border of the Sandhills is a pretty meaningless distinction, because the surrounding area is similar geologically. In other words: new route, same risks.

Double Trouble in the Boreal Forest

Sandhill cranes mate for life (photo: Matthew Paulson)

Sandhill cranes, like jet-setting tourists, wing their way from one remarkable landscape to another: the Canadian boreal forest, the biggest intact natural habitat left on earth and the breeding ground for BILLIONS of migratory birds.

Stretching across the northern reaches of our continent, this ecosystem is one of the most important you’ve (probably) never heard of, not just for its striking range of biodiversity but also for the crucial role it plays in regulating our climate: globally, boreal forests — almost a third of which are in Canada — store more carbon than any other biome.

Calling it simply a forest is a little misleading, though — the region also includes vast wetlands like the delta of the Peace and Athabasca rivers in northeastern Alberta, a favorite nesting area for sandhill cranes and hundreds of other species. But danger is on the horizon: just to the south of this vibrant delta, the oil industry is building the biggest industrial project in our planet’s history.

Big Oil’s wholesale demolition of the boreal forest is well-documented but mostly overlooked outside of Canada. (It’s worth checking out these photos to get a sense of the scale and what we’re fighting to protect.) Taken together, habitat loss, catastrophic spills, and climate change pose an enormous risk to sandhill cranes, caribou, wolves and other wildlife, and pipelines like Keystone XL are the key to the whole system. Thanks to a grassroots uprising we’ve halted this project so far, but we need your help to hold the line against tar sands.

Speak up now and tell the Obama Administration to say NO to Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. Our planet deserves better.

Wildlife in Peril: Nine Species in the Tar Sands War Zone

Peter LaFontaine — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:50:35 +0000

Up past our northern border is one of the most important wild ecosystems on earth: the Canadian boreal forest. This vast landscape stretches for thousands of square miles across the top of North America, providing habitat for countless animal species and the ancestral home for some of the original humans on this continent — known collectively as the First Nations.

Basically untouched until recent decades, the boreal forest’s great natural riches may also turn out to be its undoing: massive amounts of oil have been found in deposits known as “tar sands,” and the energy industry has kicked off a full-scale war on Mother Nature in their rush to boost their profits. Aided by a government that seems determined to wreck the country’s eco-friendly reputation, Big Oil is transforming huge parts of Alberta, Canada into something out of a nightmare, destroying vital wildlife habitat and putting whole populations at risk.

Read on to learn more about nine remarkable species that are directly threatened by tar sands development, then send a message to the President to help protect them.

Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou)

Woodland caribou are being pushed out by oil development in their habitat (photo: British Columbia Forest Service)

Alberta is one of the last homes of woodland caribou, which have adapted to live in wintry climes with snowshoe-like hooves and antlers that they use to shovel aside snow to reach the moss and lichen beneath. Despite the fact that even the smaller females can outweigh an NFL linebacker (and males can top 400 pounds), woodland caribou are a painfully shy species that avoids humans as much as possible. But booming tar sands development in the heart of their range, coupled with industrial logging and other activities, has destroyed a huge part of their habitat and driven several populations to the brink of extinction.

The Canadian federal and provincial governments seem happy to turn a blind eye to the problem, and a stakeholder group that should be leading the charge to protect this iconic species — the Endangered Species Conservation Committee — is stocked with representatives from the energy industry, agriculture and timber companies, who watered down the caribou recovery plan to a toothless piece of paper. And even then, Environment Minister Peter Kent ignored a court order and refused to issue emergency protections for at-risk herds. Scientists fear that industrial development could cause Canada’s woodland caribou to vanish by the end of the century.

Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)

Our understanding of gray wolves has come a long way since the days of Little Red Riding Hood. They are impressively smart, social animals that spend as much time playing as hunting, and live together in close-knit packs of 4 to 7 animals.

Gray wolves are a keystone species in the northern ecosystem (photo: flickr/YankeeNovember3)

Now prepare yourself for some shocking news: gray wolves eat caribou. They eat a lot of things, actually, everything from moose to mice, part of the reason wolves are considered a “keystone” of the food web, helping to balance populations and allowing ecosystems to thrive.

But in the eyes of the Canadian government this makes them a threat, and an easy scapegoat for the recent rapid declines of the caribou herds. So the government has embarked upon a plan to “cull” wolf populations using poison-laced bait and aerial hunts from helicopters. The poison, strychnine, is known for an excruciating death that progresses painfully from muscle spasms to convulsions to suffocation, over a period of hours. As if that weren’t awful enough, other animals like eagles and even domesticated dogs have been unintended casualties of the baiting campaign.

Black Bears (Ursus americanus)

Black bears like this cub like to eat the garbage from dumps around tar sands mines, much to their misfortune. (photo: Noah Katz)

It’s hard not to like black bears, with their curious natures and rotund bodies. Just like other wildlife, though, it is best not to mess with them — despite being small by bear standards, these guys can still tip the scales at half a ton, yet still sprint up to 30 mph. And while they usually eat things like berries, fish, and honey (yes, that rumor is true), black bears are notorious for getting into garbage cans and campers’ food coolers.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise by now that tar sands development has directly encroached on bear habitat, leading to more interactions between humans and this species. Unfortunately, the government’s approach has been similar to their wolf plan: shoot ‘em and keep digging for oil.

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development says 145 black bears were killed by Fish and Wildlife conservation officers last year after being habituated to garbage in the oilsands region. The number of bears shot in the Fort McMurray district was nearly three times the count the previous year and the highest in recent history, said spokesman Darcy Whiteside. Nearly half — 68 bears — were shot in oilsands camps and facilities after being attracted to the camp by food, garbage or other attractants, Whiteside said Tuesday.

Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis)

Canada Lynx near Whitehorse, Yukon (photo: Keith Williams)

In addition to having one of the coolest animal names on the planet, the Canada Lynx looks like something out of a superhero comic — long, black-tipped ears, a double pointed beard, huge paws and a beautiful silver-brown coat. They cover a lot of ground on their powerful legs and have been known to swim for miles across frigid rivers. The boreal forest is ideal habitat for these solitary hunters to track their favorite game, snowshoe hares.

Unlike bears, lynx shy away from contact with humans. Development in the eastern part of Canada has already forced out the big cats, and pressure from tar sands exploitation in Alberta is causing concerns there as well. And there’s a critical connection between gray wolves and lynx: wolves kill coyotes, which directly compete with lynx for snowshoe hare and other prey. So fewer wolves means more coyotes, which means fewer lynx. For a population that’s already threatened, that’s bad news. On the other hand, protecting wolves means lynx may rebound as well.

Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis)

Sandhill cranes face a double-whammy in Alberta and Nebraska (photo: flickr.com/nigel)

One of the oldest birds on planet earth (scientists think they evolved at least 2.5 million years ago), sandhill cranes are also some of the longest-lived, able to reach 21 years or more. Though hunted to dangerously low levels in the early part of the 20th century, the cranes have rebounded thanks to conservation efforts which have given them some breathing room in their unusually slow breeding cycle.

The big birds migrate thousands of miles each year from their breeding grounds in western Canada to as far south as Mexico, fattening up for a month in Nebraska’s Platte River valley. But this exposes them to a double-whammy from tar sands, with Alberta’s energy development destroying prime nesting habitat, and the danger of a spill in the Nebraska Sandhills region (from which they take their name) that could take away a crucial feeding ground. As it happens, their migratory pathway overlaps the route of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline almost mile-for-mile, meaning that a spill at any point will put this iconic species in harm’s way.

Walleye (Sander vitreus)

An angler in Ontario holds her latest catch (photo: flickr.com/Rowdy Rider)

Walleye (named for their reflective eyes, which allow them to see in low-light conditions) are the “official fish” of Saskatchewan, Alberta’s provincial neighbor. A mature adult can be 20 pounds or more, making them a staple for northern fishermen.

But walleye and several other native species of fish might soon become a scarce commodity if Big Oil gets its way. Residents of Fort Chipeweyan, Alberta (most of whose residents are First Nations members) have reported a pretty scary development in the last few years: lots and lots of deformed fish downstream of the tar sands developments. In 2010, commercial fishing ground to a halt due to concerns about heavy metals like mercury and cadmium…as if anyone would want to eat a filet with a golf-ball sized tumor. The Canadian government, not surprisingly, contests these claims, but independent data shows that contamination has reached 30 times the federally-accepted levels.

In addition to all that, tar sands extraction requires a lot of water — up to three barrels of water for every barrel of oil — and this has disrupted the normal cycles of of the Athabasca river and surrounding watersheds.

Moose (Alces alces)

It's hard to play hide-and-seek when you weigh more than a ton (photo: flicker/Benjamin 1970)

Unlike most vegetarians, the Western Moose is a certifiable giant — it’s the largest species of deer on earth, standing seven feet tall at the shoulder and crowned with enormous antlers that span six feet across. They’re also (not to be rude, but it’s true) pretty funny looking. But don’t let the giant nose and skinny little legs fool you, because moose can be pretty ornerywhen the stakes are high enough.

This species has been a major part of native culture and their diet for millennia, but with numbers near Fort McKay, Alberta declining 60% in recent years, First Nations elders now have to travel up to 200 kilometers to find moose during their traditional hunt. Moose meat has also tested high in arsenic and carcinogens created by tar sands mining, endangering the health of the region’s indigenous communities.

Like woodland caribou, moose are prey for gray wolves, and toxins in moose meat spells trouble for their predators.

Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)

Scaup, also known as "bluebills," call the Athabasca River delta home (photo: Carol Foil)

Canada’s Boreal forest is the springtime home of half of North America’s birds. In particular, the delta formed by the Athabasca and Peace rivers is key habitat for hundreds of species of migratory songbirds and waterfowl like the Lesser Scaup, a smallish duck with a dark purple head and brilliant yellow eyes. Scaup love the delta’s rich wetlands, where they can find their favorite foods — mollusks, weeds and insects — and nest.

Scaup (pronounced “skawp”) are a favorite of hunters but, like so many other creatures, tar sands operations are taking a toll. In addition to direct habitat loss, Big Oil has created a particularly gruesome way for these birds to die. One of the dirtiest parts of oil mining is so-called “tailings ponds,” gigantic open pits where the industry dumps its liquid waste. There are lots of these contaminated tailings ponds in the delta region, filled with toxic chemicals and oil, but which appear to flying birds like just another good spot to land. And when they do, it’s not hard to imagine what happens: slow, painful death. The industry’s solutions have ranged from the simple (and ineffective), like scarecrows, to the absurd — supersonic “cannons” that boom loud enough to disturb animals for miles around, and scare off any birds from landing in the sludge.

You and Me (Homo sapiens)

Climate change threatens our oceans, shorelines, and every other ecosystem on earth (photo: Barry Keleher)

Okay, technically we’re not wildlife, but tar sands mining has a huge impact on human health as well. High cancer rates in First Nations communities near the industrial zone may be linked to pollutants in the air and water. Declines in local fish, caribou, and moose populations means less of the healthy, traditional foods these communities rely on, not to mention representing a profound cultural loss. Water for drinking and irrigation is well-documented to be at risk from pipeline spills.

And perhaps the biggest threat of all is the danger posed by global warming, which has already reached a tipping point and could be pushed over the edge by burning Canada’s tar sands oil. Rising sea levels, extreme droughts, flooding — it might sound like the Apocalypse but in fact it’s already happening.

Speak up now! Tell President Obama to stand up for wildlife in the tar sands region, and stand strong against Big Oil’s plans to destroy the boreal forest.

National Wildlife Federation is helping to lead the charge against tar sands and Big Oil’s dirty projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, which would help trigger even more development in the boreal forest. We need your help to make sure that this pristine ecosystem and its magnificent animals don’t vanish forever.

To donate directly to our tar sands campaign, please go to NWF’s “Choose Your Cause” website, or visit NWF.org/tarsands to learn more and find out how you can make a difference.

Big Oil’s Threat to Northwest Salmon

Robyn Carmichael — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 00:14:43 +0000

For thousands of years, the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia and Snake rivers supported the most diverse and abundant salmon and steelhead populations on Earth. But in recent decades, these iconic fish have faced increasing challenges to their populations and habitat — from warmer waters due to global warming, to dams and development – leading to their sharp decline.

Now, endangered salmon are facing yet another challenge – one which most people don’t know about.

Starting this year, Exxon Mobil is planning to barge over 200 loads of Korean-made massive mining equipment (two-thirds the length of a football field, three stories high, 24 feet wide, and weighing up to 650,000 pounds!) up the Columbia and Snake rivers, and then transport it on super-sized trucks through Idaho and Montana to the tar sands oil operations in the boreal forest of Alberta, Canada.

And somehow, these plans have quietly moved forward with little environmental review or public input so far.

The proposed route includes the Lewis & Clark Trail, a National Scenic By-way, a Wild & Scenic River corridor, and the famed Blackfoot River of “A River Runs Through It.” If you’ve ever travelled the narrow mountain and valley roads in Idaho and Montana, you might be as baffled me as to how they are going to transport such massive loads. It’s apparent that these shipments will block traffic and access to emergency services, and disrupt local businesses. Construction and potential accidents will inevitably impact these special places and the fish and wildlife that depend on them.

Besides the impacts to the states along this route, these shipments will speed up Canadian dirty tar sands oil production — one of the most destructive and polluting industrial projects on earth. Oil companies are digging up pristine boreal forest and leaving behind huge toxic wastelands, posing a deadly threat to migrating waterfowl and other wildlife. Woodland caribou populations have already plummeted 70%, moose populations have dropped 60%, and scientists estimate bird mortality from the toxic tar sands lakes could be 8,000 to 100,000 birds a year.

The Canadian tar sands project is also one of the largest contributors on earth to climate disruption, creating global warming pollution three times that of conventional oil projects and devastating one of the best carbon storage sites on the planet: Canada’s Boreal Forest. The enormous amounts of carbon that tar sands mining adds to our atmosphere is further heating up the waters that salmon rely on.

According to recently released documents, if this project is approved, other companies are planning to immediately use this route to transport their tar sands machinery to Canada. If it’s not stopped, Big Oil will have a permanent industrial shipping route through the Pacific Northwest to the environmental disaster that is the Alberta tar sands.

Lots of questions must be answered before permission should be granted. How will endangered salmon be affected? What are the risks and potential impacts to local businesses, communities and our natural resources? We cannot stand quietly by while Big Oil turns our rivers and roads into a conveyer belt for one of the world’s largest environmental disasters.

TAKE ACTION: Insist upon a full federal environmental review and analysis of this project, including impacts to endangered wild salmon.