A cabin on land adjacent to the yacht club. Just a few years ago, there was approximately 100 feet of land between the cabin and the shoreline.
Dust storms are also a problem. The 1st picture depicts a dust storm on the shores of Peace Reach.
Forty years after the construction of the Bennett Dam, heavy waves and wind are still causing erosion problems for some property owners on the Peace Reach.
Due to the rinsing and washing effect of the reservoir, land owners along Dunlevy Road have been watching their property “literally crumble into the lake” (“Erosion,” Alaska Highway News, March 2, 2009). Williston reservoir is nowhere near stabilizing under current conditions, and we might ask whether the rate of erosion is actually accelerating.
No one has suffered as much from dust storms as the Tsay Keh Dene people at the far north end of Finlay Reach. In a study conducted by Baker et al. (2000), eighty percent of the band members interviewed “indicated that the dust storms were responsible for adverse health effects (eye irritation, respiratory tract problems, and skin rashes) (p. 571).
Approaching Tsay Keh Dene Village at sunset in early June, I saw what looked like a thick bank of fog hanging above the community on an otherwise clear evening. Within the village, fine, silty particles of dust create a thick accumulation on window screens.
Granted, even without human interference, change and the need for adaptation are basic principles of nature. Few things in the natural world ever fit human notions of perfection. Yet we shouldn’t downplay the often troubling impact of massive industrial development.
Legitimate concerns about the recreational potential of a new dam go beyond erosion, landslides, and dust storms. The prospect of a Site C pondage area also raises serious questions about debris from tributaries, fog, rough water, elevated levels of methylmercury, and loss of critical animal habitat.
At the end of the day, a uniquely beautiful river valley would be permanently destroyed, and it’s impossible to “mitigate” that loss.
So the next time we hear about a nice lake that’s supposed to accompany Site C, critical reflection would be wise. Patrick McCully, author of Silenced Rivers, has observed that recreation is typically promoted as one of the “add-on benefits” of large hydro-electric projects, and that such benefits are often exaggerated in order to gain public acceptance (pp. 155-157).
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