Clean up the Tulsequah Chief mine
The Issue
The Taku is a 4.5-million-acre transboundary watershed stretching from northwest British Columbia to southeast Alaska and is the largest intact watershed on the Pacific coast of North America, as well as southeast Alaska's top salmon producing watershed. But just upstream from the Alaska border lies the abandoned Tulsequah Chief mine, which has been discharging acid mine drainage into the watershed since 1957.
For 70 years, contaminated water carrying heavy metals such as copper, lead, and arsenic has flowed downstream toward critical salmon habitat, including the highly productive Flannigan Slough straddling the international border. Even low levels of these pollutants can disrupt salmon migration, reproduction, and survival, threatening the ecosystem and all the communities that depend on it.
Despite widespread calls for action from Indigenous governments, commercial fishermen, municipalities, organizations and elected officials, the mine continues polluting. British Columbia committed to cleaning up the site in 2015, yet there is still no comprehensive cleanup plan or firm timeline.
The Tulsequah Chief mine represents the longest-running sources of mine pollution in the transboundary Taku watershed. It's time to end the decades of contamination and finally clean up the Tulsequah Chief mine. The cleanup benefits all sectors, including the mining industry. There is broad support and no opposition to cleaning up the site; the concern lies in the lack of a clear timeline and transparency around when the cleanup will be completed.
Join us in calling on Alaska's Congressional Delegation to champion the cleanup of the Tulsequah Chief mine. Urge them to continue putting pressure on British Columbia and the Canadian government to move from promises to action. 70 years of pollution is enough.
Alaskans care deeply about the Taku watershed and are paying attention. We need strong leadership to ensure this long-overdue cleanup is completed and that one of the world's great salmon rivers is preserved for future generations.
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The Issue
The Taku is a 4.5-million-acre transboundary watershed stretching from northwest British Columbia to southeast Alaska and is the largest intact watershed on the Pacific coast of North America, as well as southeast Alaska's top salmon producing watershed. But just upstream from the Alaska border lies the abandoned Tulsequah Chief mine, which has been discharging acid mine drainage into the watershed since 1957.
For 70 years, contaminated water carrying heavy metals such as copper, lead, and arsenic has flowed downstream toward critical salmon habitat, including the highly productive Flannigan Slough straddling the international border. Even low levels of these pollutants can disrupt salmon migration, reproduction, and survival, threatening the ecosystem and all the communities that depend on it.
Despite widespread calls for action from Indigenous governments, commercial fishermen, municipalities, organizations and elected officials, the mine continues polluting. British Columbia committed to cleaning up the site in 2015, yet there is still no comprehensive cleanup plan or firm timeline.
The Tulsequah Chief mine represents the longest-running sources of mine pollution in the transboundary Taku watershed. It's time to end the decades of contamination and finally clean up the Tulsequah Chief mine. The cleanup benefits all sectors, including the mining industry. There is broad support and no opposition to cleaning up the site; the concern lies in the lack of a clear timeline and transparency around when the cleanup will be completed.
Join us in calling on Alaska's Congressional Delegation to champion the cleanup of the Tulsequah Chief mine. Urge them to continue putting pressure on British Columbia and the Canadian government to move from promises to action. 70 years of pollution is enough.
Alaskans care deeply about the Taku watershed and are paying attention. We need strong leadership to ensure this long-overdue cleanup is completed and that one of the world's great salmon rivers is preserved for future generations.
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on June 22, 2026