Back in the 80s, before the turn of the century, a friend organized an annual canoe trip down the St. Mary's. Perhaps twenty-five people marveled at the astonishing beauty of the remote river, and enjoyed the camaraderie inspired by the quiet of the wilderness.
With canoes as indestructible as kevlar or as elegant as Gates, we were the Company of Adventurers. The secret password of our society was the correct pronunciation of Trafalgar. The food of choice was trout; you could drink the water, though few did. My most cherished memory of the St. Mary's is the dunking a close friend and I received within about 15 seconds of launch, followed by drying out by an exceptional bonfire. Even as I approach 70, trips down the St. Mary's are central to my identity. I've been there, and so have you.
But the health of the St. Mary's is not so assured. A company called Atlantic Gold has proposed an open pit mine. Strangely, Atlantic Gold is headquartered in Vancouver and run by an Australian. Trout and Salmon were belatedly introduced to Australia by homesick British in 1864, but it is reliably reported that no director of this company knows a wooly bugger from a stonefly, or which end of the canoe goes first.
On May 21, 1801 Titus Smith camped within the boundaries of the Atlantic Gold project. He had this to say:
The six-year mining scheme involves large scale forest destruction, the diversion of hundreds of millions of gallons of water, long-haul heavy trucking over country roads. It promises 200 jobs for the duration.
One could not conceive of a worse plan. The Saint Mary's is a treasure, rarer and much more valuable than gold. Our totally invertebrate government says it stands for sustainability, yet it is willing to trade our heritage for a few dollars.
What to do?
Additionally, you can buy shares in Atlantic Gold, which is traded on the TSX Venture exchange as AGB-V, for $1.73 per share. You will be able to follow corporate developments as well as to claim the title of Venture Capitalist. 10 shares for $17.30 and they'll be buying stamps forever.
You can also write the MLA for this riding, Lloyd Hines, and remind him of just who is in charge, or the Province's Minister of the Environment, Margaret Miller.
All along the interval was nearly a mile broad on average. Land heavily timbered with abundance of sugar maple. N. branch has marsh of about 500 acres and 2 lakes which extend 2 miles to N. and W. By the number of Indian summer camps about them, the lakes appear "to be much resorted to by salmon” 2 miles above the lakes is an interval ½ to ¾ of a mile broad, very low and often flooded. The timber is of large size, chiefly sugar maple, elm, yellow birch, and some oak (Quercus rubra). The S side of the S branch of St. Mary's River appears to be wholly hardwood so far as we could see - 3/4 of a mile. In going up the N branch and round the lakes we saw scarce any upland but hardwood.
The six-year mining scheme involves large scale forest destruction, the diversion of hundreds of millions of gallons of water, long-haul heavy trucking over country roads. It promises 200 jobs for the duration.
One could not conceive of a worse plan. The Saint Mary's is a treasure, rarer and much more valuable than gold. Our totally invertebrate government says it stands for sustainability, yet it is willing to trade our heritage for a few dollars.
What to do?
- Read the excellent presentation of the Saint Mary's River Association
- Become a member
- Sign their petition
- Make a tax deductible donation
- Download, print, sign and mail their sample letter
Additionally, you can buy shares in Atlantic Gold, which is traded on the TSX Venture exchange as AGB-V, for $1.73 per share. You will be able to follow corporate developments as well as to claim the title of Venture Capitalist. 10 shares for $17.30 and they'll be buying stamps forever.
You can also write the MLA for this riding, Lloyd Hines, and remind him of just who is in charge, or the Province's Minister of the Environment, Margaret Miller.
