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Cree, Inuit, and Naskapi; fens, marshes, and bogs: all depend on the vast sea that washes the northern shores of Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. Native Garden of the North Hudson Bay and James Bay, across the northern reaches of Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, form one of the world's largest seas, fed by the waters of a third of all Canadian rivers. The bays' watersheds cover a million square miles, from Labrador in the east to the Rockies in the west, from the Arctic Circle in the north almost to the Great Lakes in the south. Their waters sustain beluga whales, seals, and walruses, while their estuaries, heath-covered islands, salt marshes, freshwater fens, subtidal eelgrass beds, and ribbon bogs provide nourishment for huge flocks of geese, ducks, and loons. Tundra on either side of the bays provides habitat for caribou, moose, otter, muskrat, beaver, lynx, and polar bear. This wildlife, in turn, supports the traditional Cree trappers and fishers of the James Bay region and, along Hudson Bay, the Inuit and Naskapi. The Cree regard their part of the ecoregion as a "garden" providing for all their needs. In 1972, with no environmental assessment and over the objections of Native peoples, Quebec's energy corporation, Hydro Quebec, launched the first phase of hydroelectric developments here. By means of nine dams and 206 dikes, the company diverted four major rivers into the mighty La Grande, flooding 7044 square miles of forested land. This was only the start of the damming and diverting of the rivers in the La Grande watershed, where another 38 dams and 461 dikes are still planned. Thus has begun the most massive and destructive engineering and river-replumbing scheme in history, one that threatens to alter the entire Hudson Bay/James Bay ecosystem and destroy Cree, Inuit, and Naskapi societies. In Manitoba, hydroelectric dams have diverted two major rivers, and at least ten more dams are projected for three others. The Cree of Manitoba vigorously oppose these plans, having already witnessed the collapse of several of their fisheries and the accumulation in fish of toxic mercury, leached from the earth by floodwaters backing up behind the dams. A less immediate but very real threat looming over the ecoregion is the "Grand Canal," or "Great Recycling and Northern Development" proposal. This $100-billion project calls for the construction of a dike across the mouth of James Bay to crate a huge lake. Fresh water from this reservoir would be diverted south through existing watercourses and new canals to the Great Lakes and thence to the American Midwest and the thirsty, booming Southwest, as well as to the Canadian prairies. The Sierra Club, in concert with other environmental groups and the Grand Council of the Cree, has fought to prevent hydroelectric developments in the region. When Quebec announced plans to proceed with "James Bay 2," involving the damming of the Grande Rivière de la Baleme (Great Whale River) and the diversion of two others into it--as well as a scheme to divert the Nottoway and Rupert rivers into the Broadback--Club activists in Canada and the United States mobilized in opposition. They and their allies persuaded the state of New York to cancel its plans to purchase electricity from Quebec, thereby reducing the demand for new hydroelectric-dam construction in the province. Another of their successes was to force environmental assessments of new dams in Manitoba and Quebec to take into account the cumulative ecological impacts of dam, mining, and forestry projects. And by promoting energy conservation in Ontario they compelled Manitoba to cancel a major dam that was being built to serve the Ontario market. Hydro Quebec, however, continues to press for all the dams on its drawing board. Sierra Club activists on both sides of the border are working to combat this multibillion-dollar boondoggle. In Quebec the Club has formed a coalition with conservation organizations and Native groups in hopes of turning public opinion against new dams. A system of nationally designated Heritage Rivers has been proposed. In New York and New England, electricity users are being asked to conserve energy. thereby drying up the market for excess Canadian power. In the fight to keep fresh water flowing into an unspoiled Hudson Bay/James Bay ecoregion, the next ten years will be decisive. Contact: Up to Top |
