Chinook Water*shed Crew and the Pekisko Group will host subject matter experts and land owners to discuss the threat that new open pit coal mining poses to the environment and water ecosystems in Alberta.
Speakers include singer-songwriter Corb Lund, Coal Policy Committee president Bill Trafford, former assistant deputy minister of energy David Luff, toxicologist and risk assessor Mandy Olsgard and rancher John Smith.
Water 2.0: The Concerns of Coal will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5 at the Nanton Community Memorial Centre.
“The challenges to biodiversity mount as habitat is destroyed,” said Jacquline Chalmers, founding member of the Chinook Water*Shed Crew.
“With new coal exploration applications in the eastern slopes, we all have a stake in this issue — whether we’re ranchers, anglers or recreationalists. Dependence on this water is universal.”
“Our Chinook Water*Shed Crew is committed to providing information from verifiable trusted sources,” Chalmers said. “Through our collaboration with the Pekisko Group we are grateful to the panellists who have generously committed to sharing their expertise on policy and science, as well as their lived experiences.”
Community businesses and organizations from a wide-spectrum perspective will also be present and available to share their concerns about the impacts of new open pit coal development.
Lund is a sixth-generation Albertan and Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter from Taber who is outspoken in his opposition to the open pit coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rockies.
Trafford is president of the Coal Policy Committee, which was formed to make recommendations to the provine about a new coal policy.
Luff helped implement Peter Lougheed’s 1976 Coal Policy and 1977 Eastern Slopes Policy that protected the eastern slopes from surface coal mining.
Olsgard is with Integrated Toxicology Solutions and is a former senior toxicologist at the Alberta Energy Regulator.
Smith is a third-generation rancher and member of the Pekisko Group who is owner-operator of Plateau Cattle Company, which holds a forestry allotment in the Mt. Livingstone Range, fundamental to the headwaters of the Oldman River.
Admission to Water 2.0 is free.
