Questionnaire results

Friends of the Nemaiah Valley Questionnaire Concerning the Effects of the Proposed Prosperity Mine on the Nemaiah Valley and Area Wilderness Tourism Industry.

The names of all those responding to this questionnaire will be kept strictly confidential.

Data derived from the responses will be collated and presented to the Federal Review Panel


Taseko's Prosperity Mine, as proposed, would develop a gold and copper deposit at the headwaters of the Taseko River and involve the destruction of Fish Lake, Little Fish Lake and will contaminate Onion Lake. The mine could operate for up to thirty three years. By Taseko's own estimate it will require up to 800 workers during the construction period and an estimated 450 permanent workers plus 60 contractors to operate throughout this period.

#1 How concerned are you that increased mechanized recreational use of the area will negatively affect the wilderness qualities that your business requires?
a) Very concerned 12
b) Somewhat concerned 1
c) Not concerned 0
Comment: why, how, what?
#2 During the first year of construction Taseko estimates there will be an average of 250 vehicles per day on the Taseko/Whitewater Road. This is estimated to drop to 100 round trips per day after that. Large concentrate ore trucks are estimated to average 15 round trips per day. How concerned are you that increased industrial and other traffic on the Taseko/Whitewater Road will affect your business?

a) Very concerned 13

b) Somewhat concerned 0

c)Not concerned 0

Comment: why, how, what?

#3 How much of a threat do you feel the proposed Prosperity Mine is to wildlife and wildlife habitat in your area?

a) Very serious threat 11

b) Somewhat of a threat 2

c)Not much of a threat 0

d)Not a threat at all 0

Comment: why, how, what?

#4 How much of a threat do you feel the proposed Prosperity Mine is to trout and salmon fishing? Given that the mine is in the Fraser River watershed do you feel it is a threat to the Chilko and Fraser salmon runs?
a) Very serious threat 11
b) Somewhat of a threat 2
c)Not much of a threat 0
d)Not a threat at all 0
Comment: why, how what?
#5 Overall how much of a threat do you feel the proposed Prosperity Mine poses to your business?
a) Very serious threat 10
b) Somewhat of a threat 2
c) Not much of a threat 1
d)Not a threat at all 0
Comment: why, how what?
Are there any further comments you would like to make?
Thank you

A comprehensive list of comments follows:
“....noise pollution, air pollution, air quality, and increased activity generally will disturb wildlife.”
“...people coming here want pristine wilderness and we will lose it.”
“...traditional cultural activities will be disrupted.”
“...traffic will kill wildlife and create noise pollution. It will make it more dangerous for the community driving to get supplies.”
“The watershed will be affected and animals drinking contaminated water may be affected.”
“...very worried about salmon runs.”
“An industrial zone is antithetical to the pristine wilderness that out clients come for.”
“Increased traffic will make our trips longer and the road will deteriorate.”
“...the tranquility here will be gone.”
“We are very worried about increased drugs and alcohol in the community and about dangers to women and young people in the community.”
“This will have a huge, huge impact. It will affect our homes and livelihood, our way of life. We have been here sixty years.”
“...traffic will have a huge impact, very dangerous.”
“Our business has already been very much impacted.'
“We are worried about noise, dust, light pollution, drilling and blasting, the amount of activity generally and emissions.”
“The whole nature of the area will be changed, we can't sell an industrial zone to tourists, the area will be devastated. Nearby lodges will likely go out of business. We sell wilderness and that does not include 800 miners.”
“it will be a slow death for our businesses. It impacts pack trips as will see lights at night and it will no longer be a starry landscape. It will be changed forever. But tourism could be here forever.”
“There will be industrial noise and quads everywhere. Animals like grizzlies, sheep, goats will disappear and be killed off. Even (mining) exploration is destructive. Mining companies have not obeyed road closures and they are not enforced by government. What the company says will be different from what it does.”
“Containment dams always leak.'”
“This is the worst possible thing for our business and it will be devalued over time with no resale value.”
“We are concerned about quad use and the long term safety of the containment dam.”
“ ...(increased traffic) is very dangerous – extremely. We got no help previously from government when we complained about truck traffic.”
“...will be displacement of wildlife locally, cannot say elsewhere but regret it.”
“(The) onus is (on Taseko) to prove they can put it back in a pristine state. Will bears, etc. return? Locals won't live to see it. Containment dam is not foolproof so concerned. If it is a threat then the mine should not go through. If science done right and panel does due diligence then OK. Have some faith in the Panel but this must not be a political decision.”
“...concerned about noise and light pollution, but probably can be addressed. This will be more than a lifetime”.
“...don't trust Battison, but recognize we are NIMBYs.”
“If not done right this could be a total disaster.”
“It must not affect Fraser River water quality. Wait until sure it can be done properly.”
“They can say no vehicles at work, but can't control what happens on the week-ends.”
“I have seen other mines and seen the mess they left. There is a huge watershed at risk here. You can't replicate a complex habitat with an artificial pond.”
“...concerns are primarily environmental. This endangers too much of a water system. There are big values at Fish Lake for families on vacation. It is a good place for a small lodge”
“Leave it alone. It is too fragile an area. There will be too much noise, lights at night, blasts will shake the land and frighten animals.”
“Fish Lake belongs to itself. It is a little paradise. It must be saved for itself and the future”.
“It is not possible to do a good job there.”
“We are not necessarily opposed, but they must not cut corners – nature must come first! We need to create provincial revenue, but must first protect nature.”
“This can be very bad for tourism and our kind of business”
“Access away from the mine (in other areas) must be controlled.”
“...already many close calls with logging trucks on the road. Will be huge safety issues here with traffic.”
“This is grizzly territory and they are being squeezed, it is getting smaller.”
“Very concerned about loss of the trout and spawning grounds for salmon whose numbers are already down.”
“Not opposed to mining as such, but question the validity of this one and its affect on wildlife and the wilderness nature of the area. It will hurt tourism. The value of the mine will be negated by the losses to tourism, to existing businesses.”
“Wildlife in the area will be wiped out. This will take a local community of over five hundred people and remove all of their ability to be self sustaining economically – it will just wipe it out.”
”This will kill my business.”
“The (nearby) False Creek Mine left a diesel tank that overflowed into the creek – they say one thing and do another”
“We bring people from all over the world to hear wolves and see wildlife, many grizzlies, cougar and lynx.”
“Engineers can never be certain that (containment) won't leak. It's not worth the risk to fisheries runs.”
”...have seen the garbage they have just thrown into the swamp.”
“Helicopters servicing the camp at Fish Lake flew too close and chased the goats right off the mountain and they have never come back.”