The Haines community got a double dose of mining talks this week. The Chilkat Valley Mining Forum presented three speakers on Sunday and the Takshanuk Watershed Council, though a member of the Chilkat Valley Mining Forum Committee, independently presented economist Gregg Erickson on Monday. 

The Chilkat Valley Mining Forum Committee is a group whose goal is to bring multiple perspectives to the table to discuss mineral exploration and mining work being done in the Chilkat Valley. They nearly reached that goal at a three-speaker forum on Sunday. The forum had three perspectives, but some say it lacked a critical voice.

“That piece of it was obviously missing on Sunday, said Meredith Pochardt, executive director of the Takshanuk Watershed council.

“I think the mining committee… there’s definitely been some shifts in how it’s been run and different members. It seems to have more of a pro-industry perspective on there currently. I think Takshanuk’s role in being on that committee is to strive to bring balance. This time it didn’t happen.”

The Committee rejected economist Gregg Erickson as a speaker for the official mining forum. Takshanuk Watershed Council independently invited  Erickson to speak the evening following the forum.

He presented to a packed house at the Chilkat Arts Center—and took a less sunny view of the potential economic impacts of mining than the forum’s panel did.

“A majority of mining communities experience negative outcomes from industrial ming. It’s not a big majority, but it’s a majority,” he said in his talk.

That takeaway is the antithesis of the forum’s. Pochardt says that his presence was a crucial piece of a balanced perspective. She says that in the future the community would be better served by having all the speakers present together.

“When they are able to talk back and forth even, as part of a panel or a Q&A and have both perspectives shared simultaneously, you really get into the heart of the issue much more. And then you have that balanced perspective,” said Pochardt.

Haines residents had to commit two days to hearing all the speakers in town this week, but Pochardt says the important thing is that those intellectual resources are available at all.

“The you can get packed rooms two evenings in a row on the same topic is huge,” she said. “It means that the community is striving for information in that topic. That is something that we as Takshanuk, as the Mining Community, as the community community need to step up to the plate. Provide these resources they are hungry for it right now.”

Liz Cornejo, VP of External and Community Affairs for Constantine Metal Resources, says she was happy with the diversity of perspectives presented at the forum, but she was glad that Haines residents got to hear all four speakers. As for putting the speakers under the same roof next time, Cornejo says that’s up to the committee. She says people interested in shaping the discussion should consider joining it.

“The speakers and the forum format are only as good as the input from the committee members. And so I would encourage people to reach out to their committee members that represent them or join the committee to ensure that we continue to provide a good, diverse list of speakers,” she said.

Erickson ended his talk by expressing a hope that people in the community would come together to discuss the prospect of mining in Haines. Yet the very instance of his presentation—on a separate night and in a different venue than the Mining Forum—testified to division even among the committee whose express purpose is to open dialogue.

The Chilkat Valley Mining Forum Committee does not have an upcoming event on the calendar at this time. To see the recording of Gregg Erickson’s talk visit https://www.takshanuk.org/.  To contact the Chilkat Valley Mining Forum Committee with questions or feedback email cvmc99827@gmail.com or find them on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CVMForumCommittee/