Facts
The impacts of the proposed dam extend far beyond the Peace River. Two major tributaries of the Peace with historic significance to the WMFN, the Halfway and Moberly Rivers, would be back-flooded up to 28 km, and numerous smaller tributaries would also be submerged.
The proposed reservoir for Site C is nearly 9,500 ha, about the same size as the smallest electoral district in Canada, Laurier-Sainte-Marie in Montreal.
Nearly half of the proposed reservoir is Class 1 and 2 agricultural lands, which in British Columbia can only be found in the Peace River Valley and the Fraser Delta. One-fifth of the area is suitable as forestry land base.
The floodplain, islands and valley of the Peace River provide critical year-round habitat for moose, deer, elk, rare and endangered songbirds, waterfowl and furbearing species.
The Peace River is a crucial migration route for the bull trout, a blue-listed species, of special concern (formerly vulnerable), in British Columbia.
Approximately 100 families would be directly affected by flooding, in addition to the many species of fish and wildlife that would suffer from habitat loss.
The Peace River is the traditional territory and an historical transportation route for local First Nations. Many historical trails like the North West Mounted Police trail were developed on pre-existing aboriginal trading trails.
This waterway was an historic transportation route for explorers and fur traders, like Alexander Mackenzie. Simon Fraser helped establish a trading post at Hudson’s Hope in 1805.
The river sustains recreational and tourism activities – canoeing, jet-boating, fishing, hiking, hunting & horseback riding.
The riverbanks and shores contain an undiscovered wealth of fossils and dinosaur trackways.
The valley contains stunning geological formations, found in few other places on the Earth, like the Rhine in Germany. It is unique and beautiful BC landscape.
If 75 per cent of BC households changed their light bulbs from conventional incandescent to low-energy, the equivalent of the Site C dam’s annual generation would be saved.
