Wildlife win with end of Pacific NorthWest LNG project

Unacceptable threat to the Skeena estuary now averted

TORONTO, July 26, 2017 /CNW/ - David Miller, president and CEO of WWF-Canada, is available to comment on this decision by Petronas not to proceed with the Pacific NorthWest LNP project to construct a terminal and export liquefied natural gas from northern British Columbia.

Statement from David Miller on behalf of WWF-Canada:

"WWF-Canada is pleased that the Pacific NorthWest LNG project no longer threatens the Skeena estuary, which plays a fundamental and irreplaceable role in the coastal ecology of northern British Columbia.

The threat to the estuary, combined with the increased greenhouse gas emissions, meant the project was a step in the wrong direction for North Coast communities, British Columbians, and for Canadians.

The Skeena, British Columbia's second-longest river and a primary salmon river, is a spectacular and wild river, winding 610 kilometers from its headwaters on the edge of Spatsizi Plateau to its rich estuary near Prince Rupert on the Pacific coast.

The Flora Bank, at the mouth of the Skeena, is a critical eelgrass habitat that acts as a nursery for salmon and provides foraging grounds for waterfowl, countless invertebrates and fish, such as herring. It plays an essential role in the journey of millions of salmon that return to spawn every year. This extraordinary productivity supports large gatherings of marine mammals such as the harbour porpoise in the estuary, which would have been have a significant negative impact from this project.

The Pacific NorthWest LNG export terminal directly next to the Flora Bank risked the environmental wealth and biodiversity as well as the long term economic health of the region."

About World Wildlife Fund Canada
WWF-Canada creates solutions to the environmental challenges that matter most for Canadians. We work in places that are unique and ecologically important, so that nature, wildlife and people thrive together. Because we are all wildlife. For more information, visit wwf.ca.

SOURCE WWF-Canada