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Daniel B. Botkin

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Mining Roads and First Nation Cultures

March 19, 2007 By Daniel Botkin Leave a Comment

The government of British Columbia, Canada, approved a request by the Redfern Corporation to build a 100 mile long mining road through the traditional land of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation. But they approved this road without asking the permission of hte First Nation.  If I understand things correctly, they didn't even ask the First Nation.  And The land lies in northern British Columbia and is said to be one of the largest remaining wild areas of northern forests and tundra left in North America.  A mining road like this could have big effects on the wildlife, on the scenery, and most important on the culture and way of life of the Tlinglits. 

The First Nation asked me write a report about the possible environmental effects of the mining road, and I did this in the early fall of 2004, getting a small group of scientists and engineers together who had experience and knowledge about wilderness ecosystems, wildlife conservation, and road-building. Directing this kind of meeting of a small group of scientists and technical experts is something I have done repeatedly in my career, and I agreed to take on the work.

Although the kind of work was familiar to me, there was something unique about this task, as I soon discovered: In my 40 years experience as a biologist, dealing with environmental issues, I have usually found that the issues are complex and subtle, and one can understand the positions taken on both sides. Such was not the case here. Never had I come across an issue in which the government response so blatantly ignored simple and obvious facts and conditions. Never had a case been so clear nor the response of a government agency so misguided and inappropriate.

Yet more recently the federal government of Canada also approved the mining road. This seems to be a classic example of our current issues concerning environment, development, and people. Rather than a 21 st century as a time of good will and good intentions by governments, a time that would have fit in with the traditional idea of progress, we seem to be witnessing a return to the early nineteenth century attitudes of exploitation and one-time use of our resources. And so I want to share the work of our independent panel with you, the readers of this Website. You can read the final report online, in PDF format.

Copyright © 2005 Daniel B. Botkin

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From Daniel B. Botkin, Ph.D

Daniel Botkin
I believe we are mostly on the wrong track in the way we try to deal with the environment. Everything I do, study, learn, and advise about the environment is different from the status quo. Throughout my career, I have tried to understand how nature works and use that understanding to figure out how we can solve our most pressing environmental problems.

My process over the past 45 years has been to look carefully at the facts, make simple calculations from them (sometimes simple computer models) and then tell people what I have learned. It’s surprising how rarely people bother to look at the facts. This has surprised me every time I’ve started a new ecology research project or work on an environmental issue.

In the course of my work and studies, I have learned many things and I want to tell you about them. That is the purpose of this website.

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Books by Dan Botkin

The Moon in the Nautilus Shell  Strange Encounters
Powering the Future  No Man's Garden
See all books by Dan Botkin

Jabowa III Forest Model


Jabowa Forest Model
Jabowa Forest Model for Windows 7.
This forest model, used around the world, was developed first in 1970 by Daniel B. Botkin, James F. Janak and James R. Wallis

JABOWA remains the most completely detailed and well validated forest growth model available, accounting for 95% or more of the variation in real forests where it has been tested.

The book Forest Dynamics: An Ecological Model (available as an eBook) provides a complete description of the model and the rationales behind its development.

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Sea Ice Study

The Bockstoce and Botkin Historical Sea Ice Data Study has a new home at the University of Alaska website. The data include more than 52,000 daily observations in an unbroken 65 year record from 1849 – 1914.

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