‘Save My Mountains’ event voices opposition to coal mining

By Herald on June 16, 2021.

Herald photo By Tim Kalinowski Lethbridge singer songwriter Corb Lund speaks at the "Save My Mountains" rally at the Rocking P. Ranch with the proposed mountain, Cabin Ridge, directly in the background which would be targeted for mountaintop removal if coal mining goes ahead.

Tim Kalinowski – Lethbridge Herald

Lethbridge singer songwriter Corb Lund held a private “Tribute to the Mountains” concert at the Rocking P. Ranch on Wednesday to support the local “Save My Mountains” event hosted by Mac and Renie Blades who ranch directly under the proposed metallurgical coal mine at Cabin Ridge.

Lund said he wanted to do the concert to help preserve these lands in the headwaters of the Livingstone and Oldman Rivers that are “sacred” to him.

“I don’t mean to be hippie about it,” said Lund, “but this land is pretty sacred to me. We are a couple of hours south of here in the foothills, but it is the same story as these folks. Many generations on the land. And it is not just about landowners either. As you drove in, there are fishermen, guys hunt up here, hike, and camp, and all that stuff. (Mining) just doesn’t make any sense.

“It’s emotional because it is important to me,” he added, “and I don’t speak out publicly about a lot of issues. But this one is so big, and so egregious, it can’t be left alone.”

Lund said he began exploring the issue of coal mining in the Eastern Slopes with an open mind, and with no prior political bias, and came to the same conclusion a majority of Albertans have: destroying mountains and contaminating rivers millions depend on for a “dying” industry, with dubious short term benefits to Albertans, is not a trade off any government should be willing to make.

“There has been a really big outcry from people across the political spectrum,” he said. “And urban people, and rural people, and very importantly First Nations people because they are going to be affected by this a lot; especially in the drinking water department.

“It is good to see in these divided times there is something we can agree on, and that’s clean drinking water,” Lund stated.

Lund pulled no punches with the UCP government either in his statements to the media on Wednesday.

“In my opinion, they have dug their heels in, and they have been dragged kicking and screaming into a position where they have to address (public opposition),” he said. “I am not political. I don’t like political parties. I like individual people; that’s all I trust. But these guys (the UCP), in my opinion, have been disingenuous about this thing from the start. At no point have they said: ‘you know what? We screwed this up. We are sorry folks, we didn’t get the message. Now we have got the message, we are going to fix it.’ It’s not that. It’s every step of the way some kind of subterfuge and smoke and mirrors bullsh*t.

“People aren’t that stupid anymore. I think they are acting out of a 1992 playbook or something. People have the internet, people have Twitter. It is pretty clear to me that people, by and large, don’t want coal mines in the Rockies anymore.”

Mac Blades, whose grandfather Rod Macleay set up the current ranch directly under Cabin Ridge in 1921, thanked Lund and all those opposed to coal mining in Rockies for their unwavering encouragement and support as his family fights for its future.

“We’re hoping (our chances) are getting better all the time with all the public support,” he said. “The thing is this does not make sense for anything I can see except the Australian coal companies. Alberta’s not getting (anything) out of it, but a huge liability. All these mines behind us (at Cabin Ridge) here are one per cent royalty after their expenses. The other ones hold leases from before Alberta was a province so there are no royalties on those. So Alberta is virtually getting nothing out of this, and it is going to assume all the liabilities. So it just does not make sense.”

Lund was joined in providing music to the event by Malcolm John Maclean, a seasonal rangerider at the Waldron Grazing Co-op, who penned a special protest song called “If you ain’t got water, you ain’t got a damn” for the Blades family and all who are fighting to prevent coal mining on the Eastern Slopes.

“It takes courage to stand up and do that,” he said, “and I thought they should just have a song that speaks to them. It is not just the ranchers that live in this specific area, it’s everybody. It’s everybody’s water … Everybody has got a dog in the fight. Everybody who lives in Alberta, everybody that lives in Canada, has a dog in the fight. Because once you ruin the water, that’s it.

“The mountains are for everybody,” Maclean added. “Nobody owns the mountain. Cutting it down should be everybody’s decision.”

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