| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
In the Atlin Taku region, the Province of British Columbia and the Taku River Tlingit First Nation (TRTFN) jointly developed Wóoshtin wudidaa: Atlin Taku Land Use Plan to identify resource values and to provide strategic management direction for activities occurring on the land base. The plan calls on placer miners to “use best management practices” (Section 6.6.4), and this document was prepared to clarify this requirement. The intent of the Atlin Placer Mining Best Management Practices Guidebook is to provide guidance to support responsible mining. The best management practices (BMPs) presented here aim to provide the placer mining industry in the Atlin Taku region with tools and knowledge for achieving regulatory efficiency, certainty and timeliness, and an understanding of social responsibility. Through the procedures detailed in this guidebook, users can work to achieve a balance among the needs of the placer mining industry and other resource uses, First Nations and regulating government agencies. The information provided here should help users exercise their professional and technical judgement in developing site-specific management strategies and prescriptions to meet resource management objectives. The recommendations set out a range of options or outcomes that are acceptable under varying circumstances. The guidebook was prepared to assist placer miners in understanding common concerns associated with placer mining operations and in planning and selecting BMPs. A key principle in this guidebook is to plan ahead. Anticipating challenges is considerably more cost effective than trying to compensate after the fact. Best management practices are tried and true solutions to common placer mining issues, challenges and problems. The Atlin Placer Mining Best Management Practices Guidebook is designed to be a practical, user-friendly reference and learning tool for all placer mining operators. It provides a chance for the Province of British Columbia, First Nations and placer miners to work as partners, all with an equal understanding of the steps, requirements and expectations for placer mining today in the Atlin Taku region. The objectives of the Atlin Placer Mining Best Management Practices Guidebook are to: • Encourage responsible mining in the Atlin Taku, so as to facilitate the longevity of the placer mining industry. • Provide knowledge/tools to assist the placer mining industry with limiting its impacts on other land use values. • Provide guidance to new and experienced placer miners on the best ways to conduct their mining activities. |
