Fort McPherson (Apr 26/04) - A Yukon resident wants Fort McPherson residents to be well informed about a new industry that may creep across the border within the next few years.

Coal bed methane extraction is being sighted within the Peel River watershed, a historically, culturally and economically significant river system for Gwich'in people shared between the Yukon and NWT.

Promithian Inc., a Vancouver-based mining company, has acquired the rights to the Bonnetplume coal deposit, which has an estimated 666 million tons of industrial-grade coal to be excavated. An additional 5-10 trillion cubic feet of methane gas is also estimated to be along the same coal seams and Promithian hopes to extract that gas.

Albert Genier, a member of the Peel River Watershed Region Working Group which helped develop the land use plan for that region, made his first public presentation about the coal bed methane project to a small group of Fort McPherson residents, April 16.

The few people who turned out for the presentation in Fort McPherson were concerned to hear about this proposed development.

"I think it's really important for people to see how much land will be used," said Bertha Francis, a Fort McPherson elder.

"I think all people are seeing is money and they don't see what's going to come afterwards. We won't be able to go to the river and drink it."

The Yukon resident and Charlie Snowshoe, the Gwich'in Land Use Planning vice-chair, made a visit to Wyoming earlier this year to see a similar operation to the proposed one in the Delta. They were disturbed to find so much environmental damage, said Genier.

"I had no attraction to it until I saw what it was about," said Genier.

Now he's made it a personal mission to inform the public.

"I want to show the facts and let people see the obvious," he said.

To extract the methane, industry must use water and lots of wells.

This process could potentially poison streams with salts and contaminants, said Genier.

Coal bed methane extraction has already started in southern Alberta. This year, approximately 300 wells will be built covering about 270 sq. km of land in that province.

After extraction, the gas is refined and then usually used to fuel industry.

Promithian's three-phase project will include building an access road from Keno City, Yukon, to Eagle Plains, building airstrips, pipelines and other roads across the Peel River watershed and finally a pipeline into the NWT.

Promithian Inc. president Philip Wheelton was unavailable for comment by deadline Thursday.