Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Thousands of Snow Geese Die on Toxic Lake.

Exhausted by their long distance migration, thousands of snow geese (Chen caerulescens) settled to rest and recuperate on a 700 acre former open pit copper mine near Butte, Montana.  They ignored efforts by humans to shoo them off the poisonous water.  Thousands of geese died.  It is estimated 3000 to 4000 geese pass the pit on their annual trip south from breeding grounds in Canada.  Company officials say the artificial lake was snow white with resting geese. The sick water rarely freezes, so the geese naturally see it as a welcomed rest stop.  A late start on the journey induced by climate change, and a cold period in Montana froze their usual rest stops.  Some birds escaped the poisonous pit only to die later, thwarting human attempts to rescue and treat the suffering birds, and upsetting local residents.  Snow geese are protected under federal law and a fine of $5000 could be assessed for each dead goose.

BP, the same company that brought you Deepwater Horizon, is open to suggestions of how to prevent the tragedy from occurring again.   Efforts to frighten the goose off the pit with sound and a battery powered, remote controlled boat with a scary face failed in the harsh cold.  Predictably, a resort to more technology--lasers--is being considered.  Apparently cleaning up the mess is too expensive for Anaconda Company which began consuming the mountain of copper ore called the "richest hill on Earth" in 1955, creating the 1780 foot deep, Berkeley Pit.  ARCO bought the property from Anaconda in 1977 and allowed the pit to fill with water since mining operations had ceased on a large scale.  The water is acidic as vinegar and filled with toxins.  It is part of a Superfund site which so far has cost $2 billion to remediate.

The pit is not going to go away; it has become something of a local tourist attraction, but BP will have to start pumping out the bad water and treating it before it reaches Butte's groundwater supply estimated to occur by 2023.  Local officials believe the previous mass death of geese at the pit in 1995 should have been an alarm bell signaling action. But when money is involved and corporate profits at stake, NOT.