Help Preserve Patagonia
April 2008Five hydroelectric dams are proposed for the Baker and Pascua rivers in the Aysen region of Chile, and climbers are being asked to join forces with kayakers and some 40 local, national Chilean, and international organizations to protect this beautiful area of Patagonia. These rivers drain the world’s two largest icefields outside of the polar regions, and are adjacent to mountains such as San Lorenzo and Lautaro, north and northwest of Fitz Roy. The project proposes a 1,500-mile transmission line, from Aysen to Santiago, that would traverse or border as many as five national parks, seven national reserves, and four private conservation areas, including four designated sites of very high biological diversity and 13 Mapuche indigenous communities.
To read the New York Times editorial opposing this project, click here. If you're interested in joining the fight to stop these dams and the power lines, visit www.globalresponse.org. A slide show featuring the Aysen rivers and the dams threatening them will be presented at Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder, Colorado, on May 29. Read More...