Alaska Senators urge Trump Admin to ‘use any and all economic and diplomatic tools’ to protect Alaska from Canada’s polluting mines

Salmon Beyond Borders commends letter, which comes as more than 100 Canadian mines are in some stage of development, operation, exploration, or abandonment in transboundary Canada-Alaska rivers

JUNEAU, AK—Salmon Beyond Borders commends Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan’s urging of Trump cabinet secretaries to rein in the large, risky Canadian mines polluting transboundary salmon rivers flowing from British Columbia into Alaska. In a letter dated February 26, 2026, they call on the Trump Administration to: 

• Demand the cleanup of BC’s Tulsequah Chief Mine and of other abandoned Canadian mines polluting transboundary rivers; 

• Deny Canada US taxpayer investment in its mines and processing facilities until Canada commits to cleaning up those abandoned mine sites; 

• Ensure Canadian transboundary mines post the full amount of money needed for mine cleanup prior to operation, as is done in Alaska; and 

• “Convince your Canadian colleagues to agree to utilize existing or new bilateral frameworks [like the Boundary Waters Treaty and the Pacific Salmon Treaty] to establish robust consultation requirements and a dispute resolution mechanism…for existing and proposed transboundary mines.”

The letter is addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. Additional high-ranking US federal and Alaska State elected leaders and officials are also copied.

“It’s time for the State of Alaska to join the Senators’ call for binding transboundary river protections and real accountability from BC and Canada–before it’s too late,” said Salmon Beyond Borders Director Breanna Walker. “For eight years, the Dunleavy Administration has undermined widespread calls for transboundary river protection from Senators Murkowski and Sullivan, Alaska legislators, municipalities, Tribes, commercial and sport fishermen, tour operators, and thousands of Alaskans. The State is ignoring the fact that just across the border in our transboundary river systems, more than 100 BC mines are in some stage of operation, development, exploration, or abandonment.”

“We appreciate Alaska’s Senators’ longstanding and new requests, which include making sure that Canadian mine polluters pay to clean up their mess instead of going bankrupt and that the US government doesn’t fund any more mines in Canada while Canadian transboundary mines contaminate international salmon rivers,” said Salmon Beyond Borders Advisor Heather Hardcastle. “Several BC mines are polluting transboundary rivers as we speak, and Alaskans are sitting ducks downstream.”

The Alaska congressional delegation has sent roughly a dozen letters in the last dozen years to the administrations of four U.S. presidents asking for the federal government to achieve binding protections for the shared Taku, Stikine, Unuk, and Salmon river valleys. Today, three BC acid-generating, gold-copper mines with tailings dams are operating in the region, and more than 100 BC low-grade hardrock mine projects are in some phase of exploration, proposal, or development. A recent report by BC's Pacific Salmon Foundation warned that Canadian mining pressure along shared rivers could lead to “undocumented extinction” of salmon runs.