Sergeant Christopher J, Sexton Erin K, Moore Jonathan W, Westwood Alana R, Nagorski Sonia A, Ebersole Joseph L, Chambers David M, O'Neal Sarah L, Malison Rachel L, Hauer F Richard, Whited Diane C, Weitz Jill, Caldwell Jackie, Capito Marissa, Connor Mark, Frissell Christopher A, Knox Greg, Lowery Erin D, Macnair Randal, Marlatt Vicki, McIntyre Jenifer K, McPhee Megan V, Skuce Nikki
Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, MT 59860, USA.
College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Juneau, AK 99801, USA.
Sci Adv. 2022 Jul;8(26):eabn0929. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abn0929. Epub 2022 Jul 1.
Mining provides resources for people but can pose risks to ecosystems that support cultural keystone species. Our synthesis reviews relevant aspects of mining operations, describes the ecology of salmonid-bearing watersheds in northwestern North America, and compiles the impacts of metal and coal extraction on salmonids and their habitat. We conservatively estimate that this region encompasses nearly 4000 past producing mines, with present-day operations ranging from small placer sites to massive open-pit projects that annually mine more than 118 million metric tons of earth. Despite impact assessments that are intended to evaluate risk and inform mitigation, mines continue to harm salmonid-bearing watersheds via pathways such as toxic contaminants, stream channel burial, and flow regime alteration. To better maintain watershed processes that benefit salmonids, we highlight key windows during the mining governance life cycle for science to guide policy by more accurately accounting for stressor complexity, cumulative effects, and future environmental change.
采矿为人们提供资源，但可能对支持文化关键物种的生态系统构成风险。我们的综述回顾了采矿作业的相关方面，描述了北美西北部有鲑鱼的流域的生态，并汇编了金属和煤炭开采对鲑鱼及其栖息地的影响。我们保守估计，该地区有近4000座过去的生产矿山，目前的作业从小型砂矿到每年开采超过1.18亿吨土方的大型露天项目不等。尽管有旨在评估风险并为缓解措施提供依据的影响评估，但矿山仍通过有毒污染物、河道掩埋和水流状态改变等途径继续损害有鲑鱼的流域。为了更好地维持有利于鲑鱼的流域过程，我们强调了采矿治理生命周期中的关键窗口期，以便科学通过更准确地考虑压力源复杂性、累积影响和未来环境变化来指导政策。
