Skeena Swim News
August 05 2009 » Skeena Swim » Terrace Standard
She’s Swimming the Skeena
Molly McNulty
ALI HOWARD is proving that the human spirit is an unstoppable force as she takes on the challenge of swimming the Skeena River; 610 km from the sacred headwaters to the Pacific Ocean.
Yesterday, Howard entered her second week on the Skeena River, proving to be a force of strength and determination while travelling down the second longest river in the province, and one of the world’s longest undammed rivers.
Howard is making history as the first person to swim the Skeena and this is also the first time a group will travel the length of the river in a single expedition. But Howard states that this isn’t about making the record books, it’s about raising awareness for the Skeena watershed.
“I hope people and residents of the Skeena start to think about the watershed in a new way, and really become a part of the discussion about its future,” said Howard, before embarking on this life changing journey. “If we start talking about it now, 10 to 15 years down the line when development starts to happen…we will have a louder voice, it will serve us well in the future. The watershed is [our] home and the health of it will affect [our] future.”
The plan formed when Howard heard about Martin Strel, a man who swims the world’s longest rivers – including the Amazon – to raise awareness. Howard is friends with Shannon McPhail, the director of the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, and passed on the idea that they should get someone to swim the Skeena, unaware that that person would be her.
Howard stresses that she’s not the world’s best swimmer or a champion athlete, she’s just an average person who wanted to raise awareness to preserve the Skeena.
Howard, who’s originally from Ottawa, makes her living along the watershed working at a lodge in Kispiox and says that she couldn’t ask for a better place to live.
She wanted to give something back to it, adding that some people take the area and river for granted when others come from all over the world to enjoy it.
Some key areas she hopes to shed some light on by completing the swim is the fact that the Skeena is one of North America’s greatest rivers, which all five species of wild salmon along with steelhead call home, and the threat of industrial development along the river.
Current threats to the functioning ecosystem are Shell’s proposed plan to drill for coalbed methane in the sacred headwaters, which is where the Skeena, Nass and Stikine Rivers originate. In 2008, after strong opposition from the public, the provincial government agreed upon a two year moratorium on Shell’s plan for drilling.
The second development being proposed is Enbridge’s twin pipeline that will transport crude oil 1,100 km from the Alberta tar sands to the port of Kitimat, where tankers will then transport the oil internationally. This proposed pipeline’s route would cut through the Skeena watershed.
Howard’s idea to bring awareness to the watershed is already paying off, as a film crew from out east has jumped on board to document the entirety of the journey.
“It’s definitely surreal, it’s a total foreign experience for me to be this magnet for the media, and just people stopping me in the street, but it’s amazing. The response has been so positive,” said Howard, who stresses that although she’s the face behind the journey, it’s a huge group effort.
“It’s a group effort…a big group working on this one and I’m just one spoke in the wheel for sure,” added Howard.
Many people helped Howard along the way with her training and a team of about 10 others are travelling with her down the river, including safety and scout kayakers, a raft guide and logistics coordinator to name a few.
Howard is scheduled to cruise into the Terrace area at the Kitsumkalum boat launch Sunday Aug. 9, and is hoping to complete the journey with a celebration at De Horsey Island, North Pacific Cannery on August 15.
- Note from SWCC. North Pacific Cannery is located in Port Edward, BC at 1889 Skeena Rd.
