A group that wants to draw attention to transboundary mines plans to drop a bunch of Xtratuf boots on Gov. Bill Walker’s front steps later this month.
Inside Passage Waterkeeper is collecting rubber boots from residents of Wrangell, Petersburg, Ketchikan, Sitka and Juneau.
“We’re going to bring them to Gov. Walker’s front steps at the capital and drop them there on the 26th of August to show him that we, as citizens of Southeast Alaska, depend on the resources that these transboundary rivers provide, such as commercial fishing. And we use the Xtratufs as the iconic symbol of that livelihood,” said Caitlin Cardinell, a community organizer for Inside Passage Waterkeeper.
The group wants Gov. Walker to take action against British Columbia mines and encourage the federal government to enforce the Boundary Waters Treaty.
Cardinell said the governor knows they are bringing boots to Juneau.
“We think Gov. Walker might be there to accept the boots or give a response,” Cardinell said. “I think the key thing we’re wondering about is how he’s going to respond to it.”
This will also coincide with B.C. Mines Minister Bill Bennett’s trip to Southeast Alaska.
The group is accepting donations of old rubber boots. They will also take boots on loan and will bring them back to their owners after the event in Juneau.
Wrangell’s boot drop-off locations are the Alaska Marine Lines office and Brenda Schwartz-Yeager’s art gallery.
