One year ago today, Aug. 4, 2014, a tailings dam failed at the Mount Polley mine in British Columbia, sending 6.6 billion gallons of toxins downriver, tainting waters flowing into the Fraser River, one of Canada's most prolific salmon producers. Though the economic, social, and environmental costs of the disaster will not be fully known for a long time, the event hit extremely close to home for my family and neighbors. We felt for those living in the impact zone, and saw our concerns about developing the Pebble deposit come to life.

Living in Bristol Bay, downstream from the proposed Pebble Mine, the tailings dam failure at Mount Polley represented our worst nightmare, something we have feared for nearly a decade as the fight against Pebble Mine continues within the region. Wanting to better understand the impacts of the spill, some members of the local tribal coalition, Nunamta Aulukestai, took a trip to see the damage firsthand. I went with them and met with Chief Bev Sellars of the Xatś?ll First Nation in British Columbia. She and her daughter, Jacinda Mack, gave us a guided tour of the impact zone and a glimpse into how this disaster has altered the lives of tribal members and other residents.

Chief Sellars said the members of the community came together for a meeting right after they'd heard the news and viewed initial pictures of the breach. "The heartache and the tears and the worry and the fear in our members was just so heartbreaking," she said.

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