North Country James Bay Group :
- Author:
- North Country James Bay Group.
- Call Number:
- MSS APAP-327 local
- Abstract:
- The North Country James Bay Group Records document efforts of this upstate New York environmental organization to stop the Great Whale (Grande Baleine) River/James Bay II development efforts by Hydro-Québec in the early 1990s. This collection, donated by group member Margaret Weitzmann and Lucia Dailey, includes press releases, manuscripts and writings, fliers for rallies and events, conference materials, U.S. and Canadian newspaper clippings, statements made at public hearings, correspondence and subject files.
- Historical Note:
- The James Bay hydroelectric project was an extensive build-up of hydroelectric power plants in the James Bay area and other nearby areas of Canada by Hydro-Québec. This multi-phase project began in 1972 with the construction of the first phase, the LaGrande complex. Nearly two decades later, plans for the multi-billion dollar James Bay II or Great Whale (Grande Baleine) River hydroelectric project called for the construction of dams, dikes, and reservoirs, the flooding of wilderness, removal of forest land, and the diversion of rivers. Similar action occurred with James Bay I. In light of environmental effects of the previous project and its negative impact upon the traditional lifestyle of the Cree people, the plans for James Bay II caused concern among native peoples of the area, scientists and environmental groups around the world. Plans were eventually stopped in the early 1990s after New York State withdrew from a billion dollar hydroelectric purchase agreement with Hydro-Québec in 1992 citing changed economic conditions, the Canadian government required Hydro-Québec to revise its environmental study prepared for James Bay II and the then Premier of Quebec, Jacques Parizeau, announced in 1994 that the project was being put on hold indefinitely. The North Country James Bay Group was a New York-based grassroots organization dedicated to halting the development of the Great Whale River Project over concerns of a potential impact upon the environment, the rights of indigenous peoples living in the area and the argument that New York State did not need to purchase power from Hydro-Québec to meet its energy needs. North Country James Bay Group member Margaret Weitzmann, the principal donor of this collection, was a librarian and is now Faculty Emeriti for the State University of New York Potsdam campus.
- Physical Description:
- 1.0 cu ft
- Access Terms:
- Access to the collection is unrestricted.
- Notes:
- North Country James Bay Group Records 1966-1998. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York.
- Subjects:
- Aquatic resources conservation Canada, Conservation of natural resources Canada, Cree Indians James Bay Region Social life and customs, Water-power United States, Wildlife conservation Canada, Aquatic resources conservation, Conservation of natural resources, Cree Indians Social life and customs, Ecology, Water-power, and Wildlife conservation
- Genres/Forms:
- Clippings. aat, Correspondence. aat, Fliers (printed matter) aat, Official reports. aat, Press releases. aat, and Speeches. aat
- Corporate Names:
- North Country James Bay Group, Hydro-Québec, Power Authority of the State of New York, James Bay Hydroelectric Project, Hydro-Québec, James Bay Hydroelectric Project, and Power Authority of the State of New York
- Geographic Terms:
- James Bay (Nunavut), James Bay Region Environmental conditions, New York (State), Upstate New York (N.Y.), Canada, Canada James Bay Region, Hudson Bay James Bay, New York (State), New York (State) Upstate New York, and United States
Access
Rare books do not circulate
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