From: Anna Stirr [annastirr@yahoo.com]
Sent: December 8, 2008 2:31 PM
To: lpayette@nirb.ca
Subject: Uravan Garry Lake Project, NIRB File 08EN037

Greetings from New York, New York. I am a graduate student at Columbia University who has passed through northern Canada as a canoeist and volunteer from YMCA Camp Manito-Wish. 


I am writing to urge you to deny Uravan Mineral's application for mineral development (of uranium) on the calving grounds of the Beverly Caribou Herd. These animals are central to both the sustenance and the culture of people in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, and aerial surveys have recently confirmed that their numbers have dwindled to distressing lows. In order for the Beverley Caribou Herd to even have the potential to grow again, the herd's calving grounds must be left undisturbed. Major mining companies including De Beers, Areva and Cameco have declared they will no longer conduct activities on the calving grounds in Nunavut because they understand the implications of this activity. Please support local livelihoods by denying Uravan Mineral's application and sending a strong message of concern for communities who depend not only on short-term mining jobs, but on the wildlife sustained by the land in question. 


Thank you for your action on this matter.


Sincerely,


Anna Stirr
Ph.D. Candidate
Columbia University
New York, NY 10027