First Nations leaders participated in a press conference following a tour of the Alberta tar sands by Avatar director James Cameron. Speakers included former chief George Poitras of the Mikisew Cree First Nation, National Chief Shawn Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations, Chief Lameman of the Beaver Lake Cree Nation, and Gerald Amos of the Coastal First Nations.

On Saturday, August 14th the Keepers of the Athabasca, a network of First Nation, Metis and settler community members along the Athabasca river hosted a 'healing walk' through the tar sands.

Keepers of the Athabasca will host an information session on the Upper McLeod River at the Red Brick in Edson on September 25, 2010, 9am to 5pm. Topics will include gravel mining in the Athabasca Basin, cumulative effects in headwaters regions, a watershed management plan, and a planning workshop to develop a local watershed group.

The Keepers of the Athabasca and a number of our sister organizations working to protect the Athabasca Watershed have submitted a letter to US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Edward Markey

A new report has been published in The Wilson Journal of Ornithology by Kevin P. Timoney and Robert A. Ronconi, showing annual bird mortality in the bitumen tailings ponds of northeastern Alberta greatly exceeds industry estimates.

A new report has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Erin N. Kelly, David W. Schindler, Peter V. Hodson and Jeffrey W. Short, linking high levels of toxic pollutants in the Athabasca River system to oilsands mining.

Researchers showed that the oil sands industry releases the 13 elements considered priority pollutants (PPE) under the US Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water Act, via air and water, to the Athabasca River and its watershed.

The extent to which pollution from tar sands industrial activities in northeastern Alberta, Canada affects ecosystem and human health is a matter of growing concern that is exacerbated by uncertainty. In this paper we determine whether physical and ecological changes that result from tar sands industrial activities are detectable.

This summary contains information from meetings that have been held in, Anzac, Slave Lake and Fort McMurray.

Recent research has revealed significant risks to huge underground freshwater channels from tar sands activity north of Lac La Biche and Cold Lake.