Patagonia Sin Represas - Bridget Besaw

by Bridget Besaw

A first hand account from Bridget Besaw on the Patagonia RAVE and efforts to stop the proposed dams on the Baker and Pascua Rivers.

Patagonia clothing company asked me to make a slide show of my Sin Represas exhibit images for the video section of their catalog site. Instead I decided to make this video about my experience of following the story of the proposed dams on the Baker and Pascua Rivers in Patagonia.For more information about the mega-dam proposal please visit Patagonia Sin Represas, NRDC or Conservacion Patagonica.

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Patagonia RAVE slideshow

by iLCP

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Patagonia RAVE Review

Mar 16, 2010

In reality, these dams would mark the beginning of the end for Patagonia because their construction would bring in new roads, new development, and hordes of new people that would change the character and wild nature of the region forever.

The field segment of the Patagonia RAVE ended earlier this month. It was a tremendous success and we captured some amazing pictures. The RAVE photographers, Jack Dykinga, Daniel Beltrá, Jeff Foott, and Bridget Besaw, and cameraman Edgar Boyles have brought back images of huemel deer, Andean condors, vizcatcha (little rabbit like rodents), roaring rapids, ongoing small scale development and stunning aerials of glaciers and rivers. We visited both of the rivers that will be dammed, the Rio Pascua and Rio Baker, as well as other pristine areas that will be destroyed by the project.At the end of the expedition we all walked away with the feeling that the dam issue in Patagonia is bigger than the dams simply flooding a nice area. In reality, these dams would mark the beginning of the end for Patagonia because their construction would bring in new roads, new development, and hordes of new people that would change the character and wild nature of the region forever. Luckily, momentum is building against the dams, and our partners feel we've reached a tipping point. We have some great outreach initiatives planned that we hope will tip the issue. These include an exhibit that will travel through Chile and to Italy and Spain where the multinational corporations responsible for the proposed dams are headquartered, and a presentation at the share holders meeting of Enel (the lead corporation in Italy in charge of the project) this spring. Please stay tuned for more updates.Thanks to our partners the Patagonian Foundation, Patagonia, Inc., Weeden Foundation, Baum Foundation, Renee and Jeff Harbers Foundation, Conservación Patagónica, Salvaje Corazón, and Ecosistemas. Thanks also to photographers Jack Dykinga, Daniel Beltra, Jeff Foott, and Bridget Besaw and videographer Edgar Boyles who donated their time to this RAVE to help keep Patagonia Wild.  Share or comment on this story >

Patagonia Dispatch 6 February 26, 2011 from Caleta Tortel, Chile

Trevor Frost

Feb 26, 2010

The ecosystem will be destroyed forever if the two proposed dams for the Baker are built, the beauty that could be lost is what the photographers will focus on capturing.

We are in Caleta Tortel, a small town located on the delta of the Baker River. No cars are here - people move around by boat or on a network of elaborate boardwalks that go over the inlets and marshes dotting the landscape. It’s an amazing place and everyone on the team is excited to head out and explore the estuary. The ecosystem will be destroyed forever if the two proposed dams for the Baker are built, the beauty that could be lost is what the photographers will focus on capturing. We arrived in Tortel after traveling for 7 hours from the farthest point south our expedition reached, the headwaters of the Rio Pascua on Lago O'Higgins, a 5 hour boat ride from the closest town. There, the expedition found the greatest reasons for not building the dams. Wilderness. Perfection. Unclimbed mountains, absolute quiet, no footprints, and water so clean you could drink from any source. Add on top of that the Pascua forms one of the most impressive series of rapids I've ever seen. This is one small spot on the planet that cannot be destroyed.Another tragedy if these dams are built is the actual construction of the dams and how it will change Patagonia as a region forever. With the dams will come roads, 200 foot tall transmission lines, heavy industry, and so on.Hopefully the images we make on this RAVE will be used as tools to help the campaign to stop the dams. We've collected some amazing imagery of the regions wildlife, landscapes, and the few but powerful environmental scars that can be found here to illustrate the current beauty and the threats facing this pristine wilderness. Some of the best images from the RAVE thus far are Jack's moonlit photos of unclimbed peaks, Jeff's picture of the unreal blue Baker River, Daniel's photo of unbroken forest from the air, and Bridget's photo of a 91 year old man that last year rode his horse 9 days from Colonia to Coyhaique to protest of the dams. Stay tunes to see these amazing images!  Share or comment on this story >

Patagonia Dispatch 5 February 23, 2010 from Chacabuco, Chile

Trevor Frost

Feb 23, 2010

There is no shortage of amazing landscape shots here.

We have pictures of Vizcacha, Guanaco, Foxes, Ground Owls, Flamingoes and no shortage of amazing landscape shots - including the mighty Baker River. I really can't wait to share some photos of the Baker River with world because its color is astounding. Unlike any other river I've ever seen. Tomorrow we leave here for the Pascua River and one of the most remote places in the world. Share or comment on this story >

Patagonia Dispatch 4 February 22, 2010 from Chacabuco, Chile

Trevor Frost

Feb 22, 2010

"This has definitely proved to be the most productive segment of the expedition yet."

Here in Valle Chacabuco - the future Patagonia National Park, which is run by Doug and Kris Tompkins. The entire team was finally reunited here 3 days ago when Jack made it after 6 days of traveling and living off of one pair of clothes. Its been a fantastic 4 days here and this has definitely proved to be the most productive segment of the expedition yet. Share or comment on this story >

Patagonia Dispatch 3 February 17, 2010 from Tranquilo, Chile

Trevor Frost

Feb 17, 2010

The clouds and winds have returned - Welcome to Patagonia!

The clouds and wind have returned - welcome to Patagonia! This has derailed our chance to revisit the marble caves but no one seems too disappointed because we are now leaving earlier for Valle Chacabuco, the site of the future Patagonia National Park. At 173,000 acres Chacabuco is a grand place with mountains, wetlands, birds, pumas, foxes, guanacos and the mighty Baker river - which is slated to be dammed. If the Baker is dammed 70 meter tall high tension wires will be placed right through the heart of the Chacabuco scaring the landscape forever. Today and for the next four days our photographers and film makers will fan out over the Chacabuco to make images and film for large media projects that will span the globe in an effort to derail the five dam project on the Rio Baker and Rio Pascua. Share or comment on this story >

Patagonia Dispatch 2 February 12, 2010 from Coyhaique, Chile

Feb 12, 2010

Recent public opinion polls indicate that roughly 70% of all Chileans oppose the hidroaysen dams, whereas 3 years ago only 30% opposed them.

Here in Chilean Patagonia I get the sense that there is no better time to expose the proposal to build five dams on the Baker and Pascua rivers. Driving around Coyhaique I see large billboards that scatter the countryside and ads and stickers that say "Chile no dice a hidroaysen" and "Sin Represas". Add the fact that recent public opinion polls show that minds are changing on the dams (roughly 70% of Chileans oppose the dams now whereas only 3 years ago it was only 30%) and I know there could be no better time for the iLCP to raise visibility with a RAVE.Right now the RAVE team is assembling and the excitement is building. The news that mining will be banned in the Flathead River Valley of BC in part because of the Flathead RAVE has further energized our team by confirming that imagery and media can help to produce tangible conservation outcomes.iLCP photographers Daniel Beltra and Jeff Foott are here and tomorrow arrive Jack Dykinga and Bridget Besaw. Filmmaker Edgar Boyles is also here and already hard at work interviewing people for the film we plan to produce. Today the rest of us are spending our time brainstorming about ways to best use the media we collect to stop the dams. We are also working on staying dry as the our one day of clear and warm weather yesterday has turned to wet and windy.Stay Tuned for more from Trevor and the rest of the crew as the RAVE continues!  Share or comment on this story >

Patagonia RAVE dispatch from the field, Coyhaique, Chile

Feb 11, 2010

Daniel Beltra and Jeff Foott are arriving today and more of the crew will arrive tomorrow.

From Trevor Frost, iLCP RAVE guru via phone from the back of a pick-up truck near Coyhaique, Chile:"All is well down here in Patagonia, the weather has improved, the sun has come out and it's beautiful. Hopefully this weather will hold out and more storms won't move in as it's been a very rainy season.Daniel Beltra and Jeff Foott are arriving today and more of the crew will arrive tomorrow. On the 13th we'll be heading down to Lago General Carrera, which is where I was for the last few days. Lago General Carrera is near the Baker River, one of the Rivers that is threatened by the dam proposals.I also met up with Jim Donini, patron of the Patagonian Foundation and a world renowned climber. He's done first assents around the world in particular Torre Egger. So everything is coming together and i'm excited to get this RAVE off the ground. " Stay Tuned for more from Trevor and the rest of the crew as the RAVE continues!  Share or comment on this story >

Photo essay: 12 epic scenes from Patagonia’s wildest, most threatened terrain

THIS IS NOT JUST ANOTHER FOREST. This is the largest river in Chile. These are among the most powerful rapids on the planet. These are the wildest and most pristine rivers within the wildest and most pristine area left on earth.If the five proposed dams are built along the Baker and Pascua rivers, about 15,000 acres of these Patagonian lands will be underwater, gone. A 400-foot-wide swath will be cut across 1,500 miles – equal to the west coast of the United States. The 200-foot-tall transmission lines will bisect 64 communities and 14 protected areas. Once in place, the transmission lines will provide incentive to build even more dams to produce greater energy at lower cost.There are a lot of numbers involved in this discussion. But the most telling evidence is seen in pictures like these twelve scenes below, courtesy of iLCP, taken for their RAVE campaign to show just what will be lost forever if the dams are built. Share or comment on this story >