Alberta country stars band together on song opposing Rocky Mountain coal mining

When Alberta country singer Corb Lund wrote a song 12 years ago about a rancher determined to defend the landscape heloves against encroaching development, it was just a campfire yarn.

"It was just kind of a story, a fictional story," Lund said.

Events have since caught up to the tune "This Is My Prairie." The summits and foothills of Alberta's Rocky Mountains have beenleased along a vast stretch of their range for coal exploration anda series of companies have announced plans for open-pit mines.

Lund's imagined defender was suddenly very real.

"This coal thing happened and I looked at [the song]and it was just word for word," Lund said from his home in Lethbridge, downstream from the proposed mines.

"It occurred to me that this might make a good reissue and then it occurred to me that maybe we should recruit a few more people. Icalled up some people who had been supporting me on Twitter and theywere all for it."

Lund, together with a posse of pals, have re-recorded andre-released the song as what Lund hopes will become an anthem ofopposition to mining development in the Rockies.

Fellow country stars Terri Clark, Brett Kissel and Paul Brandtjoined in. Cree-Dene singer Sherryl Sewepagaham also sings a versein Cree.

"They can drill, they can mine, over my smouldering bones," thesong opens. "This is my Prairie, this is my home."

"This is far from over"

Lund hasn't been shy about his opposition to the mines, speakingout on social media and in news interviews. Apart from mining'simpact on the area's beauty, he's concerned about its effect onwater supplies and contamination in a perennially dry region.

"It's important that we stress this is a non-political issue.This is a water issue. Rural people are upset, First Nations peopleare upset, urban people are upset. This is very wide-ranging."

Lund, who promised any revenue from the re-release will bedonated to grassroots groups opposing the mines, said while thepublic controversy about the developments may have subsided, thefight hasn't ended.

"It's hard to keep the public engaged. There hasn't been a lotof things in the news. One of the main things about releasing thisnow is that we have to remind people that this is far from over."

The province is waiting on a report from a panel that has spentthe last several months hearing from Albertans about how or if coal mines should be allowed near the headwaters of most of theprovince's drinking water. That panel is expected to deliver itsreport to Energy Minister Sonya Savage on Nov. 15.

The head of that panel, Ron Wallace, said this week that most ofthe submissions are "strongly opposed" to mining.

Nobody will be keener to see the panel's recommendations than themusicians of "This Is My Prairie."

"We're going to insist that we see those," said Lund. "If thegovernment thinks they can take those recommendations and put themon a shelf, we're going to be squawking about that."