Bristol Bay Alaska & the Proposed Pebble Mine
November 25th, 2020: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denies a critical dredge-and-fill permit to the controversial Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska.
A huge victory for Tribes, Fishermen and Environmentalists who have worked for decades to protect Bristol Bay - but now, in 2021, the need for permanent protection for Bristol Bay couldn't be more acute...
"The Wild" synopsis:
Newly into addiction recovery, an urgent threat emerges to spur filmmaker, Mark Titus back to the Alaskan wilderness - where the people of Bristol Bay and the world’s last intact wild salmon runs face devastation if a massive copper mine is constructed.
The Wild Official Trailer:
Bristol Bay is the world's last fully-intact salmon system.
Bristol Bay’s Indigenous Peoples are the world’s last fully-intact Salmon Culture.
The Pebble Mine could end all of this.
No dams. no logging. No fish-farms or hatcheries.
Just pristine ecosystems perfect for wild salmon to thrive and regenerate forever.
commercial fishery =
15,000 jobs and $1.5 billion to the U.S. economy annually
sport fishing =
>$70 million per year
"[Bristol Bay] supports over 15,000 American jobs, generates $658 million in total labor income/year, and is worth over $1.5 billion. This will continue if the headwater streams remain intact."
-savebristolbay.org
All of this faces ruin if the proposed Pebble Mine is permitted by the Trump Administration's Army Corps of Engineers - this August, 2020
There's over 500 Billion dollars worth of gold, copper, and molybdenum in Bristol Bay. Directly in the headwaters of the world's last vital salmon spawning system...
...and there are people who will say anything to get it.
Permitting Pebble would turn our planet's last untouched salmon system into a massive, industrial mining district.
Pebble would construct a deep-water port; massive power plant; 80-mile road system; fuel, sewage and slurry pipelines; ice-breaking barge system and an open pit with an earthen dam to hold back 11 billion tons of toxic waste in an active seismic zone, forever.
Pebble is only the beginning.
Once the surface is broken, every mining claim in Bristol Bay will activate.
"Once a mine goes in, for all practical purposes, you're not going to stop it. The damage has been done. To even imply that it's going to be a small mine and remain that, doesn't pass the laugh test"...
- Dr. Dave Chambers, The Wild
"These places have been eliminated from the earth, time after time, after time. This is the last one left that's a complete ecosystem... We don't have the right to do that to future generations. We shouldn't be selling the legacy of wild salmon from this Earth to some foreign company."
– Rick Halford (R) - former President, Alaska State Senate - from The Wild
The people of Bristol Bay have been fighting Pebble, fighting for their way of life, for decades. Most people in the Lower 48 have never heard of Bristol Bay much less care enough to fight for it...
With the release of the U.S. Army Corps' final EIS due out in August, 2020 - this is the last chance to stand and and fight for the last, best place on Earth for wild salmon.
Here's who's with us...
Luminaries from 'The Wild'
Yvon Chouinard (top left) - Founder of Patagonia. Outdoorsman, visionary, reluctant businessman and environmental activist
Apay'uq Moore (top right) - Yup'ik artist and pioneer from Bristol Bay. Professional painter focusing on the life, culture, and environment of Bristol Bay native peoples.
Mark Harmon (2nd row, left) - Emmy, Golden Globe nominated Actor, Plays special agent 'Leroy Jethro Gibbs' on NCIS.
Tom Colicchio (2nd row, right) - Head judge on Top Chef. Multi-restaurant owner and chef. Advocate for food equality.
Tom Douglas (3rd row, left) - James Beard Award winning chef from Seattle.
Adrian Grenier (3rd row, top right) - HBO Entourage actor and founder of Lonely Whale. Leader of the movement to end plastic pollution
Bella Hammond (3rd row, bottom right) - former First-Lady of Alaska.
Steve Gleason (bottom, left) - Congressional Medal of Honor winning NFL legend and founder of Team Gleason; an organization dedicated to supporting those with ALS.
Zaria Forman (bottom, right) - Award winning, publicized fine artist. Documents climate change through her pastel drawings.
Leaders of the Scientific Community
Dave Chambers, Ph.D (Top left) - Geophysicist and technical expert on Pebble Environmental Impact Statement assessment team. President and founder of the Center for Science in Public Participation.
Cameron Wobus, Ph.D (Top right) - Earth scientist trained in geomorphology, hydrology, and environmental data analysis and modeling. Lead the independent research team hired to estimate the impact of a Pebble tailings mine breach.
Carol Anne Woody, Ph.D (Center left) - Past president of the Alaska Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and regional fisheries biologist for the National Parks Service. Subpoenaed multiple times by Pebble Limited Partnership
Susan Lubetkin, Ph.D (Center right) - Environmental statistician and author of the scientific comment deconstructing the spill risks of Pebble’s transportation corridor. Executive director of the multi-media climate symphony “Terra Nostra”
Daniel Schindler, Ph.D (Bottom Middle) - Award winning conservation biologist and creator of the "portfolio effect" model of salmon spawning patterns. Core faculty member of the UW Alaska Salmon Program
Native Leaders
Alannah Hurley (Top) - Executive director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay, Yup'ik, Bristol Bay native.
Thomas Tilden (Center left) - Chief of Curyung Tribal Council, former Mayor of Dillingham, Chair for Indian Education, and many other native leadership roles.
H. Robin Samuelson (Center middle) - Board of directors member of the Bristol Bay Native Corporation.
Apay'uq Moore (Center left) - Yup'ik artist and pioneer from Bristol Bay. Professional painter focusing on the life, culture, and environment of Bristol Bay native peoples.
Melanie Brown (Bottom left) - Commercial fisherman and organizer for Salmon State Alaska. National advocate for Bristol Bay.
Lindsay Layland (Bottom right) - Life-long fisherman and Deputy director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay.
NGO Partners
- Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC)
- Bristol Bay Regional Development Association (BBRSDA)
- Trout Unlimited
- United Tribes of Bristol Bay
- Salmon State
- Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay
- National Wildlife Federation
- Alaska Wilderness League
- Waterkeeper Alliance
- Salmon Nation
- Wild Salmon Center
- Sea Legacy
- Slow Food + Slow Fish