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Get the latest on the fight for Bristol Bay.

 
July 18, 2014
EPA proposes Pebble Mine restrictions
Saying that even a smaller mine than the proposed Pebble Mine “would have significant, unacceptable impacts to downstream salmon-rearing areas” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Friday announced proposed restrictions that would sharply curtail or halt mining at the site. Read More
July 18, 2014
EPA to propose limits on Alaska’s Pebble Mine project
The proposed determination, which will now be subject to a public comment period, represents the latest step by the Obama administration to impose restrictions on a massive gold and copper mining project, called Pebble Mine. Native Alaskan tribes, commercial fishing operations and environmentalists who have been seeking to block the venture on the grounds that discharge from its operations could harm the area that supports nearly half of the world’s sockeye salmon. Read More
May 7, 2014
Fishing groups upset with Murkowski over Pebble actions
A group of lodge owners and guides has expressed disappointment with Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s support of a bill that would limit when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could use its so-called “veto authority” under the federal Clean Water Act. Read More
May 7, 2014
EPA’s Inspector General to Investigate Agency Actions on Bristol Bay, Pebble
In a letter dated May 2, the EPA’s Inspector General’s Office announced it would launch an investigation into the agency’s actions surrounding the study of the Bristol Bay watershed, and the steps taken towards issuing a preemptive veto of the Pebble Mine. Read More
May 7, 2014
Point-Counterpoint: Murkowski wrong to take on EPA over Pebble
In an April 24 ADN Compass piece, Sen. Lisa Murkowski discussed her reasons for signing on as a co-sponsor of the Regulatory Fairness Act, a bill that limits the Environmental Protection Agency from retroactive or preemptive veto of dredge and fill permits as provided for in Section 404(c) of the 1972 Clean Water Act. Read More
May 6, 2014
EPA inspector to scrutinize Pebble Mine assessment
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) internal watchdog is launching an investigation of the agency’s research into the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska, which led EPA officials to begin the process of blocking the mine’s permit. Read More
May 6, 2014
EPA watchdog reviewing agency’s work on Bristol Bay and Pebble mine
EPA in February announced it was considering unprecedented use of its veto powers to block the Pebble mine, a huge gold and copper prospect at the headwaters of two major salmon-producing streams that flow into Bristol Bay, home of the biggest sockeye salmon runs in the world. Read More
April 11, 2014
Pebble CEO says project still moving forward
The demise of the Pebble Mine has been greatly exaggerated, according to executives leading the push for the massive Southwest Alaska copper and gold project. Read More
April 10, 2014
The Orthodox Church and the Fight Against Pebble Mine
For centuries, the Church has believed that humans have a responsibility to care for the earth. That responsibility takes on a special significance in the wildernesses of Alaska. Read More
April 9, 2014
Murkowski Signs Onto ‘Regulatory Fairness Act’
Leaders in the Bristol Bay area say they’re upset U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has co-sponsored a bill that would undo their biggest regulatory success in fighting the Pebble Mine project. Read More
April 8, 2014
Washington salmon industry relieved as Alaska mine investor drops out
second major backer has dropped out of a massive gold mine venture in Alaska, heartening opponents who have been fighting a project that they believe would threaten the Bristol Bay salmon fishery. Read More
April 7, 2014
In another blow to Pebble Mine, Rio Tinto pulls out
The global mining firm Rio Tinto announced Monday that it will divest its 19 percent stake in the controversial Pebble Mine project in Alaska, donating its shares to two state charities. Read More
April 7, 2014
Following Anglo American’s lead, Rio Tinto leaves Pebble project
Rio Tinto, which owns a 19.1 percent stake in Northern Dynasty Minerals, Ltd., -- the Canadian company that owns the rights to the Pebble prospect -- said it would give its shares to two Alaska charitable organizations. The move comes after a series of events that have dealt major setbacks to the Pebble project. Read More
March 18, 2014
EPA extends response deadline on Pebble Mine impacts
A federal agency is providing more time for the state and the group behind the proposed Pebble Mine to provide information showing development at the site would not result in “unacceptable” environmental impacts. Read More
March 14, 2014
Is Alaska’s Pebble Mine the Next Keystone XL?
The push to open a gold-and-copper mine in a rich fishing area has split Alaskans along unusual political lines. Read More
March 13, 2014
Protect the Bristol Bay Fishery
The Bristol Bay fishery must be protected forever. We expect the agency’s yearlong review will arrive at the same conclusion. Read More
March 7, 2014
State of Alaska should permanently protect Bristol Bay watershed
Salmon are the providers of subsistence, health, nutrition, a culture and spirituality for a people, and are the foundation of a vast ecosystem and abundant wildlife. Protecting such a national treasure by putting fish first allows us to pass it on to the next generation undiminished. This is a noble cause, and one that Alaskans will proudly pursue. Read More
March 5, 2014
EPA Moves to Block Pebble Mine
The news looked like a substantial victory for the coalition of fishermen, environmentalists, and local Native groups who have been arguing for years that the location of the deposit near the headwaters of major river systems meant that it could not be mined without unacceptably endangering the legendary Bristol Bay salmon run. Read More
March 4, 2014
Editorial: Save Bristol Bay, stop the mine
The economic reach of the Bristol Bay fishery is extraordinary, with thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of economic impact in Washington and Oregon, all documented by independent research. Read More
March 3, 2014
Our View: EPA makes right call on Pebble
Let's be clear: the EPA is doing its job. Why have a Clean Water Act at all if not to protect a pristine natural watershed from potentially toxic industrial development? And let's remember that the EPA initially undertook to assess the Pebble project because many concerned Alaskans asked it to do so. Read More
March 2, 2014
Willoughby: It’s fair for EPA to require Pepple Mine to prove itself
All CEO Tom Collier and his Pebble Limited Partnership have to do is prove that excavating the largest open pit ever constructed in North America and creating countless tons of toxic waste in the name of gold, copper and molybdenum won't have a negative impact on the surrounding watershed considered one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet. Read More
March 2, 2014
A Reprieve for Bristol Bay
The Obama administration announced on Friday that it was putting the brakes on a massive gold and copper mine proposed for the headwaters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay while it decides whether to prohibit it permanently. Read More
March 2, 2014
Pictures: Photographer Who Shot Bristol Bay Celebrates Halt of Pebble Mine
Photographer Michael Melford shot Bristol Bay for a 2010 National Geographic feature about the battle between salmon and gold. In an interview on Saturday, Melford said that the area is uniquely beautiful but that not everyone will be celebrating a win for salmon. Read More
February 28, 2014
EPA urges protection for Bristol Bay, putting new Alaska mine at risk
Conservation, fishing and Alaska Native groups hailed the decision, which could potentially stop Pebble Mine. They say the EPA's action is a victory for the crucial ecosystem, for Natives who depend on the salmon fishery for survival, and for the commercial and recreational fishing industries. Read More
February 28, 2014
EPA Takes First Step to Restrict Pebble Mine Project in Alaska
The Environmental Protection Agency took the first step Friday to restrict, if not prohibit, the development of Pebble Mine, a proposed open-pit copper and gold mine in Alaska that could be one of the world's largest copper sources. Read More
February 28, 2014
Pebble Opponents, Proponents React To EPA Decision
The EPA’s announcement today was directly targeted at the Pebble Mine. The developers of that project are understandably not pleased with what they say is a gross overreach of federal authority which should be concerning to all Alaskans. Read More
February 28, 2014
EPA considers blocking massive gold mine proposed for Alaska
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday it will examine whether to block a massive gold and copper mine proposed in Alaska -- a major win for environmentalists, native tribes and commercial fishing companies that have been seeking to kill the project for more than three years. Read More
February 28, 2014
EPA’s Review of Pebble Deposit Under Clean Water Act Could Block Mine
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking the first steps toward possibly restricting or even prohibiting development of a massive gold-and-copper prospect near the headwaters of a world-premier sockeye salmon fishery in southwest Alaska. Read More
February 28, 2014
The EPA Plays Offense
“The Pebble Mine would likely have significant and irreversible negative impacts on the Bristol Bay watershed and its abundant salmon fisheries,” said McCarthy. “It’s why EPA is taking this step forward in our effort to ensure protection for the world’s most productive salmon fishery from the risks it faces from what could be one of the largest open pit mines on earth.” Read More
February 28, 2014
EPA takes step toward restricting Pebble Mine project on Alaska’s Bristol Bay
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that it will examine whether to block a massive gold and copper mine proposed in Alaska — marking a major win for native Alaskan tribes, commercial fishing operations and environmentalists who have been seeking to kill the project. Read More
February 28, 2014
EPA Tells Miners to Keep Out of Alaska’s Bristol Bay—and They Aren’t Buying It
Today the Environmental Protection Agency appeared to tip the scales in favor of the native Alaskans and environmentalists who had petitioned the agency to use its authority under the Clean Water Act to block a big mine proposed near the bay’s watershed. Read More
February 28, 2014
EPA starts process that could restrict Pebble Mine
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it is taking the first steps toward restricting or even prohibiting development of a massive gold-and-copper prospect near the headwaters of a premier sockeye salmon fishery in southwest Alaska — though no final decision has been made. Read More
February 28, 2014
EPA to protect Bristol Bay salmon fishery in move that could lead to Pebble mine veto
Tribes and other Alaska Native groups in 2010 petitioned EPA to block the mine even before it applied for its main federal permit through the Clean Water Act. Jason Metrokin, president of the Bristol Bay Native Corp., said Friday that EPA was taking a thoughtful approach to protect the region's vital salmon. Read More
February 28, 2014
Leaders, stakeholders react after EPA’s Pebble Mine announcement
“This 404(c) process is not something -- and I want to stress this -- that the agency does very often. But the Bristol Bay fishery is an extraordinary resource, and it’s worthy of out-of the ordinary agency actions to protect it,” Gina McCarthy said in the news conference. Read More
February 28, 2014
EPA moves to block mammoth Bristol Bay mine
“This process (mine) would threaten half the world’s sockeye salmon catch: A mine is not more important than fishing jobs,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., an outspoken opponent of the proposed Pebble Mine. Read More
February 28, 2014
US moves against Alaska gold and copper mine to protect salmon fishery
The federal government made a rare intervention to block a gold and copper mine in Alaska on Friday, saying it was compelled to protect the world’s biggest salmon fishery. Read More
February 11, 2014
Ca. Controller and NYC Comptroller Stand Firm Against Pebble Mine, Again Urge Rio Tinto to Divest
The offices recently released another letter to the company citing two additional reasons for Rio Tinto to abandon the project: first, EPA's Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment and, second, Northern Dynasty Minerals' "confrontational" response to that assessment. Read More
February 4, 2014
Hundreds of scientists sign letter urging EPA to act against Pebble
A group of 360 scientists, researchers and university professors signed a letter hand-delivered Tuesday that urges the Environmental Protection Agency to protect Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble mine. Read More
February 4, 2014
Shively leaving the top job at Pebble
John Shively is stepping down from the post he has held since 2008 as chief executive of Pebble Ltd. Partnership, the group whose controversial bid to develop a gold and copper mine in the Bristol Bay area is under regulatory scrutiny and facing financial challenges. Read More
January 31, 2014
Washington Senator, Chefs Weigh In Against Pebble Mine
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) stood at Seattle Fishermans’ Terminal Thursday alongside chef Tom Douglas and fishermen to denounce a controversial mine proposed at Bristol Bay, Alaska. Read More
January 30, 2014
McDermott and Bonamici to EPA: Protect Bristol Bay from Harmful Pebble Mine
Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and Suzanne Bonamici (D- Ore.), as well as eight other members of Congress, sent a letter urging Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy to use the authority of the EPA to protect Bristol Bay from the proposed Pebble Mine. Read More
January 27, 2014
Anti-Pebble Mine Voices Grow Louder After EPA Assessment
After the Environmental Protection Agency released a study suggesting a large mine in the area would pose a significant risk to sockeye salmon, anti-Pebble Mine voices seem to be getting louder and more prevalent. Read More
January 24, 2014
Cantwell Urges White House To Stop Alaska Pebble Mine Project, Protect Fishermen
A U.S. senator from the Lower 48 is asking the White House to stop the Pebble Mine. Democrat Maria Cantwell, of Washington, says the proposed mine in Western Alaska threatens fishing jobs in her state. Read More
January 23, 2014
Bristol Bay: Washington senator, chefs protest Pebble Mine
Eight days after the federal government declared that a proposed mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay would have a devastating effect on the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, a Washington senator and 250 chefs and food professionals demanded that the Obama administration stop Pebble Mine. Read More
January 22, 2014
Young and Old Turn Out to “Bonfire for Bristol Bay” Rally in Dillingham Tuesday
The atmosphere was festive last night at the Dillingham boat harbor as dozens came to celebrate some recent successes in the fight against the Pebble Mine, and to encourage everyone that the battle isn’t over yet. Read More
January 22, 2014
This Pebble Is Stirring A Whole Lot Of Controversy In Alaska
Political lines are being drawn in Alaska over the proposed Pebble Mine, a hugely controversial project to build an open-pit gold and copper mine in the Bristol Bay watershed. The watershed is one of the last unspoiled salmon fisheries in the world. Read More
January 22, 2014
Anti-Pebble Mine Television Ads Begin Airing in Alaska
The proposed Pebble Mine is drawing more and more opposition nearly every day. On Wednesday, two groups began airing anti-Pebble Mine television ads. KDLG’s Mike Mason explains. Read More
January 22, 2014
EPA Report: Proposed Pebble Mine Would Destroy Fishery
It’s hard to overstate the victory sportsmen and other environmentalists had over the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay last week, when the Environmental Protection Agency released its assessment on the impact that proposed operation would have on the treasured ecosystem. Read More
January 21, 2014
Editorial: EPA pans Bristol Bay mining
Three years of study and review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency put science on the side of opponents of a massive copper and gold mine planned for Alaska’s salmon-rich Bristol Bay. Read More
January 20, 2014
Begich Takes Stand Against Pebble Mine
U.S. Sen. Mark Begich has taken a definitive stand against the Pebble Mine, telling the Anchorage Daily News over the weekend that he can’t support the proposed mine in Southwestern Alaska. Read More
January 20, 2014
Begich on Pebble: “Wrong mine, wrong place, too big”
U.S. Sen. Mark Begich says he's concluded the proposed Pebble mine cannot be developed without harming the Bristol Bay region's world-famous red salmon runs. Read More
January 15, 2014
A big test for Obama on the environment
The long-term reality is that any mining inevitably exhausts the deposit. Right now the salmon business is sustainable indefinitely, if properly managed, and provides long-term economic security. … That’s a big reason why native groups especially, which also rely on the salmon as a major part of their diet, have mobilized strongly against the mine. Read More
January 15, 2014
EPA: Mining poses risks to Bristol Bay salmon
The report also found that polluted water from the mine site could get into streams through runoff or uncollected leachate, even with the use of modern mining practices. It noted culvert blockages or other failures could impede fish passage and failure of a tailings dam, where mining waste is stored, could be catastrophic. Read More
January 15, 2014
EPA report predicts Pebble Mine could devastate Alaska salmon runs
The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday released its final report on the impacts of the proposed Pebble Mine, finding that the mine could have devastating environmental consequences to Southwest Alaska's Bristol Bay region and the fishery it supports. Read More
January 15, 2014
Mining a significant risk to Bristol Bay salmon fishery, EPA says
A government report indicates a large-scale copper and gold mine in Alaska's Bristol Bay region could have devastating effects on the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery and adversely affect Alaska Natives whose culture is built around salmon. Read More
December 30, 2013
Proposed Alaska mine might boost one vital export but hurt another
This isolated place is home to the proposed site of North America’s largest open-pit copper mine. It also sits at the headwaters of the Bristol Bay fishery, home of the world’s largest population of wild salmon and a major piece of Alaska’s multi-billion-dollar seafood export business. Read More
December 24, 2013
Northern Dynasty Has One Foot in the Grave
Just over a week after Northern Dynasty Minerals announced it had regained full control over its controversial copper and gold Pebble mine in Alaska following its partner's decision to back out of the project, the miner found out its largest investor was also considering dumping the near-20% stake it held in the company. Read More
December 20, 2013
Rio Tinto urged to cut ties to Alaska mine project
The chief financial officers of New York City and the state of California have asked Rio Tinto plc to sell its shares of the company behind the proposed Pebble Mine project in southwest Alaska. Read More
December 11, 2013
Religious Leaders in Alaska Urge EPA’s McCarthy to Finish Bristol Bay Study
group of senior religious leaders in Alaska have joined the chorus asking the EPA to finish its assessment of the Bristol Bay watershed. The Obama Administration may use the study's findings to shut down operations at the Pebble Mine, using the EPA’s authority under the Clean Water Act. Read More
December 5, 2013
Bristol Bay Driftnet Permits Increase in Value
The value placed on those permits by the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission jumped up over $14,000 to about $117,000. That’s compared to the more than $102,000 dollars value recorded back in October. The November figure of about $117,000 is the largest value for Bristol Bay driftnet permits in over a year. Read More
December 4, 2013
Farm To Fork Across America: Wild Alaskan Salmon Running for Their Lives
Right now we have this beautiful abundance, a sustainable resource, the largest run of sockeye salmon in the entire world! Why put it at jeopardy? Read More
December 2, 2013
Mark Twain and the Pebble Mine
As Anglo American figured out … the Pebble Mine is unlikely to be built any time soon. That’s because opposition to this uniquely reckless project is deep and wide-ranging, consistently polling at over 80 percent opposition in the Bristol Bay region and 60 percent opposition state wide. Read More
November 27, 2013
Pebble Mine Executive Says Northern Dynasty Can Manage Giant Alaskan Copper Mine Alone, If Necessary
Critics have encouraged the Environmental Protection Agency to pre-emptively shut down the project with a veto, which it can do under its authority to regulate wetlands. The agency has declined to comment officially on the veto question so far, though new EPA chief Gina McCarthy visited Alaska to meet with affected Alaskan natives and developers earlier this year. Read More
November 21, 2013
Northern Dynasty CEO remains optimistic about future of Pebble Mine project in Alaska
Critics have sought to cast Anglo's departure as a sign the project is in trouble but Thiessen brushed any such suggestions aside. He said the goals now are to finish compiling project data in a reading room that will be made available for prospective partners doing their due diligence, and to finish by February the remaining documentation required to initiate permitting. Read More
November 18, 2013
Pebble’s Lone Investor Remains Optimistic Despite Challenges
But in addition to questions about funding, the Pebble Partnership is also faced with an unfavorable watershed assessment … [that says] mining could harm habitat and create large quantities of waste. Read More
October 30, 2013
What a Catch: Urban Foodies Catch a Taste of the World’s Best Salmon
A family that has been fishing Alaska’s wild waters for three generations is now shipping sockeye salmon to the heart of brownstone Brooklyn. Can it help save Bristol Bay? Read More
October 23, 2013
New group targets Pebble in ads, and EPA in its quest to restrict mining
The Pebble copper and gold prospect is drawing fresh heat from a newly formed organization made up of old adversaries of the mine project. Read More
October 21, 2013
Opponents of Alaska’s Bristol Bay gold mine continue their battle
A spokesman for indigenous Alaskans said there is still a danger that the Pebble Mine would go ahead despite British mining company Anglo American pulling out of the development last month. Read More
September 28, 2013
Most people in Bristol Bay region “not convinced” of proposed mine
In the vast, green, windswept tundra of Southwest Alaska, the planet's greatest remaining stronghold of wild salmon, an open-pit mine of staggering proportions is being hatched. Read More
September 17, 2013
Anglo departure not the end of Alaska’s Pebble mine, says foreign mining conglomerate
Supporters and opponents of a giant mine to tap Alaska's gold and copper wealth have found a rare point of agreement: The Pebble project remains alive even without its heavyweight financial backer. Read More