Tell the EPA to Protect Bristol Bay from Pebble Mine

From PennEnvironment (http://www.pennenvironment.org):

It’s a bad idea that belongs in some kind of bad idea hall of fame: a toxic open-pit mine the size of Manhattan, dug right next to Alaska’s Bristol Bay — one of the largest wild salmon fisheries in the world.^1,2

But under the Trump administration, Pebble Mine gained support and came very close to becoming a reality. Thankfully, at the end of 2020, the Army Corps of Engineers saved Bristol Bay from destruction by rejecting the mine’s permit application.³

Unfortunately, that was just a temporary reprieve. If we want to permanently protect Bristol Bay, we need the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reject Pebble Mine under the Clean Water Act.

Go to https://pennenvironment.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=45766 to tell the EPA: Protect Bristol Bay from Pebble Mine.

Bristol Bay sustains a positively staggering number of fish. Nearly 40 million wild salmon come here to spawn each year from all across the Pacific Ocean. Half the world’s sockeye salmon are caught in Bristol Bay.⁴ If you’ve ever eaten salmon, there’s a fair chance some of it came from this place.

But anyone who knows the first thing about ecosystems will tell you that saving Bristol Bay isn’t just about the salmon.

Salmon are the keystone species in this rich, diverse wetland ecosystem, home to bears, wolves, moose and nearly 200 species of birds. And when Bristol Bay’s grown salmon swim back downstream into the Pacific, they support life in the ocean, too.^5,6

In 2014, the EPA concluded that Pebble Mine would lead to the “complete loss” of the bay’s fish habitat.⁷

But in 2019, under the Trump administration, the EPA gave it the go-ahead anyway, ignoring the agency’s own science. If the Army Corps had approved it as well, this devastating mine could have become a reality.⁸

Pebble Mine would be a catastrophe. Let’s make sure the project gets buried for good. Tell the EPA: Protect Bristol Bay for good.

Bristol Bay hasn’t been saved so far by luck. Local tribes, commercial fishermen and women, recreational anglers, Alaskans and Americans of all stripes who care about the natural world have been coming together to speak out for Bristol Bay for the past 10 years.

In the words of the senior senator from Alaska, Lisa Murkowski, last year’s Army Corps decision confirmed “that this is the wrong mine in the wrong place.”⁹

We need to permanently protect Bristol Bay. Take action.

1. “An Assessment of Potential Mining Impacts on Salmon Ecosystems of Bristol Bay, Alaska — Executive Summary,” Environmental Protection Agency, January 14, 2014.
2. “About Bristol Bay,” Environmental Protection Agency, last accessed March 24, 2020.
3. Liz Ruskin, “Army Corps agrees to reconsider Pebble Mine permit denial,” Alaska Public Media, March 2, 2021.
4. “About Bristol Bay,” Environmental Protection Agency, last accessed March 24, 2020.
5. “About Bristol Bay,” Environmental Protection Agency, last accessed March 24, 2020.
6. “Life cycle of salmon,” U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, last accessed March 24, 2020.
7. Scott Bronstein, Curt DeVine, Drew Griffin, and Ashley Hackett, “EPA dropped salmon protection after Trump met with Alaska governor,” CNN, August 9, 2019.
8. Scott Bronstein, Curt DeVine, Drew Griffin, and Ashley Hackett, “EPA dropped salmon protection after Trump met with Alaska governor,” CNN, August 9, 2019.
9. Henry Fountain, “Alaska’s Controversial Pebble Mine Fails to Win Critical Permit, Likely Killing It,” The New York Times, November 25, 2020.