Bristol Bay in southern Alaska is one of the richest fishing grounds in the world. The rivers emptying into it are the spawning grounds for runs of Sockeye salmon millions strong. These runs of salmon and other fish support a huge commercial and sport fishing market, as well as large numbers of marine mammals.
The headwaters of two of these rivers, the Kvichak and the Newhalen, may be threatened by a proposed copper/gold/molybdenum mine, which if built as proposed, would be one of the largest mines in the world.
Located near the headwaters of two of these rivers, The Pebble Mine project, as it is called, would be divided into two sections, Pebble East and Pebble West. Pebble East would be a tunnel mine, extracting huge quantities of low-grade ore from deep within the earth.
Exploratory drilling is currently ongoing in this area to determine the extent of the deposit. The claim holder, Northern Dynasty Minerals, Ltd., already estimates the value of the extractible resources in Pebble East and West in the hundreds of billions of dollars at today's metal prices.
Pebble West contains lower-grade ore and would be extracted via a proposed open pit mine over a mile in diameter and thousands of feet deep.
In order to have a place to deposit the tailings from these mines, Northern Dynasty has applied for water rights to drain a few creeks and hundreds of lakes and ponds in the mine site valley.
Northern Dynasty has stated that they are committed to environmental responsibility, and have a "zero net loss" policy on salmon populations. Mining as an industry, however has a none-too-good track record. According to a U.S. government study, more than 40 percent of the rivers on the west coast have been polluted from mining.
According to the EPA, the hard-rock mining industry is the single largest source of toxic releases in the United States and this industry has caused enormous damage to rivers and fisheries around the world. Mercury and cyanide are two common chemicals used in ore extraction.
The majority of the population in the Bristol Bay area is opposed to the Pebble Mine project. They argue that there is no possible way a project of this scale will have no adverse effect on the health or population of the fish that they depend on for their livelihood.
The Bay is also home to many First Nation, or Native American, tribes. These tribes have formed alliances with other groups such as the Renewable Resources Coalition of Alaska and Alaskans for Responsible Mining, among others, in an attempt to stop the site from ever being mined.
Northern Dynasty does not plan to apply for a resource extraction permit until late 2008 or 2009 and argues that there is nothing yet to oppose. For Scott Brennan, campaign director for Alaskans for Responsible Mining, that isn't good enough.
"This is the single most important environmental challenge facing fisheries today if you are a sport fisherman," said Brennan in a telephone interview. "The Teddy Roosevelt tradition is on the line: We are being presented a choice—wild fisheries and wildlife or gold. We cannot have both."
Brennan adds that taxation under Alaska law would not net a big enough profit to put Sockeye salmon runs at risk, saying, "Is this return worth the loss of Alaska's crown salmon jewel?"
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