The EPA’s decision this week to veto the Pebble Mine and issue Clean Water Act protections for Bristol Bay is a victory for Alaskans and the Bristol Bay and Cook […]
The EPA’s decision this week to veto the Pebble Mine and issue Clean Water Act protections for Bristol Bay is a victory for Alaskans and the Bristol Bay and Cook Inlet ecosystems!
In all the ways you showed up: at rallies, signing petitions and postcards, with dollars and loud voices, you contributed to a landmark conservation victory!
Please take a moment to appreciate what we’ve accomplished together. Conservation wins are hard fought and often elusive. The Pebble story isn’t over – lawsuits are inevitable – but this week something remarkable happened. And you were part of it! Thank you!
Thanks to the United Tribes of Bristol Bay, the fishermen, local businesses, salmon researchers, community organizers, lawyers, musicians, artists, donors and all who spoke up to defend Bristol Bay.
Here are some of our favorite moments in the fight for Bristol Bay:
As far back as 2008, Inletkeeper helped collect water quality, water quantity and salmon presence data around the Pebble deposit to add science-based information for the federal EIS process. Alannah Hurley and Mae Syvrud host President Barack Obama in Dillingham, September 2015. Although it took more than 7 years for the veto to happen, it happened In January 2023! Homer rally during the draft EIS Public Hearing in April 2019 – including a brass band.Fisherman Georgia Heaverly speaking up for Bristol Bay at a rally of nearly 500 Alaskans outside the draft EIS Public Hearing in Anchorage in April 2019.Soldotna rally during Senator Lisa Murkowski’s visit in June 2019. MC Dave Aplin and Salmon Champion Lydia Olympic on stage at Salmonfest 2019 standing up for Bristol Bay.The 2020 launch of our co-produced film Pebble Redux highlighted the amazing coastline on the west side of Cook Inlet and how the Pebble mine’s transportation and power needs would impact the Bears of Amakdadori and the local bear viewing economy.And the best moment – when the news hits that EPA has vetoed Pebble mine and the joy and relief that rang throughout the state. Thank you EPA for listening to the voices of the people and relying on the science, not the politics, of the tremendous threat the Pebble project poses to the people, salmon and health of Bristol Bay!!
Administrative Order 360 directs numerous Alaska state departments to include a “provision for automatic approval if deadlines are not met” in all permits. In plain language: merit, expertise, and public input are thrown out the window in favor of arbitrary deadlines — a loophole that could enable the administration to stall action on permits it wants to approve, guaranteeing passage without review.
Inletkeeper is proud to be among the community of advocates who gather each year in Salmonfest’s “Causeway” to talk about some of Alaska’s biggest environmental issues. At the Inletkeeper booth, this year’s outreach focused on the Johnson Tract project.
This week we celebrate as the Department of Justice confirmed that the EPA will continue to defend Bristol Bay and are cautiously optimistic that the ongoing litigation will continue to support the EPA’s robust 404(c) Final Determination.
Every summer, one of the densest concentrations of brown bears on Earth congregates along the Western shores of Cook Inlet. Over time, the bears in this region have become habituated to the presence of humans, meaning they are more likely to go about their daily lives with people nearby. A proposed gold mine threatens to upset this delicate balance.
