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!!
As the landowner, Cook Inlet Regional Inc. has primary decision making power over the future of the Johnson Tract Gold Mine. For a project with so many local consequences, CIRI shareholders deserve to be fully informed and have meaningful opportunity to weigh in.
Last month, the Department of Justice issued a briefing affirming their defense to the EPA’s 2023 Clean Water Act veto for the massive open-pit copper mine proposed in the Bristol Bay watershed as part of an ongoing lawsuit. As we celebrate the DOJ’s affirming stance on Pebble’s unacceptable risk to Bristol Bay, we keep our eyes on the long-term solution: State-driven protections for the entire Bristol Bay watershed. The Bristol Bay Forever Act is currently under consideration in the AK State Legislature.
Whether you’re a lifelong Alaskan or newly curious about salmon and the Cook Inlet Watershed, the 2026 season promises meaningful ways to engage, learn, and take action for clean water and healthy salmon.
To understand the Johnson Tract Mine, we must understand that the foundational purpose of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was to open land to extraction. ANCSA reshaped the public narrative around what it means to be Alaska Native, creating real trade-offs that Alaska Native people continue to navigate today and fundamentally shaped how Alaska’s lands are managed.
