Interior Secretary Ken Salazar should now know how big the opposition to mining in the Bristol Bay watershed is. On Sept. 12, a broad coalition of hunters, anglers, guides and outfitters, representing millions of Americans sent a letter to the secretary asking that he direct his new Bureau of Land Management chief, Bob Abbey, to reverse a Bush-administration move to open 1.1 million acres of federal land in the region to mining. The federal land is adjacent to state land where the Pebble Limited Partnership hopes to build the Pebble Mine. Opposition to that mine is widespread and growing.
See Press release here.
See letter to Salazar here.
The Pebble project is drawing opponents in huge numbers, a fact that should be of increasing interest to mining investors who may soon be eyeing the Anglo American project as too risky for investment. Salazar can’t impact the state land directly, but he could withdraw 1.1 million acres of federal land from consideration as a future mining district. So doing would protect valuable and sustainable fish and wildlife habitat that support commercial, sport and subsistence fishing and hunting.
Tags: bristol bay, pebble mine, salmon
Anglo's CEO promised not to build the Pebble mine against community opposition. Surveys show: communities are overwhelmingly opposed. Click here to tell Cynthia to honor her promise!
