It seems there is still a ways to go in terms of getting the message about the importance of the Bristol Bay watershed through to the mining companies behind Pebble.

From the Peninsula Clarion today:

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Mike Heatwole, Pebble Partnership vice president of public affairs, spoke Tuesday at The Alaska Industry Support Alliance monthly meeting to do just that for the central peninsula.

“This is not a fish versus mining issue,” Heatwole said. “If it was, fish would always win.”

Heatwole said Pebble Partnership’s goal is to find a way for mining and fish to co-exist.

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Heatwole is right: this is not a fish versus mining issue. We’re not anti-mining. Mining gives us the things we need for a modern life: This blog wouldn’t exist without the copper that came from a mine somewhere. But the fish habitat in the Bristol Bay watershed is literally the last of its kind in the world. And in a place like that, the risks are too high. In a place like that, mining and fish cannot coexist. We’ll have to get our copper somewhere else.

So again, (and sorry for the redundancy, but the Pebble Partnership just isn’t hearing us): we don’t want to work together. we don’t want to talk about compromises and mitigation. we just want our fish, and our way of life, to stay the way it is, the way it’s been for generation after generation. No Pebble mine. And that’s it.

Check out this great segment from Sky News, a UK television network. They interviewed Lydia Olympic and Everett Thompson, and used footage from Red Gold. It’s awesome! (more…)

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Nunamta Aulukestai “Caretakers of our Lands” I want to THANK the following organizations who have contributed to this trip which I feel have been very successful:

Alaskan Catch
Alaska Trout Unlimited
Alaska Independent Fishermen’s Marketing Association
Choggiung Ltd.
Earthworks
Fish4Ever
Hardy
Leader Creek Fishery
Nunamta Aulukestai
Peter Pan Seafoods
Sage
SeaWeb
SnoPac
The Wilderness Society
Wildcatch

Thank you Rebelsto the Pebble for providing the notes which I used during our meeting with Cynthia Carroll, Sir Mark Moody Stuart, John Shively and others as our future leaders. I have to impress on you the students to continue the fight. Its just beginning and we will fight to the end.

Our message to Anglo American is now on their table for their action before the end of the year. We may have been a small group to travel to London but OUR MESSAGE WAS VERY STRONG AND EFFECTIVE!

Once again THANK YOU ALL.

Bobby Andrew
Spokesman for Nunamta Aulukestai “Caretakers of our Lands”

Well, it has been another busy day. Lydia and I got prepared for our interview with Sky News Network that serves 145 million worldwide. We reviewed all the information we know by heart but had to go over it again to calm our nerves. We were supposed to be on live television but other top stories covered us up. Instead of going to the newsroom there at Sky News they came to our hotel and recorded us. I covered the commercial fishers concerns and Lydia covered the subsistance point of veiw. We are making waves around the world and we will not stop until we are certain that our ecosystem that supports us, our fish and our animals is protected!

Listen to Bobby Andrew respond to the Anglo American AGM:

Listen to Thomas’ reaction to the Anglo American AGM:

Listen to Lydia Olympic’s reactio to the Anglo American AGM: