June 14, 2019 — Bristol Bay fishermen who oppose the Pebble Mine are adding an unusual task to their pre-season chores: They’re writing messages on cork floats and mailing them to Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
If you’ve seen commercial nets, you’ll recognize these foam corks. They’re about the size and shape of a Nerf football. Strung in a line, they keep the top of a net afloat.
It turns out, you can put stamps directly on a cork, add an address and the Postal Service will deliver it.
“The corks are everywhere. I mean, you can find old corks on the beach, in the grass, and then in these boatyards…,” said Nels Ure, in Naknek.
Ure has collected dozens of corks since he saw on social media how fellow fishermen are using them to send anti-Pebble messages to Murkowski’s office in Washington, D.C. He planned to bring a pile of corks to a community festival so other people in Naknek can do the same.