Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Pebble signs deal with Bristol Bay village corporations for transportation, support services for multi-billion-dollar mine project

July 7, 2020 — Developers of the Pebble project near Lake Iliamna announced an agreement July 6 with Alaska Peninsula Corp. for transportation services related to development or operations of the mine planned by Pebble Ltd. Partnership.

APC is an Alaska Native village corporation formed by the merger of five small Bristol Bay village corporations, in Port Heiden, South Naknek, Ugashik, Kokhanok and Newhalen.

A Memorandum of Understanding signed with Pebble Partnership would have APC form a consortium of village corporations to operate all transportation services for the mine, Pebble Partnership said in a press release.

A contract would include managing operations at a planned Cook Inlet ore terminal, maintaining an access road from the port to the mine site north of Lake Iliamna and providing trucking services between the port and road.

Pebble is a large undeveloped copper, gold and molybdenum deposit 18 miles north of the community of Iliamna. The developer, Pebble Ltd. Partnership, is a subsidiary of Northern Dynasty Minerals, which owns the prospect.

Read the full story at The Frontiersman

ALASKA: Bristol Bay seal suit: Endangered listing could disrupt Pebble Mine permit

February 13, 2020 — On Wednesday, Feb. 12, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reportedly conceded that there may be a new hurdle on the horizon for Pebble Mine permitting.

On Feb. 6, the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit seeking Endangered Species Act protection for Lake Iliamna harbor seals, one of only two harbor seal populations living exclusively in fresh water, whose population now numbers about 400, according to the center.

“Alaska’s unique and imperiled freshwater seals need federal protection,” said Kristin Carden, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Pebble Mine threatens the very survival of the Iliamna Lake seals and the fish species they depend on to survive. Even if the mine is stopped, climate change will drive these rare and beautiful animals toward extinction.”

Subsistence hunters in the region harvest lake seals. The center advises that its lawsuit would not interfere with subsistence hunting or fishing by Alaska natives. Whether it may affect commercial fisheries in Bristol Bay remains to be seen.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

ALASKA: At Iliamna Lake hearings, residents speak out on Pebble Mine

April 8, 2019 — Situated in Southwest Alaska, Lake Iliamna is renowned for its pure water, freshwater seals and fish. Now it is the center of one of the most contentious debates in the state.

The Pebble Mine would sit 17 miles north of the lake. It would tap into large deposits of copper, gold and molybdenum. And it would operate at the headwaters of the largest sockeye salmon run in the world. For some, this spells disaster for that habitat and residents’ traditional way of life. But others say it is a chance at renewed economic vitality.

In Kokhanok, around 50 people attended the meeting on Pebble Mine, though far fewer testified. Marlene Nielsen was one of those who spoke in support of the mine proposal.

“What do we have here?” Nielsen asked. “The village council that only has five, six jobs. The school that only has maybe two or three aides. And the store, maybe two. That’s not very much economy here. We need something going here for our kids. But we also need to make sure it’s safe.”

Across the lake in Iliamna, Chasity Anelon shares those concerns. She has worked as an operations coordinator for the Pebble Project for the past 10 years.

“So I’ve lived in Iliamna all my life. I have a daughter and, you know, I choose to live here. This is my home, this is where I want to be. And I am able to live here because I have a job,” Anelon said.

Read the full story at KTOO