Great news! The EPA is considering strong, protective action after studies confirm that developing the massive Pebble Mine would threaten the world's most productive sockeye salmon fishery, worth $480 million each year in tourism, sport and commercial fishing opportunities.
If Pebble Mine is permitted, a sprawling mining district would be built on lands adjacent to Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, a park created in 1980 to protect a portion of Bristol Bay's wild salmon ecosystem and the Alaska Native cultures who depend upon the fish.
The National Parks Conservation Association believes that mining operations with the potential to cause serious and extensive harm to clean water and wild salmon habitat do not belong in the headwaters of Bristol Bay and they certainly do not belong upstream of our national park. We are grateful that the EPA is committed to ensuring a clean, sustainable future for Bristol Bay.
Please take a minute to thank EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy for working hard to protect the wild salmon of Bristol Bay, Alaska.
Dear [Decision Maker],
Thank you for taking action to protect the extraordinary wild salmon fishery of Bristol Bay from Pebble Mine.
[Your comment will be added here]
I believe that wild salmon are more precious than gold. I proudly support the hard work of the EPA, as well as the Alaska Natives, fishermen, businesses, and allies fighting to save Bristol Bay salmon. Over the past two years, you have received over 60,000 letters from national park champions and members of the National Parks Conservation Association. We are some of the vast numbers of people who are concerned that building Pebble Mine poses serious, unavoidable risks to the clean water and wild salmon that Bristol Bay's families, jobs, ecosystem, and Alaska Native cultures depend upon.
The science is clear: Pebble Mine is a real threat. But I also worry that it would be a catalyst for a sprawling, industrial mining district. Thank you, EPA, for analyzing how Pebble's massive mining operations could increase the likelihood that even more mines and widespread impacts would emerge nearby, including mine sites directly upstream of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.
In Alaska's Bristol Bay, tribal, state, and federal leaders have long agreed that the area's #1 priority is protecting the fishery. Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks and Preserves were created to protect portions of the region's salmon habitat and traditional cultures so closely tied to the fish. But our national parks alone can't protect Bristol Bay from the boom and bust threats of the Pebble mining district.
Thank you, EPA, for leading the way to protect Bristol Bay.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
