{"id":19830,"date":"2023-01-31T15:09:12","date_gmt":"2023-01-31T15:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/?p=19830"},"modified":"2025-10-24T15:58:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T15:58:13","slug":"victory-for-bristol-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/2023\/01\/31\/victory-for-bristol-bay\/","title":{"rendered":"Victory for Bristol Bay!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We stopped Pebble Mine.
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January 31, 2023, is Victory Day in our long, long fight against Pebble Mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that Clean Water Act (\u201c404c\u201d) protections will safeguard the headwaters of Alaska\u2019s Nushagak and Kvichak Rivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that Bristol Bay\u2019s headwaters\u2014the nursery sustaining the world\u2019s greatest remaining wild sockeye salmon fishery\u2014are now off-limits to Pebble Mine<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a victory for a whole ecosystem and one of the most important salmon strongholds left on the planet.<\/p>WSC President & CEO Guido Rahr<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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In Lake Iliamna, just south of the Pebble deposit, Bristol Bay’s wild sockeye salmon runs contribute nutrients that feed an entire ecosystem, including up to 170 tons of phosphorous per year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

EPA\u2019s decision comes after more than a decade of relentless campaigning by Tribes, commercial fishermen, and sportfishing operators in Bristol Bay, and by members of the Bristol Bay Defense Fund, our coalition led by the United Tribes of Bristol Bay<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2011, local coalitions have helped rally wave after wave of opposition to the quest by Northern Dynasty, Pebble\u2019s backer, to build the world\u2019s largest open pit mine in this pristine, roadless wilderness. Over the years, the science has been clear on the mine\u2019s threats to Bristol Bay and its salmon fishery. (WSC released one of the first comprehensive scientific reports<\/a> on the topic in 2012.) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cited these unacceptable risks<\/a> in denying a  key federal permit Pebble in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bristol Bay fishermen. Bristol Bay’s fishery supplies as much as 57% of the world\u2019s sockeye salmon catch<\/a>, driving upwards of $990 million in annual economic activity in Alaska alone, and more than $2 billion in total economic impact. PC: Perry Broderick.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With you by our side, we\u2019ve fought Northern Dynasty\u2019s misinformation and outright deception<\/a>, its backroom deals<\/a>, ever-shifting politics<\/a>, and regulatory whiplash within federal agencies<\/a>. Hope first built for a quick end to Pebble during the Obama Administration, then nearly died under the Trump Administration. In 2020, we rallied again\u2014this time with leaders across the political spectrum<\/a>\u2014as evidence of Pebble\u2019s dangers<\/a> went mainstream, along with Northern Dynasty\u2019s true intentions for industrializing Bristol Bay<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout all this, you showed up. Over the past 12 years, EPA has received more than FOUR MILLION letters of support for protecting Bristol Bay, its communities, and its irreplaceable wild salmon fishery<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter twenty years, we can now breathe a sigh of relief,\u201d says Alannah Hurley, Executive Director for the United Tribes of Bristol Bay. <\/strong>\u201cToday\u2019s decision from the Environmental Protection Agency to protect Bristol Bay and veto the dangerous and destructive Pebble Mine lifts a dark cloud that has hung over my head, and the head of every person, Tribe, and community in Bristol Bay, for the last two decades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/strong>After twenty years, we can now breathe a sigh of relief. Today\u2019s decision lifts a dark cloud that has hung over my head, and the head of every person, Tribe, and community in Bristol Bay, for the last two decades.<\/p>United Tribes of Bristol Bay Executive Director Alannah Hurley<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Today, EPA has issued a HARD NO to any hard rock mining and waste disposal in the Nushagak and Kvichak headwaters. It\u2019s not only a definitive rejection of Pebble, but also a basis for rejecting any future hard rock mining proposals in Bristol Bay\u2019s headwaters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bristol Bay supports subsistence salmon fishing for 31 federally recognized Alaska Native tribes, continuing a tradition several thousand years old. Salmon is a critical food source for Alaska’s rural communities, supplying up to 65 percent of protein consumed. PC: Ben Knight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also a win for the entire planet. Increasingly, governments are acting in recognition of the massive role that carbon-absorbing wetlands<\/a> like Bristol Bay play in climate resilience strategies, including those of the Biden Administration<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEPA and the Biden Administration deserve a huge thank you<\/a> for listening to Alaska Tribes, residents, and fishermen, and stepping up to protect this American treasure,\u201d Rahr says. \u201cIf we had lost Bristol Bay\u2014and this mine was a very real threat\u2014wild salmon would have taken a definitive turn for the worse. But now we can take this momentum and build a more hopeful future for wild salmon everywhere, along with the communities who cherish them and the life-sustaining rivers we all call home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to WSC Alaska Program Director Emily Anderson, blocking Pebble and mines like it was EPA\u2019s only logical path, given the unequivocal conclusions of its own scientists<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

EPA\u2019s move also affirms the Clean Water Act recommendations<\/a> made by EPA\u2019s Region 10 Office in Seattle in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaska Native Tribes, communities, businesses, and fishermen never gave up on Bristol Bay, and millions of people stood with us. Now everyone who loves their home river knows the power of all of us standing together.<\/p>WSC Alaska Program Director Emily Anderson<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a great day for the people of Bristol Bay,\u201d says WSC Alaska Program Director Emily Anderson. \u201cFor decades, the mine cast a shadow of uncertainty. But Alaska Native Tribes, communities, businesses, and fishermen never gave up on Bristol Bay, and millions of people stood with us. Now everyone who loves their home river knows the power of all of us standing together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rally for Bristol Bay in Anchorage, Alaska. PC: SalmonState.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And should a mining operation like Northern Dynasty attempt any sort of regulatory end run in the future, Anderson says our winning coalition stands ready to again defend Bristol Bay\u2014this time in court, backed by EPA\u2019s foundational decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s confident that we\u2019ll win again, because this place is simply too important. And now, after so many years of fighting, the whole planet knows it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a decade of uncertainty, it\u2019s time to celebrate. Together, we stopped Pebble Mine\u2014forever<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PEBBLE IN THE NEWS:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBreaking News: EPA Issues 404(c) Protections for Bristol Bay<\/a>,\u201d Fly Fisherman Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFinally, Protections Realized for Bristol Bay\u2013EPA Rejects Pebble Mine<\/a>,\u201d Fly Lords Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cE.P.A. Blocks Long-Disputed Mine Project in Alaska<\/a>,\u201d New York Times<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEPA may have dealt final \u2018nail in the coffin\u2019 to Alaska\u2019s Pebble Mine<\/a>,\u201d Washington Post<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEPA blocks Alaska Pebble Mine in salmon-rich Bristol Bay region<\/a>,\u201d Seattle Times<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEPA issues long-awaited final determination halting Pebble mine<\/a>,\u201d Anchorage Daily News<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe EPA vetoed Alaska\u2019s proposed Pebble Mine<\/a>,\u201c High Country News<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“EPA Blocks Controversial Alaska Gold Mine To Protect Salmon<\/a>,” Forbes<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Safe, thanks to you: the world’s most productive salmon ecosystem. Long live Bristol Bay! PC: Cassie Bergman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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