Tell Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources to block new mining projects in Bristol Bay!

Bristol Bay is home to wolves, bears, endangered beluga whales, and more wild sockeye salmon than anywhere else on Earth. Its unique ecosystem supports Indigenous communities who have relied on the land for generations.

The proposed Groundhog Mountain mining project would drill 21 new sites, risking earthquakes and groundwater contamination. The mines would require enormous industrial equipment that belch fumes and dump toxic waste, putting local communities in danger.

Local people have been fighting the mining industry in Bristol Bay for decades. Now, you can help push the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and other agencies to stop this new mining project!

Comments

Dear Commissioner Feige:

I write to thank you for taking public comments on the exploratory mining activities of the Groundhog mining project in Southwest Alaska. Given U.S. District Court Judge Gleason’s recent ruling in Bristol Bay Economic Dev. Corp. v. Pirzadeh, et al. reinstating the 2014 Environmental Protection Agency Proposed Determination, I now ask the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and related federal agencies to take immediate action and halt the activities of the Chuchuna Minerals Corporation to conduct mining exploration activities next to the Pebble deposit. We are also urging EPA, under Section 404(c), to finish the job it started in 2014 and protect the Bristol Bay region from large-scale mining like the Groundhog and Pebble Mine deposits. We are also urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to uphold its rejection of the Pebble permit while also recognizing it cannot issue another permit for Groundhog mining activities on similar grounds.

This request echoes and amplifies the letters sent in October 2021 from United Tribes of Bristol Bay, Bristol Bay Native Association, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, and Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation urging EPA to complete the Section 404(c) process before the start of the 2022 Bristol Bay fishing season.

Last season, Bristol Bay shattered records and celebrated the return of 66 million salmon. In 2022, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecast over 75 million+ fish returning to the Bristol Bay region. This is undoubtedly amazing as other regions are experiencing declining salmon returns. Integral to that extraordinary run is the environmental sustainability of the region—something the science unequivocally confirms that the proposed Groundhog and Pebble Mine would jeopardize. Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon fishery, supplies a majority of the world’s wild sockeye salmon, generates $2.2+ billion annually, and supports 15,000+ American jobs.

But salmon are more than the economic engine of the region: Salmon are life in Bristol Bay. As they have for millennia, the wild salmon returning each year to Bristol Bay ensure Alaska Native communities’ ways of life. Salmon feed its people, anchor its culture, sustain its wildlife, and are indispensable to both the practical and spiritual wellbeing of Bristol Bay’s indigenous peoples. Given what’s at stake, there is no question that DNR has the support of the people to move diligently and quickly to protect Bristol Bay from large-scale mining like the Groundhog and Pebble Mines. And given the clear science and existing administrative record supporting immediate DNR rejection of exploratory mining activities—coupled with both the Ninth Circuit’s decision concerning the Trump Administration’s 404(c) withdrawal and Judge Gleason’s order granting EPA’s motion for remand and vacatur—there is no question that DNR reject exploratory activities in the Groundhog deposit is a right one. It would be a waste of resources for all parties involved, including potential investors, to continue this process.

I look forward to seeing swift DNR, EPA and USACE actions and a robust administrative process that ensures the people of Bristol Bay can begin the 2022 fishing season with durable protections in place.

Sincerely,
{user_data~First name} {user_data~Last name}
{user_data~City}, {user_data~State} {user_data~Postcode}

First name

Last name

Email address

Zip Code

What is your cell phone number?

Alerts about ways you can take action

Friends of the Earth Action Activists

By submitting this form, you are signing up to receive updates and alerts from Friends of the Earth and Friends of the Earth Action. You may unsubscribe at any time.

By providing your mobile number and submitting this form, you are signing up to receive texts, calls, and voice mails from Friends of the Earth and Friends of the Earth Action. For texts: Msg & data rates may apply. Text STOP to 30644 to stop receiving messages. Text HELP to 30644 for more information. Terms & conditions.