"Bristol Bay has the world's largest wild salmon run on the planet, and London-based mining giant Anglo American wants to put the world's second-largest open pit mine there.

The Bristol Bay watershed is no place for North America's largest open-pit mine. I am not the only one from my region who feels this way. We elected our state legislator, Bryce Edgmon, because he refused to ignore the Pebble Mine issue. "I will not stand by silently on the Pebble Mine debate," he said. Bryce is one of many local leaders who have taken a stand against the mine.

As a shareholder of Bristol Bay Native Corporation, I know that a high majority of shareholders/Bristol Bay Natives oppose the project. Bristol Bay is our home and we are the stewards of our own land.

Bristol Bay wild salmon provide for thousands, both residents and nonresidents. The whole area benefits from this reliable and sustainable resource, renewing and nourishing not only us but every living thing in the region. This has been a healthy cycle for thousands of years and will continue to be healthy and provide for all -- if we take care of it.

Anglo American says they show stewardship to the lands they develop, but a study of the company's track record last year showed environmental, social and public health problems at many of its major metal mining operations."

Get the Story:
Everett Thompson: History shows salmon would be vulnerable to a big mine (The Anchorage Daily News 4/12)

Another Opinion:
Our view: Pebble complaint (The Anchorage Daily News 4/12)