Chilkat Indian Village sues to protect salmon runs from mining project in Alaska

Wednesday, December 6, 2017  

The Chilkat Indian Village and three conservation groups are in court to stop a mining project in a critical salmon habitat in southeast Alaska.

The lawsuit accuses the Bureau of Land Management of failing to consider the impacts of hardrock mining on the Chilkat River watershed. The tribe has depended on salmon runs there for generations.

"Hardrock mining is a threat to our Chilkat wild stock salmon and the sustainability of our community," President Kimberley Strong said in a press release.

A Canadian company, Constantine Metal Resources, plans to mine for minerals as part of the Palmer Project. The site is located near the village of Klukwan, where the tribe is based, and the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.

Read More on the Story:
Native village, conservation groups sue BLM over mine on Chilkat River (The Juneau Empire December 4, 2017)
BLM faces lawsuit over permitting for mineral exploration near Haines (KHNS December 5, 2017)
Critics sue over mine exploration near Alaska eagle preserve (The Associated Press December 6, 2017)