Bristol Bay Action Now is working to secure durable protections for Bristol Bay and its people from the dangerous threat of Pebble Mine.
Bristol Bay and its pristine landscape are home to 60 percent of the world’s sockeye salmon catch – a unique place that must be protected.
Not only does it produce nearly 60 percent of the world’s wild sockeye salmon catch but it also employs tens of thousands of people in commercial fishing, hunting and sportfishing, outdoor recreation, and tourism.
The people of Bristol Bay and Alaska depend on the bay’s irreplaceable resources to support their families. Salmon play a central role in the cultural and spiritual identity of the Yup’ik, Dena’ina, and Alutiiq peoples, and are critical to their way of life. The Indigenous people who have called the region home for thousands of years are among the last intact and sustainable salmon-based cultures remaining in the world.
All of this is at risk by the Pebble Mine project, a massive open-pit mine intended to extract gold, copper & molybdenum at the headwaters of pristine Bristol Bay.
If fully built, the mine would produce up to 10.2 billion tons of toxic waste that would remain on the site forever. This mine threatens the entire watershed, the salmon, and the tens of thousands of jobs that depend on them.
The threat of this mine has loomed over Bristol Bay for decades, leaving the future of the region, local Indigenous Peoples, and business owners mired in a state of fear and uncertainty. Now, it is urgent that Bristol Bay is protected before another fishing season is threatened by uncertainty.
We are working on a dual track approach to protect Bristol Bay:
EPA action and subsequent legislation creates an opportunity to end the Pebble threat for good and protect the world’s most important salmon-producing region, forever.
