Pebble Mine project dealt new blow by conservationists and Alaska Native groups
Breanne Deppisch
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An Alaska regional land trust and the top U.S. environmental nonprofit organization announced Thursday that they have raised $20 million to purchase conservation easements near Bristol Bay, a move that will restrict the development of the Pebble Mine project.
After an 18-month fundraiser, the Conservation Fund and Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust said they have secured the funds to buy three conservative easements near Pebble Mine, protecting 44,000 acres of land from federal development and covering a portion of Pebble Mine’s proposed mining road.
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It’s the latest in a long series of setbacks for developers of Pebble Mine, the gold and copper mining project being developed by the Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals.
The project has sparked fierce backlash due to its close proximity to Bristol Bay, home to important salmon species, as well as the world’s largest sockeye salmon fisheries. Sportsmen, including Donald Trump Jr., have also sought to block the project.
Its fate has been hotly debated for the last 15 years, and the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration has already taken steps toward blocking the mine.
Earlier this month, the EPA’s regional head recommended that the agency veto the Pebble Mine project from moving forward.
Major donors included the Wyss Foundation, Patagonia’s Holdfast Collective, and the Alaska Venture Fund, which collectively donated half of the funds, though total dollar amounts of the individual contributions were not disclosed.
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“Protecting this last great stronghold for salmon is critically important for the health of the marine resources, the land, and the people who live in the Bristol Bay region,” Larry Selzer, president and CEO of the Conservation Fund, told the Washington Post.
“It’s important to recognize that mining is a valuable economic activity and provides benefits to society that can’t be derived in any other way,” Selzer added. “However, not all projects should be approved. And the Pebble Mine is the wrong mine in the wrong place: up high in the watershed above the greatest salmon stronghold in the world.”