Shitty First Draft Research Paper: "Bristol Bay: Salmon VS Gold"

Far, far away from urban cities, skyscrapers, power plants, rush hour traffic, and suburban sprawl, is the untouched, virgin wilderness of Alaska; particularly the Bristol Bay region. This region is home to the Bristol Bay fisheries, a diverse habitat of wildlife, and unique communities that live a subsistence lifestyle off the land. Roughly the size of the state of Ohio this region has 34 million acres of, what the Bristol Bay Native Corporation calls, “black sand beaches, mountain ranges, lowland tundra, wetlands, abundant flora and fauna, and many wild and scenic rivers. Lake Iliamna, located in the North of the region, is the largest freshwater lake in Alaska.” Increasingly less attention is being paid to this pristine environment and more attention is being directed at what is underneath this complex tangle of ecosystems. The Bristol Bay area is on the verge of becoming the newest gold rush. Northern Dynasty Minerals, a mining company, has proposed a Pebble Mine in the area and has valued the region to be worth over $100 billion dollars in minerals and precious metals. Although the Pebble Mine would create new jobs and potentially billions of dollars it should not be built because of the negative impact it will have on the Bristol Bay Fisheries, the environment, and the culture of the surrounding areas.

The economics of Bristol Bay, like the rest of the state of Alaska, is unique compared to the rest of the United States. Because of the abundant natural environment and plentiful natural resources, this region supports itself on the renewable resources that can be gathered from the land. Besides the jobs provided by the Bristol Bay Native Corporation and the government, the majority of the people who live in this area make their living from commercial and subsistence fishing. The Alaska Department of Fish and game reported that in the 2007 fishing season 31, 615, 500 fish were caught in Bristol Bay. The Department of Fish and Game also reported that from the amount earned in the 2007 fishing season was $108,325,697. For the 8,000 residents, the human population as reported by the Bristol Bay Native Corporation, of this vast region, fishing supplies them with their livelihood and is a staple of the economy. The entire economy is based on the yearly fish yield.

The Pebble Mine Project is proposed by Northern Dynasty Minerals, a Canadian based company that has conducted exploratory drilling in the Bristol Bay region since 2004 (“Automatically”). Northern Dynasty Minerals reported that the construction of the Pebble Mine would create 2,000 construction jobs for Alaskans and 1,000 Permanent jobs. Also, the Pebble Mine Project promises to, “generate economic benefits and jobs for three to four generations” The introduction of this new industry to the Bristol Bay region would diversify the local economy and create news jobs; directly from the Pebble Mine and indirectly. The diversification of the economy would mean that that region would not have to rely strictly on fishing.

Subsistence fishing has been the livelihood of the Bristol Bay region long before Alaska was a state, even before the United States was a country. The Pebble Mine promising to provide jobs for three to four generations is trite compared to the long history Bristol Bay and its people have had with fishing. Also, the people of the Bristol Bay region have been relying on the land, in a subsistence fashion, for survival for generations. The materials the Pebble Mine would dig for are nonrenewable and would eventually run out. The duration a metal mine can sustain production ranges from 10-15 years (Power 2). Also the introduction and application of new technology is constantly replacing mine workers with machines (Power 2). Mines also decrease the socioeconomic status of communities and regions, hindering the economy, because economic development near mines is rare (Power 2). The fish caught by the Bristol Bay fisheries, however, are a renewable resource and regenerate every year.

Bristol Bay is home to one of the most pure natural environments in the world. The minimal human impact in the area has caused it to remain wild and to be a haven for plants and animals. It also is home to two of the largest freshwater lakes in Alaska, Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. These lakes are connected to Bristol Bay by multiple rivers. Upper Talarik Creek flows into Lake Iliamna which then flows into the Kvichak River and into Bristol Bay (Sherwonit). The Koktuli River flows into the Mulchantn River and the Mulchant River meets up with the Nushagak River before ending in Bristol Bay (Sherwonit). This system of rivers is very important to the environment of the area and the yearly spawning of salmon in the area. Northern Dynasty Minerals has proposed the location of the Pebble mine to be at the headwaters of Upper Talarik Creek and the Kvichak River. April Dembosky from Mother Jones reported that, the Pebble Mine requires a large amount of water for it to function; it also will create hazardous waste that has the potential to run-off into ground water and the rivers. She also stated that the Pebble mine is reported to be capable of producing, “3 billion tons of waste replete with cyanide, arsenic, and mercury, all in a pristine Alaskan watershed critical to the state's salmon and trout fisheries.”

The monumental impact that the mine could have on the environment and the river system of Bristol Bay could cause major problems to the health of fishing, the wildlife, and the people that live downriver from the mine. Historically large mines have had devastating effects on the environment and the health of people who live around them. The plan for the Pebble Mine is to, as Northern Dynasty Minerals puts it, “build the largest open pit mine in North America.” This mine will also come with, processing facilities and a tailing pond. The Tailing pond is a “compensation” pond that will hold all of the toxic waste produced by the mine forever. The next part of Northern Dynasty Minerals plan is to build a 75 mile industrial road, which as reported by the Bristol Bay Alliance, will cross miles of very crucial salmon spawning streams and rivers. This road is planned to be in use for 30 years, and is very likely to affect the streams and the local environment. The Bristol Bay Alliance also reports that the blasting from the construction and everyday use of the mine will affect the streams and bodies of water in the area, because the location of the mine is in a “high wind area.” The mine will also impact the drainages of the Mulchatna and Kvichak Rivers.

For salmon to successfully spawn and reproduce they need to return to the river that they were born in. Since Bristol Bay has one of the largest salmon fisheries in the world, the rivers that empty in to it, the Kvichak, Koktuli, Mulchant, Nushagak, and Upper Talarik Creek are all vital to the survival of the salmon. If there is a change in the chemical make up and flow of these rivers there will be a change in the salmon and the salmon population. Since the people of Bristol Bay and environment rely on salmon for survival, any altercation in the rivers would have drastic effects. Also, an accidental chemical spill or run-off could ruin the environment of the area, and cause lasting, irreversible damage.

Northern Dynasty Minerals has made many statements regarding the environmental impact of the Pebble Mine on its official website. The company says that it will follow all state laws regarding the environment and that it will also leave it up to the state government to inspect and make sure that these regulations are met. However, if the Pebble Mine is constructed, there is a likelihood that more mines will be constructed in the region, creating a mining district with huge environmental impacts and implications. The authorization of the construction of the Pebble mine is a threat not only to the area that it will occupy and the areas it approximates, but also to the rest of the state.

Like the economy and environment, the Bristol Bay region also has a unique culture. The Native people that live in the area live in small close-knit villages and live modest subsistence lifestyles. The role of the environment and fishing is crucial to their culture. The construction of a huge mine will have a great impact on the lifestyles of the villages. These unique, indigenous cultures that are so closely linked to the environment are endangered by companies like Northern Dynasty Minerals because they pose a threat to very aspect of their way of life. If the Pebble Mine is constructed it will have a substantial affect on the culture of Bristol Bay.

The jobs and revenue the Pebble mine will generate can no way compare to the the assets that the Bristol Bay region already has. As being home to one of the largest salmon fisheries in the world and millions of square miles of untouched wilderness, Bristol Bay already has a profitable, renewable industry that complements its culture and subsistence way of life. Endangering this by constructing one of the largest mines in North America up river is illogical and very dangerous. The economy, environment, and culture of Bristol Bay need to be heeded and protected.


Works Cited
Alaska. Dept. of Fish and Game Division of commercial Fisheries. Bristol Bay Fisheries. Alaska: Alaska Dept. or Fish and Game. 19 Sept. 2007 http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/region2/finfish/salmon/bbay/brbpos07.pdf

Bristol Bay Native Corporation. Our Land. 2007. <http://www.bbnc.net/our_land/>

Canada. Northern Dynasty Minerals, Pebble Mine. 5 Nov 2007. <http://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/ndm/Home.asp>

Dembosky, April (May/June 2006). Minions of Midas. Mother Jones 31, Retrieved October 28, 2007, from EBSCOhost Research Database (21301342)

Opdyke, Jeff D. “In Alaskan Battle, a money manager decided to go green.” Wall Street Journal Mar. 2007. 249. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. http://search.epnet.com.

Power, Thomas Michael. “The Role Of Metal Mining in the Alaskan Economy.” Southeast Alaskan Conservation council and Northern Alaska environmental c enter. (2002): par 8, http://www.seacc.org/Publications/MetalMiningReport.doc

Sherwonit, Bill. (2001 Jul/Aug). Alaska: A Peak Experience. National Parks 75, Retrieved October 28, 2007, from EBSCOhost Research Database (4751183)

Truth About Pebble. Jobs and Benefits of Alaskans. 2006-2007. http://www.truthaboutpebble.org/AboutPebble/JobsForAlaskans/tabid/562/Defaul t.aspx