This past month I made a trip to Alaska in search of new opportunities to photograph brown bears. I found them, and much more, at the headwaters of the Mulchatna River.
The ‘much more’ was the opportunity to photograph an ongoing environmental issue known as the Pebble Creek Mine. Northern Dynasty Minerals plans to deconstruct the landscape for mostly gold and copper. This would transform Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, which is considered the world’s most productive salmon nursery worth $300 million annually.
Open pit mines are notoriously bad for the environment. Getting these metals out of the ground requires tailings ponds that hold some of the most caustic and deadly chemicals known to man. These chemicals could easily be released into the watershed which has many U.S. and Alaska citizens extremely concerned. It’s happened before. In 2015, we had the Gold King mine tailings disaster in Colorado. In 2014, Canada had an equally bad calamity at Mount Polley gold and copper mine in British Columbia.
There are two ways you can get involved. One is to help support Earth Justice who is fighting tooth and nail to end this monstrous sinkhole. The second option is to add your voice to the Pebble Project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (deadline Friday, June 29th!). Let’s keep Alaska pristine. Join this cause before it’s too late. Read more about Pebble Creek Mine on the Blog.