After reading Meteor Blades and Robert Greenwalds diary yesterday and with the encouragement of my husband, I am going to try my hand at writing another diary.
Last Saturday after participating in Occupy Santa Fe, my husband and I went to eat at one of our favorite places and as I was paying I saw a card inviting people to come and see a showing of a documentary "Red Gold". The card said Alaska's last great salmon fishery was in peril. Since salmon is one of my husband's favorite fish, I thought maybe we should go see what this was about. It would also be a chance to explore more of Santa Fe.
So through a combination of riding the bus and biking we arrived at the place where the showing was going to be held. We cooled down outside before heading in to watch the documentary. There was food, delicious salmon appetizers and drinks for people before going in for the showing. While people were enjoying this, we were urged to sign a letter to our Senators urging them to oppose the Pebble Mine project.
The Pebble Mine project is considered a "threat to jobs, water and a way of life."
"The Pebble deposit is a vast low grade deposit of gold and copper located in the headwaters of the Kvichak and Nushagak Rivers in Bristol Bay, Alaska. If built, Pebble would be one of the largest mines in the world. It would also cause incredible harm to the world's largest wild sockeye salmon fishery. The Pebble Limited Partnership(PLP) has not relased its final mine plans but cvompany executive have siad the Pebble mine complex, which would cover some 54.5 square miles based on the most recent PLP estimates, would procue between 2.5 and 10.78 billion tons of waste including acit and heavy metals that will have to be treated in perpetuity. Any release of this waste into the surgace or groundwater has the potential to damage Bistol Boy's salmon and rainbow trout populations and the people who depend on them."
This information was garnered from the brochure available before we went in to see the documentary. After having some of the delicious appetizers and a glass of wine went in to watch the documentary. It was well done, from my point of view, showing the people who have lived in or enjoyed the riches of Bristol Bay juxtaposed with the people from the Pebble Mine Project.
One of the things that came across for me in viewing this documentary was the fact that Bristol Bay has been a part of the indigenous people's culture for thousands of years and that way of life would be in peril if this mine was allowed. There was a vignette of an elderly gentleman explaining how this was his way of life and had always been. He told of the salmon season and when it was over, then it was time to pick the berries and when that was over, it was time to hunt the caribou in a way that suggested it did not feel his way of life was lacking but was in tune with nature.
The documentary also shared some of the experiences of the commercial fishermen who have fished this area their entire lives. Once again, no rich folk, but people loving what they were doing in spite of the "on the edge" aspect of it and what it would mean to lose this.
I guess I could go on and on about the scenes in the documentary but it was extremely powerful and moving. One thing was clear to me---these people loved this way of life and did not want to lose it.
"Currently the Bristol Bay salmon industry provides over 10,000 jobs. In 2008 (most recent data) the total wholesale value for commerically caught Bristol Bay salmon was over $300 million. Estimates also show that over $75 million was spent in Alaska on Bristol Bay sport fishing trips. For 10,000 years this fishery has sustained the indigenous people of the area--most of whom still rely on their subsistence fishery as a signifcant part of their non-cash income."
After the showing of the documentary there was a panel to answer questions and take comments. Two of the panelists were indigenous peoples, one was a sport fisherman, one a commercial fisherman, and one that operated a sport fishing operation.
The panel discussion was very informative. Both of the indigenous peoples were women, one who still lived in the Bristol Bay area and the other whose mother still was fishing the area handed down from her grandfather.
When the sport fisherman got up to introduce himself, he said he had seen Stacey (one of the women) talking to people about why they needed to oppose the mine and had not paid her much attention until it was clear to him what might happen if the mine came into being and what it would mean to him. He mentioned his daughter and how he hoped to bring her up there fishing and you could tell it was a very emotional moment.
Stacey, one of the indigenous people's, spoke of growing up in the salmon fishing business. It was very heartwarming to hear of her love of this life from about the age of ten when she went on her first real fishing experience.
The other girl, whose name I cannot remember still lives in the area and had many of the same stories as Stacey. She did also add that it was amazing that she was on a panel with sport fishermen, and people that had a business of sport fishing because in the past, they would be enemies and fighting for their allocation but this mine project has united them all to be able to survive.
On the environmental side of this story, what can we believe about the safety record of any industry, especially mining? It was mentioned that salmon are very sensitive to copper and if even a small part enters the water it can mess with their compass and who can guarantee they will return to Bristol Bay to spawn?
Another issue that was raised was the fact that the area for the proposed Pebble Mine is in an area that experiences approximately 3000 earthquakes a year. WHAT!!!! According to one of the panelists, this information is even shared on the power point presentation by the Pebble Mine project.
It was also pointed out that the "Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages nearly 12 million acres of state land in the Bristol Bay watershed includinng the land where Pebble is proposed. In 2005 DNR released its current Bristol Bay area plan which reversed decades of balanced resource management and suddenly favored mmining development by opening its entire 12 million acres for mining and reducing slamon habitat protections by 94 percent.
One of the panelists also said, the DNR has never turned down a mining permit
At present the local tribes, commercial fisherman and sports fishermen have called on the EPA to help. "The EPA has the authority and an unprecedented opportunity to safeguard this unique and valuable habitat and the health of the local people by exercising its Clean ater Act Section 404(c) authority and to protect the Bristol Bay watershed. The unique conditions of the Bristol Bay headwaters justify an immediate action by EPA to prohibit dredge and fill activity related to large scale mining
.
At the end of the evening they asked all of us to get involved and get the word out. This is my attempt to get the word out.
You can visit www.SaveBristolBay.orgto learn more ways you can help.
Follow "Save Bristol Bay" on Twitter and Facebook for the most up-to-date news and information.
The film Red Goldcan be also be ordered online from Felt Soul Media.
Here's the trailer: