Open Letter to Stop Pebble Mine

I'm not, by far, within the first group of protestors, but I would hate myself all the more if I didn't stand up for nature during these inane back and forth arguments the government is holding over us. I'm sending letters directly to the Alaskan Senators and to the Alaskan state governor. I'm not sure how much difference it will make, or if it has all already been decided. However, with American Thanksgiving fast approaching (today by the time this comes out) I think it's about time to think about all the terrible things we've done in this country and to give back to the variety people we took from. And, especially where I am, in Alaska, to keep our grubby human hands away from destroying the vitally important natural ecosystems that we are so lucky to have around us. Protect nature, protect history, protect the people.

To all who should be concerned,

I cannot and will not pretend that I am not biased on this issue, I’m a Bay Area, California native with two degrees in archaeology; a bachelor’s from University of San Diego, CA with a minor in marine sciences, and a master’s in archaeology from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. However, as a researcher, I place vital importance on the facts at hand, and facts are on what this letter will be based. And, with the facts present, building the Pebble mine would harm wildlife in Alaska and beyond, leaving us with everything to lose and nothing, other than death, to gain. Especially after the owners, and their profits, have left, leaving the mess, for the present to deal with, and future to clean up. While attempting to be succinct, I will lay out four reasons why the Pebble Mine proposal should be forever struck down. These four reasons are laid out by impact: environmental, archaeological, anthropological, and economic.

Environmental:

The Rock

The ore in the area is a calc-alkali porphyry copper, gold, and molybdenum deposit (Hamilton & Klieforth, 2010; “Pebble Project”). Simply put, what the corporation owners care about is the possibility that this deposit contains tons of gold, buried deep beneath the surface. In this particular case, at least a 1000 ft (300 m) beneath the surface (“Pebble Partnership -Final EIS”).

In the present day this surface is a known watershed, or a drainage basin. As the name suggests the area ”sheds”, or drains, the water collected from snowmelt and rainfall into the wetlands, lakes, tributaries, rivers, streams, all leading Bristol Bay and the Artic and Pacific Oceans in total (Nat Geo). This land is known specifically as the Bristol Bay watershed, and the major waterways flowing through include the Lake Iliamna, Upper Talarik Creek, Kuichak River, Koktuli River, Mulchatna River, a tributary of the Nushagak River, Newhalen River, and Lake Clark; all of which connect to one another and/or flow into Bristol Bay. And, when just phase one of the Pebble Mine project is expected to destroy, at the very least, 80 miles of streams and 3,500 acres of wetlands (“Economy” SaveBristolBay, 2020) there is a very large issue.

The Geological Risks

If we are only looking at plain old rock, the extra dirt and ground rock from excavation which would be wet stacked without being dewatered and ignore the chemical runoff from mining practices. We see that the natural flow of the local waters will be plugged with silt and subverted, causing the destabilization of the aquatic environments (the lakes, rivers, and the bay) along with the deforestation of the land, leading to more and more destruction of Alaska’s environment with every day that passes. Over time, that destruction will snowball, further clogging the rivers, killing fish and destroying feeding grounds and clean water for all its 20 mi2 radial footprint (“Mine Proposal” Save Bristol Bay, 2020; "Pebble Mine Project Alaska". February 9, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-02-09; "Not Your Grandfather's Copper Mine". Archived from the original on February 8, 2009).

But, as mentioned before, it’s well known that mines have more types of runoff than simply discarded rock. Newly exposed rock and mine tailings react with air and water to produce acid mine drainage, a toxic stew of poisonous chemicals containing heavy elements, including copper, which is harmful to salmon (“Economy” SaveBristolBay, 2020). In addition, “the tailings, can contain as many as three dozen dangerous chemicals including arsenic, lead, mercury, and cyanide. The report found that the mining industry has left mountains of such waste from Alaska, Canada, and Norway” (Spear, 2016). The gases from mining also cause negative environmental effects to the nearby glaciers, melting them, and altering the previously covered landscapes (Hamilton & Klieforth, 2010).

There are serious seismic risks associated with the impoundment systems (earthen tailings dams) which are designed to contain the tailings and intended to control their chemical behavior in perpetuity. As the mine is to be built along the Lake Clark fault line, and, knowing that Alaska commonly experiences earthquakes, being on the Pacific Plate ring, it should be obvious that building a mine on an extremely active fault line is a very bad idea. “The Lake Clark fault is a major right-lateral strike-slip crustal feature, considered to be a westward expression of the Castle Mountain fault. The actual ground trace of the fault and its splays are unknown in the Pebble area, due to extensive ground cover. A 2007 report indicates that magnitude 7.1 quakes occur on the fault on a 700-year cycle. The Lake Clark fault several hundred miles to the north is sub-parallel to the Denali fault and considered to be of similar nature. A magnitude 7.9 quake struck the Denali fault in 2002. The subduction zone of the Aleutian Trench lies approximately 125 miles (200 km) south of Pebble, which was the source of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake of magnitude 9.2.” (Detterman & Reed, 1980; Haeussler & Saltu, 2004; Chambers, 2007). The effects of a significant earthquake here would extend the damaged region even more, due to the building of roads, bridges, and tunnels and underground material transport lines, which are planned to be constructed on fish habitat. And as reported of the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) put out by the owners of Pebble Mine, the water, the land, the air, noise impacts, and so much more will be negatively affected (https://www.pebbleprojecteis.com/documents/finaleis). This wouldn’t be the first time either, just look through the history of the Kensington Gold Mine into Alaska’s Lower Slate Lake, which was filled with the 7 million tons of tailings from the Coeur D’Alene Mines of Idaho (Spear, 2016).

Life

All five species of Pacific salmon—king, sockeye, silver, chum, and pink—as well as rainbow trout, arctic char, grayling, northern pike, lake trout, and Dolly Varden, live in the lakes that would be affected. But it’s not just the killing of fish outright, but the disruption the life cycle of the spawning salmon, which would devastate the populations of wildlife that feed on them. Mammals such as moose, wolverines, porcupines, foxes, caribou, wolves, grizzly bears, and black bears, along with bald eagles, waterfowl, and migratory birds, are all extremely reliant on all the other lifecycles in the extensive region. Along with the disruption and removal of clean water, damage to habitat and wildlife would continue to spread, each second, into the bay, affecting river and ocean life, such as: beavers, sea otters, river otters, walruses, seals, beluga whales, and orcas, all the way down to the plant-life, mollusks, crabs, and everything in between for generations to come. These toxins will not stay in the bay but will continue out into the ocean, affecting recreational and commercial fisheries for the foreseeable. (Alaska Department of Fish and Game; Our Bristol Bay).

Archaeological:

Moving away from environmental science to my area of expertise, archaeology. I must say that I am frankly disgusted with how both the archaeological sites and the indigenous peoples connected to them have been treated.

According to the Alaskan Region USDA Forest Service, part of the area proposed for mine lies within Section 10, of the cultural resource management (CRM) location. The Dena’ina term that refers to the upper Kenai River area is Sqilantnu, from which the Archaeological District gets its name. The Kenai River would not be directly affected, but through the Cook Inlet, the fish and other wildlife moving through the area around the Kenai peninsula are. All around the large Bristol Bay are archaeological sites including: The Brooks River Archaeological District and the Amalik Bay archaeological district. The second had sites of occupation dated from before 5500 BCE till recent and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993 ("Brooks River Archeological District", National Park Service, 2011). This geographic area is already part of the Katmai National Park & Preserve, and the sites within are not open to the public (National Park Service, USDOI < https://www.nps.gov/places/amalik-bay-archeological-district.htm>).

The research by the corporation was obviously not very thorough in the Kushokwim [Kuskokwim] Bristol Bay Region because it appears to have missed the prehistoric data found in the 1950s and 1960s (Dumond, 2014). An example of the former can be found in Archaeological research in the North American Arctic in the journal Arctic, 7(3/4), 296-306 by Collins, H. B. (1954) and the latter published by Washington State University in 1964. Enough work has been done across Southwestern Alaska for researchers to find commonalities in artifacts between the Aleutian Islands, the Kodiak Islands, and other places around the Gulf of Alaska on the move westward toward Amalik and Bristol Bays. These movements and the artifacts and sites are classified within six cultural phases, early dating from around 10,000 years ago, in the Paleaoarctic cultural tradition. More than 2,500 artifacts from these glacial areas are coming to light every year due to the melting of the glacial ice, revealing Neolithic tools, such as ulu, wood carvings, etc. (Williams, 2017). While this archaeological site, inhabited by the indigenous Yup’ik people, Nunalleq lies by the coast of the Bering Strait, and is further north than what will be directly affected by the mine building, there are glaciers directly north in the Lake Clark Preserve and Wilderness that could go through the same effects.

While the EIS cited CRM studies in the report, they have been found to be false, or at least horribly outdated. Since the 1990s, there have been many studies working in the region surrounding the watershed and Bristol Bay, with lithics and living sites being the major finds. It seems, from the records, that Northern Dynasty Mineral Ltd. who’s funding the mine and the studies, seemed only to cite work done prior to 1987, in which cultural resources came up empty. Apparently ignoring more recent surveys which did find artifacts and features in the same locations, such as the village at Temyiq Tuyuryaq (Old Togiak) in Upper Bristol Bay (Skinner, 2019). This is especially puzzling considering that even the Bristol Bay Borough Chamber of Commerce lists the archaeological sites, “Eskimos, Aleuts, and Athabascan Indians used this area of the Naknek River during the past 6,000 years. There are numerous archeological sites, hunting camps, old villages and evidence of use along the river and its tributaries. Old Savonoski, on Savonoski River at the east end of Naknek Lake, and New Savonoski and Paugvik on the Naknek River are all abandoned village sites” (Bristol Bay Borough Chamber of Commerce <http://www.bristolbaychamber.com/What-you-need-to-know-/>).

Straight from the Pebble Mine Partnership - https://pebbleresearch.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/ch_22_cultural_resources_bb.pdf

The Final EIS by the USACE - https://www.pebbleprojecteis.com/

Examples of local Archaeological Sites:

https://news.uaf.edu/secret-to-ancient-food-webs-found-in-old-bones/

An Archaeology of the Central Yupik: A Regional Overview for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Northern Bristol Bay, and Nunivak Island:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40316467?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Archaeological Investigations in Southwestern Alaska: https://www.jstor.org/stable/276761?read-now=1&seq=4#page_scan_tab_contents

Anthropological & Economic:

While the direct area upon which the mine is planned is uninhabited, the rivers that flow through the area and the animals that depend on the area are of incredible importance to the communities that live nearby, and changes here would cause ripple effects to all of Alaska and beyond.

Focusing first of the Alaskan native cultural community; there are more than 30 Alaska Native Tribes in the region that is dependent on hunting and fishing to support their traditional subsistence ways of life, in addition to the other inhabitants of mixed heritages and many annual tourists to the area. The populations in the area rely heavily on wild resources for subsistence, harvesting moose, caribou and salmon. Wild resources play an important part in the region's cultural heritage.

“If the Pebble mine is developed, the subsistence culture of thousands of people who live in the Bristol Bay region will be threatened” ("What's At Risk". Save Bristol Bay). The mine lies within Lake and Peninsula Borough about 1,600 inhabitants, according to the 2010 United States Census, which lies adjacent to the Bristol Bay Borough of about 1000 inhabitants and the Dillingham Census Area, 4,800 inhabitants with some 7,500 people live largely rural lifestyles within or near the area downstream of the Pebble site. The populations of Lake Clark National Park and other parts of the Bethel Census Area are upstream of the site or in a different watershed. And moreover, the meat and fish from this area are shipped worldwide. When the water is polluted, the anything drinking it is poisoned. Any shipping would cease due to illnesses and the economy would tank all the more and the livelihoods of all those who depend on the good health of a natural environment would collapse.

“Could [the Pebble mine] do damage to the fishery if something went wrong? The answer to that is yes.”

— Former Pebble CEO John Shively, March 20, 2013

2018 Bristol Bay fishery economic study:

Summary: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56b0dfb660b5e98b87fc3d52/t/5b5b74288a922da9f8cab34d/1532720172437/Economic+Benefits+of+Bristol+Bay+Salmon+Handout+-+July+2018.pdf

Full report: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56b0dfb660b5e98b87fc3d52/t/5b5b734f6d2a73073e6477b6/1532719963296/Economic+Benefits+of+Bristol+Bay+Salmon+Full+Report+-+July+2018.pdf

Bristol Bay’s Wild Salmon Ecosystems and the Pebble Mine:

Key Considerations for a Large-Scale Mine Proposal - by Wild Salmon Center and Trout Unlimited – January 2012

https://www.wildsalmoncenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/PM-Report.pdf

Conclusion:

When so many groups come together on the same issue, both environmental and governmental, for the preservation of archaeology, geology, and paleontology, with the continuing assistance for local indigenous peoples, and an array of individuals living and working in the region today, one can only take away that the building of this mine is wrong and absolutely must be stopped for good.

Research and writing sincerely done by,

Renée S Whitehouse M.A.

Please read all of the information for yourself for more information.

Citations:

Ackerman, R.E. (1964). Prehistory in the Kushokwim [Kuskokwim] Bristol Bay Region, Southwestern Alaska. Report of Investigations, 1. Pullman, WA: Washington State University, Laboratory of Anthropology. (tDAR id: 115342).

"Brooks River Archeological District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06.

Chambers, David. (September 2007). "Pebble Engineering Geology Discussion of Issues". Center for Science in Public Participation.; "The risky plan to haul minerals from a mine in the Alaska wilderness". National Geographic.

Chambers, D., Moran, R. E., & Trasky, L. L. (2012). Bristol Bay's wild salmon ecosystems and the Pebble Mine: key considerations for a large-scale mine proposal. Wild Salmon Center.

Collins, H. B. (1954). Archaeological research in the North American Arctic. Arctic, 7(3/4), 296-306.

Detterman, R.L.; Reed, B.L. (1980). "Stratigraphy, structure, and economic geology of the Iliamna quadrangle, Alaska". U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1368-B.

Dumond, Don. "A Naknek Chronicle: Ten Thousand Years in a Land of Lakes and Rivers and Mountains of Fire" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-12-12.

Haeussler, Peter J. & Saltu, Richard W. (2004). "26 km of Offset on the Lake Clark Fault Since Late Eocene Time". Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, 2004 U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1709–A. USGS. p. 4. Retrieved 12 September 2014.

Hamilton, T. D., & Klieforth, R. F. (2010). Surficial geologic map of parts of the Iliamna D-6 and D-7 quadrangles, Pebble project area, southwestern Alaska.

Skinner, D. I. (2019). Indigenous Archaeological Approaches to Artifact and Household Analysis at Precolonial Yup’ik Village Temyiq Tuyuryaq (Old Togiak). University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Spear, S. (2016, August 09). Toxic Mine Waste Threatens World's Waters. Retrieved November 16, 2020, from https://www.ecowatch.com/toxic-mine-waste-threatens-worlds-waters-1881597034.html

Williams, A. R. (2017, September 22). Alaska's Thaw Reveals-and Threatens-a Culture's Artifacts. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/04/artifact-melt-alaska-archaeology-climate-change/