There are forces at work in Alaska that are operating as if being a "resource state" means that nothing is sacred, that the extraction of minerals (gold, oil, copper, zinc, etc) is the be all and end all.
Before I get rolling on my tirade, I'm giving you, gentle reader, a little homework. You've maybe heard a bit about Pebble Mine. That little rock of a gold and copper mine being developed in SW Alaska, at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, home of the last great wild salmon run in the world.
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| Williamsport to Lake Illiamna, home to the proposed Pebble Mine |
Do a little research, inform yourself --- what is the name of this gold mine buried beneath the media war for and against Pebble? What are your feelings about it? What other projects are being funded with Alaskan revenue specifically for this mine?
I am going to take a shot at answering with: Donlin Creek, right below Crooked Creek, AK on the Kuskokwim River. I visited the site myself in 1998 with my village corporation board of directors, other area village corporation boards, and Calista Corp, which at the time was spearheading WAVE: Western Alaska Village Enterprises. Calista is heavily involved and vested in the development of this gold mine even though they represent this large region where the shareholders and descendents depend on the salmon that run here every year since the beginning of time. And we will continue to do so as long as there are still fish returning to spawn, and as long as the State allows us [Alaska Natives] to practice our time-honored-subsistence-traditions in peace.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the "booming success" of this business development is currently only a blessing to its owners, investors and the Alaska Natives who live in the immediate vicinity of the actual proposed gold mine. If, God forbid, the mine should fail to produce actual gold in the immediate or foreseeable future or if the reassurances from high and low about the by-products and waste materials from the operations of the mine being safe for the salmon industry fail, the consequences won't just fall into that immediate area alone. We will ALL feel it. And not just by those of us who are alive today, but maybe even by those who are yet to be born. You can't tear into ground looking for gold w/o realistically thinking about the impact that poking around is going to leave behind and anyone who says otherwise can be traced back to having Donlin Creek connections themselves.
Stepping down now....