Living in Alaska is really something different from anywhere else altogether. The majority of the folks that live here do a damn good job of maintaining and minding their own. There is a sense of freedom and liberty that seems to taint the air just a bit and people are able to stand tall and proud when they say..."I live in Alaska". I am not saying that perfection abounds here in Alaska, but just look around and you'll see that perfection isn't hard to find.
Sure we deal with what most people consider to be horrible weather and the occasional wild animal, but these are only just peripheral issues. The driving snows of January lend a certain peace to the day. Likewise are the cool rains that come almost daily throughout Spring and Summer that wash away the accumulation of dust that coats almost everything here. But... when you gaze through the mist and can see huge craggy mountains, rolling tundra and sustenance providing waterways, you know that being here is preferable to a whole helluva lot of other places.
So, let's move on to something very important to Alaska...
The one subject near and dear to me is the protection and sustainability of Bristol Bay. The Bay's seafood industry provides thousands of Alaskan jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars to the economy. For several thousand years people have called Bristol Bay home and have survived off of the rich bounty of wildlife and natural foods. The culture of the native population is based upon preserving that history and furthering the existence of sustainable life. But all that is changing now... as you read this, there are at least 10 workcrews spread across the tundra and hills that make up the headwaters to Bristol Bay.
These work-crews are scurrying across the tundra setting up exploration sites in hopes to finding the mother load of Copper, Gold, Lithium and whatever other minerals and elements that become available after destroying the natural habitat. Currently the spotlight in mineral development is on The Pebble Project, but there are several other prospects just waiting in line for the permitting to begin. Just last Friday, the EPA released a "draft" version of the 404C Clean Water Act Watershed Assessment on Bristol Bay.
This release was met with praise by some opponents of mining and also with near contempt by the executives at Pebble Partnership. CEO John Shively was on KDLG.org's morning program yesterday whining that this was being done as a preemptive measure aimed at circumventing the State and Federal permitting processes. I would agree with Mr. Shively, IF they EPA had actually issued an official document saying that they were invoking their 404C permitting veto authority. However, this is not the case and the statements made by Mr. Shively and his public affairs minion, Mike Heatwole are typical and to be expected.
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