Interesting update on Pebble Mine in Alaska

[Rick Smith]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2021/06/08/pebble-mine-alaska-sockeye-salmon/%3foutputType=amp

 

 

 

Rick Smith

5264 N. Fort Yuma Trail

Tucson, AZ 85750

Tel: 520-529-7336

Cell: 505-259-7161

Email: rsmit...@comcast.net

 

[Jimmy]

The top map is the "Southern Route" that the EPA through out.  

The regional context map is by the Washington Post on Wednesday to accompany Rick's important article, the 3rd map is EPA's watershed map, showing those portions of Lake Clark NP and Katmai NP WITHIN THE WATERSHED and Wood-Tikchik state park. 

(During preliminary NPS study team scoping work, leader Ted Swem had Wood-Tikchik as the 3 very highest of the proposed park study areas. (As per below, NPS blocked by State of AK that got land selections done here before Secretary of Interior Morton was able to apply the law and prevent land selection while lands being studied) . 

Then, the EPA/current project "Northern Route" map. This is the route thwarted by the Conservation Fund and the village of Pedro Bay.  

The photo at the bottom is the Pedro Bay vicinity.  This article and many others on line including the EPA report show streams of salmon visible in aerial photos.  

Some points of special interest here:

1. For the Conservation Fund to provide $20 m for easements that have the effect of blocking the "Northern Route" road access, which is the route proposed by EPA.  See photos and maps, attached. Typically you would expect the fund to a) not seeking public Media attention for its activities, and, b) rather than prime greenway or habitat per se, easements blocking access.
2. Despite the fact that EPA said high value salmon habitat would be destroyed, EPS thought their route superior to the proposed route crossing Lake Iliamna.  FYI, US Fish and Wildlife Service in the 1970s, when their office was next to mine and i worked every day with some of their extraordinary luminaries, identified Lake Iliamna as a recommended National Wildlife Refuge. It never happened [Alaska State government land selections, they grabbed in that gravity-free moment between the identified need to consider new parks and refuges, and the signing of the actual law that directed the national interest lands to be withdrawn from further 'selection.'] The State of Alaska thus blocked this conservation as it had the Wood-Tikchik watershed and the upper Kobuk/Gates of the Arctic Preserve that forced the NPS into "the Boot".  The 1979 House Merchant Marine Committee report contained this testimony from the Sierra Club of the proposed Iliamna National Wildlife Refuge as "the single most important anadromous and sport fishing habitat in Alaska." (Read that again.  Swallow hard.  Read it again.) The committee report (under the very conservative pro-oil Louisiana Democrat John Breaux with the looming and terrifying presence of John Dingell) went on to say these lands "along with the contiguous Lake Clark and Katmai/Becharof, the federal lands of Lake Iliamna contain some of Alaska's finest wildlife and wilderness resources." 
3. Note from the map that the transportation corridor is essentially the southern boundary of the Lake Clark National Park.  On the map you see the town of Port Alsworth, NPS HQ, and Nondalton, at the foot of Lake Clark, just outside the park and the regional hub. You can see from the map how strategic the Conservation Fund's easements for Pedro Bay are.
4. In theory, the Pebble open pit gold and copper mine project is dead.  Despite this, the Conservation Fund paid $20m for these easements anyway.  PS: states can condemn privately owned easements, although "condemnation" gets more unpopular the further west  you get, not counting the Coast. 

[An Epopt]

Jim:

For reasons known only  to the god of electronics, this and another recent message from you landed in spam.

I especially regret that this one escasped me even for a little while. I think it useful and informative.

Thanks.

duncan

--
--
View all the postings by visiting our homepage at:
 
http://groups.google.com/group/parklandsupdate?hl=en
 
To join the Park Land Watch group email Rick Smith: rsmit...@comcast.net This will allow you to post your messages to the PLW Group.
 
Membership is free

---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "parklandwatch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to parklandsupda...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/parklandsupdate/9b6556ad-6c1c-4fec-bf68-d7d6c76235a7n%40googlegroups.com.

[JAMES PEPPER]

  “threw”

 

As in “threw out”

 

 

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 

From: An Epopt
Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2021 1:00 AM
To: parklan...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [PLW Update] Re: Interesting update on Pebble Mine in Alaska

 

Jim:

 

For reasons known only  to the god of electronics, this and another recent message from you landed in spam.

 

I especially regret that this one escasped me even for a little while. I think it useful and informative.

 

Thanks.

 

duncan

 

On Fri, Jun 11, 2021 at 6:29 PM Jimmy <James_...@msn.com> wrote:

 

The top map is the "Southern Route" that the EPA through out.  

 

The regional context map is by the Washington Post on Wednesday to accompany Rick's important article, the 3rd map is EPA's watershed map, showing those portions of Lake Clark NP and Katmai NP WITHIN THE WATERSHED and Wood-Tikchik state park. 

 

(During preliminary NPS study team scoping work, leader Ted Swem had Wood-Tikchik as the 3 very highest of the proposed park study areas. (As per below, NPS blocked by State of AK that got land selections done here before Secretary of Interior Morton was able to apply the law and prevent land selection while lands being studied) . 

 

Then, the EPA/current project "Northern Route" map. This is the route thwarted by the Conservation Fund and the village of Pedro Bay.  

 

The photo at the bottom is the Pedro Bay vicinity.  This article and many others on line including the EPA report show streams of salmon visible in aerial photos.  

 

Some points of special interest here:

1. For the Conservation Fund to provide $20 m for easements that have the effect of blocking the "Northern Route" road access, which is the route proposed by EPA.  See photos and maps, attached. Typically you would expect the fund to a) not seeking public Media attention for its activities, and, b) rather than prime greenway or habitat per se, easements blocking access.
2. Despite the fact that EPA said high value salmon habitat would be destroyed, EPS thought their route superior to the proposed route crossing Lake Iliamna.  FYI, US Fish and Wildlife Service in the 1970s, when their office was next to mine and i worked every day with some of their extraordinary luminaries, identified Lake Iliamna as a recommended National Wildlife Refuge. It never happened [Alaska State government land selections, they grabbed in that gravity-free moment between the identified need to consider new parks and refuges, and the signing of the actual law that directed the national interest lands to be withdrawn from further 'selection.'] The State of Alaska thus blocked this conservation as it had the Wood-Tikchik watershed and the upper Kobuk/Gates of the Arctic Preserve that forced the NPS into "the Boot".  The 1979 House Merchant Marine Committee report contained this testimony from the Sierra Club of the proposed Iliamna National Wildlife Refuge as "the single most important anadromous and sport fishing habitat in Alaska." (Read that again.  Swallow hard.  Read it again.) The committee report (under the very conservative pro-oil Louisiana Democrat John Breaux with the looming and terrifying presence of John Dingell) went on to say these lands "along with the contiguous Lake Clark and Katmai/Becharof, the federal lands of Lake Iliamna contain some of Alaska's finest wildlife and wilderness resources." 
3. Note from the map that the transportation corridor is essentially the southern boundary of the Lake Clark National Park.  On the map you see the town of Port Alsworth, NPS HQ, and Nondalton, at the foot of Lake Clark, just outside the park and the regional hub. You can see from the map how strategic the Conservation Fund's easements for Pedro Bay are.

1. In theory, the Pebble open pit gold and copper mine project is dead.  Despite this, the Conservation Fund paid $20m for these easements anyway.  PS: states can condemn privately owned easements, although "condemnation" gets more unpopular the further west  you get, not counting the Coast. 

You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "parklandwatch" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/parklandsupdate/Y4LcXpqkCm0/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to parklandsupda...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/parklandsupdate/CAG5AbmbQMp%2Bv9U3E5v8kiGXjzaxnfnbnF8pYnfoxj6dthYS6AQ%40mail.gmail.com.