The reason the Pebble Mine gets all the vitriol and press? Simple, all those wealthy lodge owners, salmon fishermen, and hedge fund managers have ties to the Powers that Be …
A compelling story in the Alaska Dispatch suggests the Donlin Mine is even bigger, a planned 2 mile wide, 1 mile long open pit mine that will uproot a couple hundred miles of the famed Iditarod trail, host toxic tailings near the banks of the longest undammed river in North America, and add a massive power plant as part of the construction – all of which is proceeding with little notice and much less resistance.
Donlin has attracted little attention, said Pam Miller, executive director of Alaska Community Action on Toxins, because “unlike Pebble, there aren’t the wealthy lodge owners. There’s just poor subsistence residents.”
Wealthy lodge owners might be the ultimate in NIMBY opposition to backyard development. They are extremely well connected, given their clients tend toward well-off businessmen and the idle rich. These are the kind of people with the connections that enable them to get major jewelry retailers to make public-relations claims they will never use Pebble gold in their products, even if it’s hard to trace any gold used for jewelry back to its original source.
Take this power block, couple it with downstream commercial fishermen who hold valuable Alaska limited entry fishing permits for Bristol Bay salmon and a millionaire neighbor running an investment fund worth billions, and you have a power bloc that can make life hell for any sort of development.
– via the Alaska Dispatch
By contrast the Donlin Mine is on native lands, in a historical mining district, and the locals are eager for the employment potential and power infrastructure that the mine provides.
Protests have been muzzled as it’s seen as anti-Native American.
Towing barges of fuel oil up the river sounds decidedly anti-salmon, but we’re the “bleeding hearts of the lower 48”, and we’re expected to say that.
I’m not privy to the full facts of the case, but the Dispatch article is a compelling read. It’s a contentious subject to be sure, but the “wealthy lodge owner” angle is new – and may partly explain why Pebble has enjoyed such extensive coverage and become a cause celebre’.
Tags: Donlin Project, Alaska Dispatch, Pebble Mine, wealthy lodge owners, evil fly fishermen, NovaGold
“….and the idle rich.” Love it.
Good piece Keith.
Dear Keith,
Your statement: “I’m not privy to the full facts of the case” probably suggests you shouldn’t be posting blog entries about it. Ever been to Bristol Bay and seen exactly what’s at stake there? The main reason Pebble gets a lot of press is because it poses a significant threat to one of the most incredible resources in the world. Period. That’s all that really matters here.
Sincerely,
Ben Knight
Thanks for the opinion Ben. Not being privy to the full facts shouldn’t preclude my daylighting the piece – especially as it’s a viewpoint that hasn’t seen the any treatment in the angling press. My television is dancing with well heeled fellows testifying in front of Congress, and we all know that crowd is both connected and able to move mountains (and copper mines).
I see no issue in sharing some other fellow’s opinion, in this case the newspaper article. It may well be part or all of the reason Pebble enjoys immense press.
The absence of information on the Donlin mine intriques me – but I’ll let my readers decide.
The more time I spend up there, the more I’m introduced to things like Donlin that seem to fly under the radar unfortunately.
The NIMBY thing isn’t a new development in regards to Pebble… Bob Gillam, who’s sunk a lot of cash into the anti-Pebble campaign and practically dedicated his life to the issue has become a household name in Alaska.
I believe it’s a positive thing that Bristol Bay has people like Gillam to stand up in opposition of the mine, and I think it’s narrow minded to suggest that he’s one of the only reason’s the Pebble issue has broken the lower-48 barrier when it comes to press:
Organizations like Trout Unlimited [Alaska] have done an unbelievable amount of work over the past 5 years to raise public awareness. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a non-profit tackle something with such relentless dedication.
In regards to the Alaska Dispatch quote: “unlike Pebble, there aren’t the wealthy lodge owners. There’s just poor subsistence residents.” Well, the vast majority of Bristol Bay’s subsistence residents are putting up one hell of a fight and aren’t about to surrender anytime soon.
To say Bristol Bay’s NIMBY’s are to credit for the Pebble project’s notoriety discredits a massive grassroots war against this thing.
Thanks for letting me vent 🙂