Bristol Bay Fight Heats Up

Both conservationists and mining industry officials claimed victory after decision Monday by the Alaska State Fisheries Board to postpone recommending a fisheries refuge in Bristol Bay. “The board was besieged with impassioned testimony from people who flew in from all over Alaska and as far away as Washington, D.C. Among those weighing in: commercial fishermen, attorneys, biologists and Native villagers in the region.” The massive Pebble gold, copper and molybdenum deposit underneath the Bristol Bay drainages has raised alarms among anglers and resource conservationists who fear it will have an adverse impact on salmon fisheries. Elizabeth Bluemink in the Anchorage Daily News.