Resources Threatened by the
Proposed Pebble Mine and Bristol Bay Mining District
and Related Maps

CLICK HERE FOR:

A MAP OF THE BRISTOL BAY WATERSHED
AND PEBBLE MINING CLAIMS

A MAP OF SALMON DISTRIBUTION
WITHIN THE PROPOSED PEBBLE MINING AREA

A MAP OF ALL FISH DISTRIBUTION
WITHIN THE PROPOSED PEBBLE MINING AREA

Overview: The Bristol Bay Watershed produces the world¹s greatest commercial salmon fishery and internationally renowned salmon and trout runs that attract anglers from all over the world. The waters in this region have long been an integral part of the State¹s economy and have provided sustainable jobs, subsistence foods and other benefits to Alaskans for generations. Today a Canadian mining corporation wants to create one of North America¹s largest open pit gold-copper mines, the proposed Pebble Mine, within a much larger potential mining district in the headwaters of Bristol Bay.

At the same time, the Bureau of Land Management is trying to open 3.6 million acres to hard-rock mining. According to the EPA, the hard-rock mining industry is the single largest source of toxic releases in the US and this industry caused enormous damage to rivers and fisheries around the world. The proposed Pebble Mine and Bristol Bay Mining District may pose the greatest single threat facing Alaska's salmon-bearing rivers and the people who depend on them.

 Fish put at risk by the proposed mining district include: The Pacific Salmon species of Sockeye (Red), Chinook (King), Coho (Silver), Pink (Humpy), and Chum (Dog), as well as the resident fish species of Rainbow Trout, Arctic Char, Dolly Varden, Arctic Grayling, Northern Pike, Lake Trout, Eulachon and several species of whitefish.

  Major rivers in the Bristol Bay Watershed
and Species residing in those rivers include:

Alagnak River
Federally designated (the upper 56 miles) as a National Wild and Scenic River (NWSR) by Congress. Sockeye, King, Coho, Pink, & Chum Salmon, Arctic Char, Arctic Grayling, Whitefishes, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, Lake trout,

Koktuli River
Sockeye, King, Coho, Pink, & Chum Salmon, Arctic Char, Arctic Grayling, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, Lake Trout

Kvichak River
The world¹s largest Sockeye Salmon run, Within Alaska's Designated Trophy Rainbow Trout Area Sockeye, King, Coho, Pink, & Chum Salmon, Arctic Char, Arctic Grayling, Dolly Varden, Rainbow Trout, Northern Pike, Whitefishes

Lake Clark
Within the bounds of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Sockeye, King, and Pink Salmon, Arctic Char, Arctic Grayling, Northern Pike, Dolly Varden, Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout

Lake Iliamna
Alaska's largest body of freshwater; America's last undeveloped ³great lake² (it is the size of Lake Erie); Home to one of only two freshwater seal populations in the world; Sockeye, King, Coho, Pink, & Chum Salmon; Arctic Char, Arctic Grayling, Northern Pike, Whitefish, Dolly Varden, Rainbow Trout

Nushagak/Mulchatna River Drainages
The largest Chinook (King) salmon run in Alaska, and perhaps the world; Sockeye, King, Coho, Pink, & Chum Salmon; Arctic Char, Arctic Grayling, Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Dolly Varden, Northern Pike, Whitefishes

Newhalen
Sockeye, King, and Pink Salmon; Arctic Char, Arctic Grayling, Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Dolly Varden

Stuyahok River
Sockeye, King, Coho, Pink, and Chum Salmon; Arctic Char, Arctic Grayling, Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, Lake Trout, Northern Pike

Upper Talarik Creek
Alaska's first designated trophy trout area; Sockeye, King, and Coho Salmon; Arctic Char, Arctic Grayling Rainbow Trout, Lake Trout, Dolly Varden

Lower Talarik Creek
Designated Alaska Trophy Rainbow Trout Area; Home to the legendary ³Rock Hole,² painted by many artists and known for massive rainbow trout; Sockeye, King, and Coho Salmon, Arctic Grayling, Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, and Whitefish

Alaska's game, in addition to its wild salmon, trout, and other freshwater fish species, is also at risk by the proposed mining district development. The waters of Bristol Bay, and the Lake and Peninsula Borough are the lifeblood of much of the state's most productive commercial and sport fisheries, as well as a vital native subsistence fishery and way of life.

The region supports healthy populations of:
- Moose
- Sea Otter
-Seal and Walrus
-Grizzly, Brown, and Black Bear
-Beaver
-Wolverine
-Freshwater Seals (1 of only 2 populations in the world)
-Porcupine
-River Otter
-Beluga and Killer (Orca)
-Fox -Bald Eagles
- Caribou (the 3rd, and sometimes 2nd, largest herd in the state)
-Wolves
-Waterfowl & Migratory Birds

 Note: Fish Species info primarily from Johnson, J., E. Weiss, & S. Maclean. 2004. Catalog of waters important for spawning, rearing, or migration of anadromous fishes-Southwestern Region, Effective January 15,2005. Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Special Publication No. 04-07, > Anchorage. Online at http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/SARR/FishDistrib/FDD_catalogs.cfm; Other contributions came from local residents, and sport lodge owners .

Map prepared by the Renewable Resources Coalition and Trout Unlimited, Updated October 11, 2006