Village council vows to block Wishbone Hill coal project

Usibelli, which mines coal in Healy, is considering mining its Wishbone Hill lease north of Palmer.

Company officials estimate the lease holds about 10 million tons of coal, enough to operate a mine for 12 to 20 years and employ 75 to 125 workers.

The company this week began building a 2.7-mile road to reach the proposed mine site. It also plans to drill exploratory holes to gather information for a mining feasibility study. If results are favorable, the company could begin production in 2012.

But first, Usibelli wants to secure two permits. The company must renew its exploration permit with the state this year. It also wants to renew a 25-year lease of 60 acres of Matanuska-Susitna Borough land.

The borough land, adjacent to Mile 56 of the Glenn Highway, is a key access point for the mine. The borough Planning Commission this week recommended that the borough deny the lease. The Mat-Su Assembly, which has final say on whether the lease is issued, will consider the matter Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Chickaloon Native Village leaders organized a protest Thursday. They said Moose Creek, which runs next to the proposed mine, is crucial to tribal members' religion and culture. Chickaloon is a federally recognized Ahtna Athabascan tribe.

"We hunt for moose for our traditional potlatch and (fish) for salmon here," said Shawna Larson, who helped organize the protest.

The argument represents the classic Alaska battle between the desire to develop natural resources such as coal and the desire to keep wild resources, such as salmon and moose, plentiful.

For Chickaloon tribal members, the issue is painful and historic. A turn-of-the-century mine was placed atop the Chickaloon village, then located on the Chickaloon River, said Angela Wade, tribal environmental stewardship director.

"It's been a history of oppression, depression and almost genocide for us," Wade said. "We were deprived of some of that symbiotic relationship (with the land) that we had."

While the new mine site is on state land, tribal members say it could be just as damaging. The mine road would enter the Glenn Highway just a few hundred feet from the tribe's Ya Ne Dah Ah School. Tribal members said they worry about the added traffic, and fear dust from the trucks will cloud the school and endanger children's health.

The road also would pass within 150 feet of Wade's back porch.

Usibelli spokeswoman Lorali Carter said coal dust from the trucks should not be an issue. The trucks will be covered with tarps and the company plans to haul during the night to avoid dealing with bus traffic.

The tribe's concerns go beyond the road. They have spent years restoring salmon habitat along Moose Creek, a waterway impaired when the creek was rerouted to accommodate a 1923 railroad spur. They worry the mine will destroy their gains.

"The potential impacts of this coal mine are severe. They will impact the salmon and moose," said Jessica Dryden, fisheries program manager for Chickaloon Village.

Usibelli disagrees that the mine will harm moose or Moose Creek. Company officials have tested moose habitat vegetation and say they have a planting mix that the moose will thrive on. Company project manager Rob Brown previously said mining activities will be separated from the creek by an elevation difference, which will preserve creek habitat.

"We're here to responsibly develop the resource. We're committed to doing things right," Carter said. "We will continue to listen to the concerns of the residents and do what we can to reasonably accommodate those concerns."