Column on Pebble rife with inaccuracies

In his opening paragraph, Jenkins calls respected leaders of Bristol Bay's Native communities "stooges" and people of a region of Alaska with a history that goes back 10,000 years, "dupes."

In the second paragraph, Jenkins shows himself to be the one duped by Pebble propaganda when he states that "for the record" no concept of what Pebble mine might look like even exists.

In July of 2006, Pebble developers gave very detailed schematics for a giant open pit mine and five of the largest dams on earth to hold millions of tons of toxic mining waste. In presentations around the world since, mine developers have continually expanded upon these plans with scenarios showing how big their open pit would be under various mine lifespans. Most recently, as they prepared to sell their 50 percent stake in Pebble to take the cash and run, Northern Dynasty announced that Pebble mine would be able to pay for development costs in just six years -- making it a cash cow for investors.

And yet Jenkins says that there is no concept of what Pebble mine might look like.

Next, Jenkins calls lifelong Alaskan, Bob Gillam, "a rich lodge owner who only wants to protect a fishing experience for rich guys." Gillam owns a personal residence located on Lake Clark. He does not own a lodge and makes no money from his Bristol Bay home. He has been an involved Bristol Bay resident for more than 35 years and, in 2009, he was given a unique tribute -- being named Chief Koktuli by local Natives. It is these local residents -- the "dupes" as Jenkins calls them -- who asked Gillam to help them stop Pebble Mine from destroying the waters that feed the largest wild salmon fishery left on earth.

For years, Pebble opponents have pointed out that every one of the largest copper mines in the world has destroyed the waters around them, and that no such mine has ever been developed in a location as remote and sensitive as Bristol Bay. Pebble developers have never once refuted this fact. They have chosen instead to point to unrelated smaller mines in dissimilar locations to "prove" that Pebble can be developed safely.

And how about the rotten core of Jenkins' column -- his attack on the Save Our Salmon Initiative? From the beginning, Pebble developers not only promised to listen to the people of Bristol Bay, they said repeatedly that they would never proceed with the mine if they did not have the full support of the local people. More than 80 percent of Bristol Bay residents oppose development of the Pebble mine, yet development continues with promises of quick returns to investors.

Bristol Bay residents filed the Save Our Salmon Initiative as a last resort to ensure that Pebble's promises to protect salmon would be enforceable. The initiative simply says that large-scale resource extraction activities cannot destroy or degrade salmon streams.

The Pebble Partnership sued to keep the initiative off the Oct. 4 Lake and Peninsula Borough election ballot. They know full well that with documented salmon streams criss-crossing the mine site, they cannot develop Pebble without destroying those streams.

Pebble's lawsuit failed. The Alaska Supreme Court allowed the initiative to remain on the ballot. The Pebble Partnership then started a group to deceive local voters by saying that the Save Our Salmon Initiative will stop hunting and fishing and roads and schools and ports, etc., etc. It will do none of those things.

Jenkins describes the initiative as an effort to keep "rich folks fishing." Certainly, if Pebble Mine is allowed to destroy the fish of the Bristol Bay drainage, rich folks will no longer be able to fish there ... but neither will the local residents that Jenkins calls "dupes" and "stooges," whose ancestors have relied on these fish for 10,000 years.

Art Hackney is a lifelong Alaskan who supports mining but opposes the Pebble Mine. His company produces anti-Pebble ads.