It seems as if just about everyone has an opinion about the proposed Pebble Mine. Some do not support it at all because of fears it will affect the fishery in Bristol Bay. Others seem to be ready to turn loose the heavy equipment tomorrow for the jobs and economic opportunity it could bring. And in between these positions stand many like us. We remain neutral about the project while intrigued by the opportunity -- if done right -- that it could present.

What we do support is allowing the process to work, both the Pebble Partnership's internal scrutiny and the public review it will go through via the government.

Much of Pebble's current and future work must cross our lands. Our shareholders rely upon the resources of our lands and they are very interested in what happens.

We want a seat at the table to learn as much as we can about what they are studying, what kind of economic opportunities are available, what kind of processes they will work through, and to ask as many questions as we can about their business. We want to understand how they will manage the environmental impacts and what they will do to ensure that local hire is a priority.

Today, many of our shareholders work with Pebble. They help with drilling, helicopter services, housekeeping, environmental monitoring, field support, bear guards, the drill core, and monitoring activities on our lands. We have business agreements with the partnership and we're constantly looking for new ones. In a region that is hurting economically, it's important to recognize what this means.

The cost of energy, food, and transportation for our shareholders is significantly higher than it is in Anchorage. Pebble represents an opportunity to potentially change that.

Many organizations have joined mine and either sponsored resolutions supporting these important points or have adopted positions that advocate a wait-and-see approach to Pebble, pending the outcome of the permitting process. They include Tyonek Native Corp., Seldovia Native Association, Alaska Peninsula Corp. (Port Heiden, Ugashik, South Naknek, Newhalen, and Kokhanok), Kijik Corp., Igiugig Native Corp. and Chickaloon Native Corp.

We want to spend our time and energy constructively working with Pebble today and keeping an open mind about the opportunities and risks.

John Allen Adcox is president of Pedro Bay Corp. A longer version of this commentary appears at adn.com/guestcolumns/webextra/

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