Pebble mine plans could threaten McNeil River bears

Opponents and critics of the Pebble mine project frequently — and rightly — comment that the proposed open-pit gold and copper mine is located in the worst possible place: namely, the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed, famous for its world-class salmon runs. Now, it can be added that the Pebble Partnership's newly proposed transportation corridor and port are located in what is likely the worst possible place: a short distance from McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and Refuge, known worldwide for its unmatched gathering of brown bears and their remarkable acceptance of a human presence.

McNeil River is a place the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has lauded as the "crown jewel" of its special management areas. Its bear-viewing program is widely recognized as the gold standard. Much has already been written and reported about the mine itself, so here I will focus on the newest Pebble twist and the threat its ore transportation plan poses to the sanctuary and its bears, because few people know about it.

To move ore concentrates to the western shores of Cook Inlet for shipment out of Alaska, the Pebble Partnership originally proposed a road corridor that swung north of Iliamna Lake, partly following an established route to a coastal locale called Williamsport. For various reasons, project leaders sought other avenues. In the end, they looked south and chose a route that would traverse Iliamna Lake, then follow a road corridor to Amakdedori beach, with one section of that road passing just north of McNeil Refuge. Much of the proposed corridor, plus the port site, would be on state-owned lands.

This revised transportation plan is an integral part of the permit application the Pebble Partnership recently submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers.
Here's the problem: Several miles of this newly proposed road, along with an associated gas line and the port, lie within 10 to 15 miles of the McNeil sanctuary and the famed river where dozens of brown bears gather each year. Such an industrial zone is far too close to this protected congregation of brown bears — the world's largest such gathering — and would present risks to McNeil's renowned viewing program. More importantly, it could harm brown bears that spend time at McNeil and others that travel up and down the coast.

For starters, the proposed road and port would be smack-dab in the middle of an important — some might say critical — corridor used by large numbers of bears as they move along the wilderness coast of western Cook Inlet in search of food and, in early summer, mating partners. McNeil is a key stop for dozens of those bears, but there are several other places where bears gather, both north and south of Amakdedori beach. Not only would the proposed industrial area disrupt their movements, it would also inevitably cause human-bear conflicts. Some number of bears would be killed.

You don't have to take my word for it. Several people who've worked at McNeil River warn of the dangers, including Drew Hamilton, who served six years as the sanctuary's assistant manager and is now a bear-viewing guide and president of the group Friends of McNeil River; and Larry Aumiller, who managed McNeil sanctuary for 30 years and knows that coastal region, and its bears, as well as anyone. They and others have no doubt the road and port would be harmful to both the bears and the bear-human relationships that are key to McNeil's success.

To Aumiller, the greatest concerns are the displacement and human killing of bears, especially "bear mortality." In addition to direct deaths and displacement of bears, McNeil's visitor program would be compromised, even diminished, by the presence of a nearby industrial zone where bears are "taught" lessons that contradict what they learn at McNeil River. One of the keys to McNeil's success has been the strict management of human behavior, so that people are neither a threat to the bears nor a source of food. As Aumiller puts it, "Nowhere else in Alaska (or the world, I might add) do that many bears have this sort of highly developed relationship with humans. The humans trust the bears and the bears trust the humans." Bears that have to negotiate an industrial zone where the rules are very different will get mixed messages, which will make the McNeil mission much more difficult.

One other thought to consider: While most concerns focus on the bears and bear-human interactions, Aumiller reflects that a port operation at Amakdedori beach would lead to "the destruction of one of the most scenic and biologically fruitful sites on all of Cook Inlet. It has beaches, intertidal areas, grasslands, ponds, hills, cliff faces and so on. It is awesome both scenically and as an ecosystem."

For all of these reasons and others, the proposed new road corridor and Amakdedori port is an awful choice, an industrial zone in one of the worst
places imaginable.

The McNeil River bear sanctuary is an amazing success story, one Alaskans can rightfully be proud of. At the core of that success is a guiding principle: Here, the bears come first. McNeil, Aumiller emphasizes, is "absolutely unique" in its mandate. Yet that overriding philosophy will be compromised and weakened if government agencies allow the construction of a nearby industrial zone.

If the Alaska Department of Fish and Game truly has the best interests of McNeil River's bears and its visitor program at heart, it will oppose the Pebble Partnership's permit application to the Army Corps of Engineers. And the state will refuse to allow such industrial development on its lands in that part of Alaska.

There are, of course, many reasons to oppose the proposed Pebble mine. This is simply one more, but it's a huge one. I urge Alaskans to express their concerns to the Army Corps of Engineers during its "scoping period," which runs through June 29. To learn more and/or comment, go to the Corps' website.

Anchorage nature writer Bill Sherwonit is the author of more than a dozen books, including "Alaska's Bears" and "Animal Stories: Encounters with Alaska's Wildlife." It's been his pleasure and privilege to visit McNeil River and spend time in the company of the sanctuary's bears several times.