What do you get when you combine a Senator from West Virginia, the entire U.S. House of Representatives, Jimmy Fallon, and Donald Trump Junior all speaking in unison on Bristol Bay?
Answer: a firestorm (don’t worry, not a literal one).
At the end of July, the House of Representatives passed a bill that included an amendment intended to thwart the permit process for the proposed Pebble mine on behalf of Bristol Bay residents, sportsmen and women, fishermen and advocates nationwide. The prohibition of the Army Corps of Engineers from using funding to issue a Record of Decision on the Pebble permit currently under review was welcomed news, and was followed by leaders in the Senate strongly opposing the mine.
On Friday, July 31st, Senator Joe Manchin (WV) released a statement calling out the inadequate review process for the mine, and called on the Administration to deny Pebble’s permit. Read Senator Manchin’s full statement here.
With these, the embers ignited. Then the wind blew in to stoke the flames.
A Tuesday afternoon tweet from former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, Nick Ayers, set off a full-blown firestorm of attention directed at Bristol Bay and the proposed Pebble mine.
In the days that followed, conservative political figures, celebrities, presidential candidates, and sportsmen and women tweeted their overwhelming opposition to the mine, and acknowledged the rarity of shared views coming from across the political spectrum.
Following the signing of the Great American Outdoors Act, Ayers tweeted, “Like millions of conservationists and sportsmen, I am hoping @realDonaldTrump will direct @EPA to block the Pebble mine in Bristol Bay. A Canadian company will unnecessarily mine the USA's greatest fishery at a severe cost. This should be stopped and I believe @POTUS will do so!”
An hour later, the President’s eldest son, Donald Trump, Jr. retweeted Ayers’ message, and added, “As a sportsman who has spent plenty of time in the area I agree 100%. The headwaters of Bristol Bay and the surrounding fishery are too unique and fragile to take any chances with. #PebbleMine"
The tweet from Donald Trump Jr. was immediately met with overwhelming agreement from the sporting community - a group that has said for over a decade that southwest Alaska is one of the most sought-after hunting and fishing destinations on the planet. Trump Jr., has visited Bristol Bay on numerous occasions.
Trump Jr.’s tweet was followed by a chorus of other advocates for Bristol Bay, who shared the same anti-Pebble sentiments. The tweets called for President Trump to deny Pebble’s key federal permit, which is currently under review by the Army Corps of Engineers and on track to be issued in the next four to six weeks.
On Friday, hunters and anglers nationwide rallied together once again, asking President Trump in a Twitter storm to deny the federal permit for the proposed Pebble mine.
The Twitter storm was followed over the weekend by Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, weighing in. In his statement, Biden pledged to stop Pebble should he be elected the next President of the United States.
““Bristol Bay has been foundational to the way of life of Alaska Natives for countless generations, provides incredible joy for recreational anglers from across the country, and is an economic powerhouse that supplies half of the world’s wild sockeye salmon. It is no place for a mine.” ”
While Biden’s statement is another powerful nod to the importance of Bristol Bay, the decision to grant or deny Pebble their permit will likely be before November.
The Army Corps of Engineers could issue a permit for Pebble as early as this month and almost certainly before the election. Sign the letter or tweet the President today to ask him to deny Pebble’s permit.
Sportsmen and women, commercial fishermen, Tribes, Republicans, Democrats, Independents and everyone else are putting their differences aside when it comes to Bristol Bay because they know that the fish, the people, and the resources of the region are too precious to be squandered by a Canadian mining company with an incomplete and risky plan.
If you are unconvinced that the tweets and messages of support for Bristol Bay are significant let us leave you with this: in 2020, an issue that can bring people from the furthest ends of the political spectrum together, is one worth paying attention to.