April 6, 2018

Thanks to the comments of thousands of Alaskans, today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced they will give the public more time to comment on Pebble's permit application after initially only giving 30-days, which would have been less time for public comment than any other on-going project overseen by the Corps of Engineers in Alaska, despite being the largest and most controversial proposal in the state. The Corps of Engineers is now extending the comment deadline through June 29.

Pictured Above: Organizations who had requested the extension before this news broke.

Close to 5,000 Alaskans asked our Governor and key state leaders to formally request the timeline be extended. THANK YOU!

Our state leaders heard their constituents and took action – the State's Department of Natural Resources sent a formal letter, as did Speaker of the House Rep. Bryce Edgmon, and our senior Senator, Lisa Murkowski, in addition to numerous local organizations and individuals.

Today, we thank the individuals and state leaders who requested the Army Corps of Engineers do the sensible thing and give the public more time to weigh in on the massive, threatening Pebble Mine proposal.

We're glad that Alaskans and Americans who value the Bristol Bay region will have a greater opportunity to weigh in and express concerns, and we'll look to the Corps of Engineers to take the time to actually listen once all the comments have been collected.

Pebble is the largest and most controversial project in Alaska's history. Learn more about Pebble’s current proposal here. Any proposal situated at the headwaters of Bristol Bay deserves a thorough and rigorous review. This extension is the first step in providing Alaskans a meaningful opportunity to weigh in, though we hope to see more from our state and federal government to ensure the proposed Pebble mine undergoes the highest level of scientific and public scrutiny that considers the impacts of mining the entire 11-billion-ton deposit and not just the initial phase of mining offered by Pebble today.

Today, we celebrate the extension and appreciate the efforts made by thousands of Alaskans and our elected officials to see it come to fruition, but will continue to look to our state and federal decisionmakers to ensure the immense value of Bristol Bay's fishery, and fish-based cultures, are considered in any development within the region.

If you have not already commented, please do so today. If you live in Alaska, please consider attending one of nine hearings, which begin next week. Details can be found here.

If you were one of the ~5,000 Alaskans to comment on this fast-tracked permit process and ask for a more rigorous review, THANK YOU. Your voice made a difference. We hope you'll continue to speak up!