JUNEAU — The former public face of the Pebble mine project is advancing closer to a confirmation vote as head of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, despite a surge of public testimony in opposition.

The latest federal review of the proposed Pebble Mine is still making headway despite the ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government, with its first results anticipated late next month.

TOM COLLIER IS BUCKLED INTO THE BACK of a six-seat AS350 Helicopter, racing over the lowland bluffs of southwest Alaska. Clad in a black Helly Hansen jacket and baseball hat bearing the word Pebble, he doesn’t exactly look at ease, though he’ll later claim otherwise. When the chopper banks south, he reaches awkwardly for the ceiling, desperate for something to grab.

Last month, the Pebble Limited Partnership announced it reached an agreement with Alaska Peninsula Corp., or APC, for a right-of-way over the Native corporation’s land. PLP is trying to sell the agreement as being a “big step forward for the project” and has cited it as proof that the company has support from Bristol Bay residents. That couldn’t be further from the truth. We are sad to report that the current APC leadership struck this right-of-way agreement with PLP behind closed doors, and the news came as a surprise to us as shareholders and descendants, who stand with the majority of Bristol Bay in opposing this toxic project. We will not sit by silently while APC leadership and Pebble attempt to mislead the public into thinking the people in the region now support the Pebble Project.