Bristol Bay corporation honors three Pebble opponents, says it is ready to work on a protection bill

Bristol Bay Native Corporation says it is ready to work with Alaska's congressional delegation and the Trump Administration on legislation permanently protecting the region's salmon fishery, which it says supports 15,000 commercial fishing, processing and tourism jobs and a $2 billion economy. The corporation made the offer Tuesday at its ninth annual Wild Salmon Celebration in Washington, D.C., naming no bill, sponsor or timeline.

Protection now rests on the EPA's Bristol Bay determination, issued Jan. 30, 2023 under the Clean Water Act, limiting mine waste disposal near the Pebble deposit. EPA said in May nothing is pending to revisit it. BBNC cited those same jobs and economic figures in 2024 while defending the determination against court challenges from Northern Dynasty Minerals and the State of Alaska. The corporation says it opposes the proposed Pebble Mine specifically, not mining in general.

Fish First awards, which BBNC says honor Bristol Bay salmon champions, went to Thomas "Tom" Tilden, Second Chief of the Curyung Tribal Council; McKie Campbell, a former state Fish and Game commissioner; and Peter Van Tuyn, who drafted BBNC's EPA petition. Each got a salmon and trout skin basket handcrafted by Bristol Bay resident Marlene Nielsen.