My friend Kevin Paulson and his team at www.HuntingLife.com sent me an intriguing press release today. Excerpts are below. Raffle details are at the end.
Today marks the launch of a special campaign aimed at raising awareness among America’s hunters about a very serious threat facing one of the world’s most iconic sporting destinations: Alaska’s famed Bristol Bay region. While the world of sportfishing has been more aware of the plans to turn this area in southwest Alaska, which is home to the world’s most productive wild salmon fishery and tremendous angling and hunting opportunities, into a massive mining district, the time has come for hunters and the hunting community to further engage in this monumental conservation battle.
“HuntingLife.com has been committed to conservation from day one so it was a natural partnership to work with the Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska to protect such amazing resources like Bristol Bay and the Tongass National Forest. Bristol Bay is one of those areas in America where sportsmen from all walks of life dream of hunting moose, caribou and bears or wetting a line pursuing the mighty salmon and trout. Partnering with the Sportman’s Alliance for Alaska on this wonderful project was a no-brainer for Team HuntingLife,” said HuntingLife.com founder Kevin C. Paulson.
For anyone not familiar with the debate raging in Bristol Bay, here is a brief primer. Bristol Bay is home to the largest runs of wild salmon left on the planet, with tens of millions of fish returning every year. The salmon form the cornerstone of an incredibly rich and complex ecosystem which also supports some of the finest trophy wild rainbow trout fishing found in the world, and additional angling opportunities for Dolly Varden, arctic char, lake trout, arctic grayling, and northern pike. Of course the salmon also feed the large population of brown and black bears found in the region. Hunters have traveled to the Bristol Bay area for decades to pursue not only bear, but also trophy moose and caribou from the famed Mulchatna herd in a wild and remote setting. This sporting mecca is located in southwest Alaska, approximately 250 miles from Anchorage, and is only accessible by plane or boat. In the midst of this rich fish and game habitat, a foreign partnership (one British company and one Canadian company) have plans to develop the largest open-pit copper/gold/molybdenum mine in North America. If approved, the Pebble Mine could include a massive open pit mine, an adjacent underground mine, 5 huge earthen dams (including two of the largest on the planet – one being 4.3 miles long and over 740 feet tall), and a tailings lake covering as much as 15 square miles to hold back the toxic byproducts of the mining process. Even more alarming, the Pebble Mine could become the centerpiece of what the mining industry has referred to as a world-class mining district. Over 1,000 square miles of state lands are already staked with mining claims in the region and the federal Bureau of Land Management has proposed lifting the mining restrictions on over 1 million acres of lands under its management in the Bristol Bay region. It’s not hard to imagine that such development in one of the world’s premier hunting and angling destinations would have an impact on fish and game and sportsperson’s opportunities to pursue them.
Scott Hed serves as the Director of the Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska (SAA), whose goal is to engage sportspersons in the battle for Bristol Bay’s future. “The need is urgent right now to engage hunters in this fight. Hunters and anglers both have a lot at stake in the future of Bristol Bay. While Bristol Bay is most well-known as one of the top sportfishing destinations on the planet, it’s also a premier place for big game hunting. Hunters travel from across the globe to pursue trophy moose, caribou, and bear in this region,” said Hed. In the past year, the Dallas Safari Club, Wildlife Forever, and Izaak Walton League of America have expressed their opposition to the plans to turn Bristol Bay into an industrial mining zone.
Today the SAA is launching a new page on its website to help raise awareness among hunters about this critical issue. At www.SportsmansAlliance4AK.org/BristolBayHunt.html visitors will learn more about hunting in Bristol Bay, view an upcoming advertisement to be placed in Black’s Wing, Clay, and Waterfowl 2009 Guide, and be able to make a donation to the Bristol Bay conservation campaign. Perhaps most exciting is the drawing in which donors will be entered.
Hed added “Through the tremendous support and leadership of conservation-minded companies like HuntingLife.com, Kimber, Leupold, Sitka Gear and Polartec, I’m thrilled that hunters will now be able to learn more about the Bristol Bay region and how they can get involved in the fight to protect an iconic sporting destination. The participation of the Whitney family and Alaska Wilderness Trips, Inc. really put the icing on the cake as we were developing this fundraiser.”
For a suggested minimum donation of $50, donors will be entered in a drawing for the following prize package:
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10-day fully guided Alaska moose hunt for 1 hunter in 2009 with Alaska Wilderness Trips, Inc.
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Kimber Model 84M or 8400 Montana rifle in winner’s choice of caliber
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Leupold VX-II 3-9x40mm scope
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90% Jacket, Ascent pant, and base layer system from Sitka Gear and Polartec
The retail value of the package is approximately $11,700.
For additional information, see: www.SportsmansAlliance4AK.org/BristolBayHunt.html