Skip to main content

Trump and Biden Agree on Pebble Mine

Trump and Biden Agree on Pebble Mine
Photo: Pat Ford

Donald Trump Jr. and Joe Biden both agree, Bristol Bay is no place for a mine. After the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Pebble Mine in July, public outcry over the mine reached all all-time high. The Canadian-owned mine at the headwaters of the Nushagak and Kvichak rivers in Bristol Bay, Alaska, threatens the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, with more than 40 million fish returning to spawn so far in 2020.

“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," Trump Jr. wrote in a tweet Aug. 4.

Presidential candidate Joe Biden agreed with him: "“It is no place for a mine,” Biden wrote in a press release. “The Obama-Biden Administration reached that conclusion when we ran a rigorous, science-based process in 2014, and it is still true today.”

The Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration proposed halting the project in 2014, but the same agency under Trump gave the project a green light.

After his son's tweet, the president promised to take another look at the mine.

“I would certainly listen to both sides. My son has some very strong opinions and my son is very much of an environmentalist,” Trump told reporters at a press briefing.

“I will look at both sides of it."

The fly-fishing industry has widely condemned the proposed mine, with companies from Simms to Orvis and Nautilus reels speaking out against the project.

Bristol Bay’s sockeye salmon economy provides 14,000 commercial fishing jobs and a $1.5 billion economy that stretches from fly-fishing guides and lodges to grocery stores and restaurants in New York City.

“The science is clear: this mine is indefensible,” said Guido Rahr, CEO of Wild Salmon Center. “It cannot be safely built without harming the fishery in Bristol Bay. And a catastrophic tailings dam failure would release toxic waste that would affect the long-term productivity of salmon fisheries. It’s just too big a risk to take. And it’s time for the EPA to step in and stop this mine.”




GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
News

Lefty: The Greatest of All Time

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
Gear

DIY Airbrushing on Popper Heads

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
Gear

Trailer: The Kids Are Alright

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
Gear

Fly Tier's Bench: How to Tie Craven's Lil Bit Nymph

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
How-To/Techniques

Ed Jaworowski's Functional Fly Casting Part 1: Acceleration

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
News

Jimmy Carter Was One of Us

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
News

The Genesis of a Film: Legacy

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
News

Salmon Return to the Klamath River

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
Destinations/Species

Simms Presents - Destination: Skeena

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
News

Just Do It: Nike and Drake Plunge into Fly Fishing

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
News

Abel x Nocta Fly Reel

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
How-To/Techniques

G. Loomis's “Feel Connected” Episode 2: "Rolled Up"

Fly Fisherman Magazine Covers Print and Tablet Versions

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Digital Now Included!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services

PREVIEW THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Buy Digital Single Issues

Magazine App Logo

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get the Fly Fisherman App apple store google play store

Other Magazines

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

See All Special Interest Magazines

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Get the top Fly Fisherman stories delivered right to your inbox.

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All Fly Fisherman subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Enjoying What You're Reading?

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.

Offer only for new subscribers.

Subscribe Now

Never Miss a Thing.

Get the Newsletter

Get the top Fly Fisherman stories delivered right to your inbox.

By signing up, I acknowledge that my email address is valid, and have read and accept the Terms of Use