Opinion: Protect Alaska’s precious resources for future generations

The world is counting on us.

  • By NATALIE WATSON
  • Tuesday, April 16, 2019 10:09pm
  • Opinion
Aftermath of Mount Polley. (Courtesy Photo | Bonny Glambeck)

Aftermath of Mount Polley. (Courtesy Photo | Bonny Glambeck)

As an Alaskan who deeply loves my state, I am most alarmed by the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Pebble Mine issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Army Corps has clearly been compromised. They fail to take seriously the most looming threat from Pebble — a catastrophic tailings dam failure like the tragedy at Mount Polley in 2014. This dam failure resulted in a slurry of toxic water and millions of cubic meters of silt into pristine Quesnel Lake. Until then, Quesnel Lake had been the cleanest deep water lake in the world.

Salmon were caught with their skin disintegrating. Can you imagine the outrage if that happened in Alaska?

[Opinion: Defend Pebble Mine review on its merits instead of blaming critics]

Knight Piésold, the company responsible for designing the dam that failed, is the same company hired by Northern Dynasty to design the earthen dams at Pebble. How can we possibly entrust our children’s most precious earthly resources, like the world-class Bristol Bay salmon run, to the likes of them?

Even if we were lucky enough to avoid a catastrophic dam failure into the pristine salmon-bearing waters of Bristol Bay, the threat remains of slowly leaking mine waste for many, many generations long after Northern Dynasty has gone bankrupt and ceased to exist. It would fall to future taxpayers to clean up the mess, and that is unacceptable.

It is likewise unacceptable to drill for fossil fuels in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It is presently our obligation to sit tight on such fuel reserves. Future generations will surely need access to these energy stores so they may build the infrastructure to transition to clean and sustainable energy sources. This is the only remaining wise use for these reserves.

[Opinion: As farming takes root in Southeast, cuts to agriculture are worrisome]

Finally, Alaskans are proud to protect the largest remaining national forest, the Tongass. We recognize the forest as a precious resource that keeps our ecosystem healthy, contributes to a stable local economy through fishing, tourism, recreation and science, and provides mental and physical well-being to Southeast Alaskans, as well as over 1 million tourists a year.

We recognize the Tongass as ancient and sacred; its beauty and wildness are balm to the weary soul. In its cool, moist air, one dwells within the lungs of the living planet. Our planet depends on forests to inhale and store carbon. Intact old-growth forests such as the Tongass are a vital part of the global atmospheric carbon cycle, and stabilize the climate by sequestering vast amounts of carbon dioxide.

[Opinion: Roadless Rule and the Tongass should remain intact]

Contrary to the misinformation campaign regarding the Roadless Rule, the rule does allow some roads to be approved that deal with transmission lines, mining and hydropower. What we intend to block is industrial-scale logging. Alaskans are proud that the Roadless Rule is a model for the rest of the nation and intend to keep it intact.

What will our descendants make of this mad rush to exploit all the world’s resources within a few generations, leaving degraded food supplies and a climate gone haywire? We can’t help but see ahead to the appalling situation we are creating for them with our industrial-scale resource extraction. I envision them cursing us for letting the destruction of the global ecosystem happen on our watch and for not being brave enough to stop the bullies.

The overriding importance of maintaining a stable global climate and sustainable food systems demands that we guard and protect our state’s precious resources. The world is counting on us.

Natalie Watson is the board vice president of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council.


• Natalie Watson is the board vice president of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council. My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire.


Salmon with its skin peeling. (Courtesy Photo | Michael LeBourdais)

Salmon with its skin peeling. (Courtesy Photo | Michael LeBourdais)

More in Opinion

The Alaska Capitol on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
Alaska Voices: Legislature deserves credit

A special session shouldn’t have been necessary, but at least it was only one day instead of 30 days.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Alaska Voices: Please be safe, courteous, and legal as you fish in Alaska this summer

As you head out to hit the water this year, here are a few tips to help you have a safe and citation free season

An observer makes an entry in the Fish Map App on Prince of Wales Island. (Photo by Lee House/courtesy Salmon State)
Alaska Voices: Document Alaska rivers with new fish map app

The app provides a way for everyday Alaskans to document rivers home to wild salmon, whitefish, eulachon and other ocean-going fish — and earn money doing it

(Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
Opinion: Sustainability report is a greenwashing effort

Report leaves out “the not-so-pretty.”

Pictured is an adult Chinook salmon swimming in Ship Creek, Anchorage. (Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Voices of the Peninsula: Proactive measures key to king salmon recovery

I have been sport fishing king salmon along the eastern shores of Cook Inlet and in the Kenai River since 1977

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Honoring the fallen on Memorial Day

As we honor the men and women who fell in service to our nation, we must keep their memories alive through their stories

Shana Loshbaugh (Courtesy photo)
History conference seeking input from peninsula people

The Alaska Historical Society will hold its annual conference on the central peninsula this fall

Coach Dan Gensel (left) prepares to get his ear pierced to celebrate Soldotna High School’s first team-sport state championship on Friday, Febr. 12, 1993 in Soldotna, Alaska. Gensel, who led the Soldotna High School girls basketball team to victory, had promised his team earlier in the season that he would get his ear pierced if they won the state title. (Rusty Swan/Peninsula Clarion)
Remembering my friend, Dan Gensel

It’s a friendship that’s both fixed in time and eternal

(Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Opinion: The false gods in America’s gun culture

HB 61 is a solution in search of a problem.

KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland
Reflecting on a year of growth and resilience

A message from the superintendent

Jim Cockrell, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. (Courtesy photo/Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy)
Honoring the 69 peace officers who have died serving Alaskans

Alaska Peace Officer Memorial Day honors the brave men and women who have given their lives in the line of duty

Rep. Maxine Dibert (Image via Alaska State Legislature)
Opinion: The economic case for a significant investment in education

As our oil production and related revenue have declined, our investments in education have remained flat