NRDC’s campaign to stop the massive Pebble Mine project that threatens Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

My name is Joel Reynolds, and I’m heading up NRDC’s campaign to stop the massive Pebble Mine project that threatens Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

I’m writing to thank you for signing our Petition of Protest to Mitsubishi, one of the companies backing the Pebble Mine. I just returned from Tokyo, where Mitsubishi was holding its annual shareholders’ meeting, and I wanted to let you know that your signed Petition has been delivered!

First, the good news. Our Petition of Protest went right to the top. In a private, closed-door meeting with six senior officials at Mitsubishi I personally delivered your petition and the petitions of over 98,500 other NRDC Members and online activists. The meeting was cordial and respectful. They listened carefully to our points, reviewed the petitions and asked questions. The lines of communication are open.

Now the less-good news. Although Mitsubishi told me they are concerned about the environmental and community issues we raised, they gave me no indication that they are walking away from the Pebble Mine project. This is hardly surprising, of course, at this early stage of our campaign. But it does mean that the wildlife and Native communities of this pristine wilderness remain at grave risk if this dirty mine gets built.

Good intentions won’t save wildlife. As the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has proven, things can go terribly wrong in resource extraction operations and the consequences can be catastrophic.

The facts remain: the massive Pebble Mine would be dug right at the headwaters of the pristine watershed that feeds Bristol Bay. The mine would generate some 10 billion tons of waste, including toxic byproducts like arsenic and cyanide. As all large mines do, it would leak, spilling copper -- which is toxic to salmon -- right into Alaska’s biggest sockeye salmon fishery, on which wildlife, Native communities and commercial fishermen all depend for their survival.

An overwhelming majority of Native Alaskans in the Bristol Bay region oppose the Pebble Mine. And you have stood with them in opposition by signing our petition!

Mitsubishi isn’t walking away from the Pebble Mine -- YET. But, with your strong support, we will keep increasing the pressure until Mitsubishi realizes that this project is a disaster waiting to happen and simply isn’t worth the staggering environmental and financial risks.

The stakes are quite high for Mitsubishi. But they are even higher for the whales, moose, seals, caribou, salmon and other wildlife of the Bristol Bay wilderness. Their survival is at stake if Pebble Mine goes forward. We can’t let that happen.

We will be writing more in the weeks to come about the next crucial action for you to take in defense of Bristol Bay. Until then, thank you for your recent participation in this campaign, and for your commitment to saving one of our last great wild places!

Sincerely,
Joel Reynolds
NRDC Senior Attorney, Stop the Pebble Mine Campaign

P.S. Mitsubishi has backed down to NRDC before, when we and our partners mobilized a worldwide campaign against its plan to industrialize the last untouched nursery of the Pacific gray whale. I believe Mitsubishi will do the right thing again -- if we keep the pressure on. Thank you for doing all you can.