A portrait of my Grandfather Merrill and Great Uncle Carol made from their induction photos. Carol was a forward observer in the 1st ID and lost both of his legs in Normandy. Merrill served as a Navy Signalman assigned to escort duty for convoys departing New Orleans, bound for the Pacific.
Have some, Mike Iaconelli.
More friggin’ Dog-honest soul than a dozen yuppie fly boutiques put together:
Be the first to name the shop and get a couple Buster stickers.
Time to whack-’em and stack-’em before they go stale, but you already know this, don’t you?
By now, most of you have heard about the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay. I won’t insult your intelligence by rehashing the gory details (as provided by The Pebble Partnership) of the preliminary project report, but I would like to take this opportunity to make a few points.
- In addition to the proposed Pebble project, there are roughly 3.6 million acres of BLM land slated to become the Bristol Bay Hard-Rock Mining District. 1 million of these acres were opened to claims in 2008, the rest is closed but “pending designation”.
- According to the EPA, the hard-rock mining industry is the single largest source of toxic releases in the US.
- As of 2008, 93% of large-footprint mines similar to the proposed Pebble Project had violated their environmental standards.
- Bristol bay produces 70% of Alaska’s sockeye, worth $130 million in ex-vessel prices alone last year.
- Entering its 126th year, the commercial fishing industry and its support infrastructure in Bristol Bay represents roughly 75% of local employment.
- Alaska is still the only MSC-certified sustainable sockeye salmon fishery in the world.
- No fewer than 30 major gold handlers have spoken out against the proposed Pebble Mine, vowing to never buy gold sourced from Bristol Bay.
This isn’t just Alaska’s problem. With the BLM maneuvering to open the Bristol Bay Hard-Rock Mining District, it is now OUR problem. Instead of just wringing our hands, shouting at the television, or giving up in resignation, may I suggest a few alternative strategies?
For starters, go to the Save Bristol Bay website and sign the petition for the continued closure of BLM lands to mining interests. Shoren and company were thoughtful enough to have 2 separate petitions, one for Alaskans and one for the rest of y’all.
You can also write your state representatives to express your displeasure with the situation, and let them know that the proposed Pebble project and the opening of BLM lands to Hard-Rock Mining represent dangerous precedents in a world of rapidly diminishing wilderness acreage and critical wildlife habitat.
Support a conservation organization directly involved in the fight. The Renewable Resources Coalition, Save Bristol Bay, and the Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska come to mind. If your the type of fella that might want a little somethin’-somethin’ to show for your monetary contributions, there are some options here…
You can get a bitchin’ T-shirt or Hoodie with the “Over Our Dead Salmon” Troll brothers print from Sportsman’s Alliance. Hoodies are $35, T-shirts are $25…be sure to indicate your size and preference in the comments box.
If you enjoy the occasional beverage, protect your fine furniture from excessive beverage-container humidity with one of these No Pebble logo coasters, thoughtfully milled by the folks at Abel Automatics…yours for the low price of a $15 donation…type “Abel coaster” in the comments box.
If you would like to announce your Uppity Mountain Hippie-ness to the rest of the corporate world, you can snag one of these cool Fish Print Ties from March Brown (scroll down, and include BRISTOLBAY on the checkout screen). $50, with $25 going directly to the fight against the proposed Pebble Mine…Take your pick from Rainbow Trout, Grayling, King Salmon, Sockeye Salmon, and Pink Salmon. Personally, we like the Sockeye pattern.
In light of recent developments in the world of resource extraction, it’s time to stand up for the last great runs of Sockeye salmon left on earth, and one of the last undeveloped critical riparian habitats in North America.
They aren’t gonna do it for themselves.
Glista’s lab exploded and now there’s stuff all over the place. Anyone?
Suggestions: Mambo Chicken, Defenestrator, Electric Lycanthrope
Not that we condone or endorse such behavior
fib |fib|
noun
a lie, typically an unimportant one.
verb ( fibbed |fibd|, fibbing |fibng|) [ intrans. ]
tell such a lie.
DERIVATIVES
fibber |fibr| noun
Doing our part to give bloggers an even worse name than we already have.
Stay tuned.
First correct guess gets a sticker. May be two.
a memorial to Buster, the beer drinking pig, located somewhere in the Virgin Islands. According to the story, “The even better thing about this roadside attraction is that Buster’s legacy and imbibing continues on: if you buy a round from the bar, the bar owner will let you serve it up to his other (living) pigs…”
More on St. Croix’s famous beer drinking pigs here, here and here
“Bad weather always looks worse through a window.”
- Tom Lehrer
From AP:
British Petroleum’s 52-page exploration plan for the Deepwater Horizon well, filed with the federal Minerals Management Service, says repeatedly that it was, “unlikely that an accidental surface or subsurface oil spill would occur from the proposed activities.”
And while the company conceded that a spill would impact beaches, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas, it argued that “due to the distance to shore (48 miles) and the response capabilities that would be implemented, no significant adverse impacts are expected.”
- Approximately 75% of migrating waterfowl traversing the U.S. pass through the Gulf.
- The state bird of Louisiana, the Brown Pelican, was just taken off the Endangered Species List last year. They are in the midst of their breeding season right now on Gulf islands.
- One of the world’s largest colonies of the threatened Least tern.
- Up to 20 National Wildlife Refuges could be potentially affected by the spill, many home to species that are already threatened or endangered.
- Already hit – Breton National Wildlife Refuge, home to the largest tern colony in North America, predominantly of sandwich, royal, and caspian terns. Also American oystercatcher, Brown pelican, Reddish egret and endangered Piping plover. Also an important wintering area for Magnificent frigatebird, and stopover site for Redhead and Lesser scaup.
- The Gulf of Mexico yields more finfish, shrimp, and shellfish annually than the south and mid-Atlantic, Chesapeake, and New England areas combined.
- 59% of the nation’s total oyster catch.
- 73% of the nation’s shrimp harvest.
- $660 million dollar annual commercial fishery
- In Louisiana alone, recreational and commercial fishing have a total economic impact of about $4 billion, according the the state’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
* All stats courtesy of the EPA, National Marine Fisheries Service, The American Bird Conservancy, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries
