Bishop David meets with DC officials concerning Pebble Mine Project
On February 25, 2014, His Grace Bishop David of Sitka and Alaska participated in a news conference sponsored by Creation Justice Ministries with the Bristol Bay area organizations fighting the Pebble Mine Project. [See related story.]
The group also went to the William Jefferson Clinton Building complex to meet with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], Gena McCarthy. Although she was unable to attend the meeting, her staff expressed her deep concern with this issue. People from Bristol Bay presented a large amount of petitions to the EPA asking for them to make a final decision on the mining project.
On February 26, 2014, Bishop David will meet with Alaskan Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich and Alaskan Congressman Don Young. In addition, he will meet with representatives from the National Park Service.
The proposed Pebble Mine would have an immense negative impact on the subsistence lifestyle of native Alaskans both in Bristol Bay and throughout the interior—a way of life that is a necessity for survival in the villages throughout the region and one that Native Alaskans have practiced for thousands of years.