Quick, credible links to help you write your comment.
Bolster your comment by adding the facts with their sources.
For a full list of sources, click here.
Ecology
- The Bristol Bay watershed supports large carnivores such as brown bears, bald eagles, and wolves that depend on salmon; ungulates such as moose and caribou; and numerous waterfowl species. (EPA, 2014)
- Over 20 million fish spawned in the Kvichak River watershed of Alaska in 1980 (Alaska Department of Fish and Game). Assuming an average fish weight of 5.9 pounds, this equals about 118 million lbs. of biomass that salmon distributed throughout the watershed including important nutrients estimated at about 55,000 lbs. of Phosphorus, 40,000 lbs. of Nitrogen, and 590,000 lbs. of Calcium (Gende, 2002, p. 917-928).
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Commercial
Fisheries Data. Anchorage, Alaska.
- Gende, S. M., R. T. Edwards, M. F. Willson, and M. S. Wipfli. 2002. Pacific salmon in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Bioscience. 10:917-928.
- Sourced from www.pebblescience.com
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Commercial
Economics
- Bristol Bay salmon is the world’s most valuable wild salmon industry, creating $1.5 billion in economic output. The Economic Importance of the Bristol Bay
Salmon Industry (Institute of Social and Economic Research, 2013, pg. 1)
Food Security
- The Bristol Bay watershed supports the largest sockeye salmon run in the world, producing approximately 46% of the world's wild sockeye harvest. (EPA, 2014)
Toxicity
- The proposed mining operation would create levels of copper highly toxic to salmon. Effects of Copper on Fish and Aquatic Resources (Woody, C.A., 2012, pg. 1)
- Woody, C.A. (2012). Effects of Copper on Fish and Aquatic Resources. Retrieved from Fisheries Research and Consulting
Viability
- The EPA proposes that no mine of any size should ever be built at the proposed site. (EPA, 2014)
Water Quality
- Indirect effects of stream and wetland losses would include reductions in the quality of downstream habitat for coho salmon, sockeye salmon, Chinook salmon, rainbow trout, and Dolly Varden. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2014, p. 14)
- Water quality would be diminished by uncollected leakage of tailings and waste rock leachates from the containment system, which would occur during routine operations. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2014, p. 15)
- Based on a review of historical and currently operating mines, some failure of water collection and treatment systems would be expected to occur during operation or post-closure periods. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2014, p. 16)
almost done,
Get that quality comment submitted!