ASHLAND—Oregon-based outfitter Ken Morrish’s first job involved working as a salmon tender in Alaska’s Bristol Bay—that was 25 years ago. Here Morrish argues against the proposed Pebble Mine project, an environmental threat with the potential to demolish a fishery and out-of-state jobs.
“If this project sat above Coos Bay or the headwaters of one of Oregon’s great rivers, Oregonians wouldn’t stand for it. But Oregonians cannot dismiss Pebble as some other state’s problem. If Bristol Bay were destroyed as an angler’s destination, my business would lose more than $500,000 in annual sales, forcing me to lay off employees. That same threat hovers over many others.
“However, there is a way to avert this disaster. The Environmental Protection Agency is assessing the Bristol Bay watershed and could block the mine under the Clean Water Act. So, Oregonians, please write the EPA. Write Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley and tell them to support the EPA in its scientific assessment.”
Tom Bie is the founder, editor, and publisher of The Drake. He started the magazine in 1998 as an annual newsprint publication based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He then moved it to Steamboat, Colorado (1999), Boulder, Colorado (2001), and San Clemente, California (2004), as he took jobs as managing editor at Paddler, Senior Editor at Skiing, and Editor-in-Chief at Powder, respectively. Tom and The Drake are now both based in Denver, Colorado, where The Drake is finally all grows up(Swingers, 1996) to a quarterly magazine.