Obama Declares Bristol Bay Off Limits to New Oil and Gas Drilling Leases
President Barack Obama on December 16 decreed the entire area off limits by signing a Presidential Memorandum withdrawing these beautiful and pristine waters from all future oil and gas drilling, according to a White House press release.
In doing so Obama invoked Native Alaskans and their traditional uses of the land, as well as the key role they played in helping preserve the watershed.
Bristol Bay has supported Native Americans in the Alaska region for centuries, he said in a video address. It supports about $2 billion in the commercial fishing industry, supplies America with forty percent of its wild-caught seafood. It is a beautiful natural wonder, and its something thats too precious for us to just be putting out to the highest bidder.
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Although the memorandum does not directly address mining, it acknowledges the importance of protecting this major watershed region, home to one of the worlds biggest wild salmon runs, and the traditional territory of many Native Alaskans. Its a major victory for those who have been fighting off the Pebble Mine development, which would have created the worlds biggest open-pit mine, although the implications were not explicit in Obamas decree. In addition, he said in the memorandum, Nothing in this withdrawal affects the rights under existing leases in this area.
There has been an ongoing battle to protect the massive watershed, and Obamas move puts about 32.5 million acres, known as the North Aleutian Basin Planning Area and including Bristol Bay, off limits to new oil and gas drilling leases. What Obama has done is cancel a new lease sale for 2011, set by the previous administration, that would have opened up 5.6 million acres, or about one-fifth of the planning area, to drilling, the White House said.
In 2010, President Obama temporarily withdrew the Bristol Bay area from oil and gas development, and today's action extends that protection indefinitely, the White House statement said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been attempting to block the mining proposal under the Clean Water Act, with mixed results.
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Obama also recognized the efforts of Native Alaskans in preserving the region and protecting it from industrial development.
Because of the great work that was done by local communities, Native Alaskans, folks who cared about making sure that we preserved this natural wonder for generations to come, we were able to take action that is going to take it off the bidders block and make sure that it is preserved into the future, he said.
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/12/17/obama-declares-bristol-bay-limits-new-oil-and-gas-drilling-leases-158329
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When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money.
~ Cree Prophecy ~
Well, good. I'm glad to hear this!
Me too Dowser. I've been there, and it is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
I hope that the Pebble Mine project is dead as well.
I hope so, too!
This is one of our last "wild" places. I hope we can keep it as such!
It's stunningly beautiful BF. You will enjoy it, when you get there.
We are behind the curve in many ways when it comes to protecting our beautiful land.
Costa Rica is a good example of saving their country for generations to enjoy.
Right across the street from Elmendorf AFB - beautiful - absolutely beautiful.
Very true Buzz. It seems that the destruction of the planet for monetary gain is more important saving it for our grandchildren.
Hopefully this will keep a beautiful part of earth intact.
Fished salmon in the 5 rivers of Bristol Bay for years. Truly an incomparable land. No oil wells and Pebble Mine is effectively DOA. Finally the conservationists won a big one for the team!
We did win one for the team dd. It's a good feeling that this pristine land and water will remain, just that, pristine.
Now if he would stop the open pit iron or mine in Wisconsin that is planned, it would really be a great week.
That it is 1st.
Irony at it's best or worst.
Einstein said that "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous."
Maybe not so ironic as cosmic.
In Wisconsin we face such a series of environmental issues. On one side is Republican governor Scott Walker, flush from another election victory and his pants and jacket, bulging with millions of dollars from the mining corporations.
On the other side we have Wisconsin environmentalists and sports people but mainly in opposition to this rape of pristine land, we have the Mole Lake Chippewa (Ojibwe), Forest County Potawatomi, Menominee and Mohican (Stockbridge-Munsee) nations who are fighting this.
The fight here is far from over.
I like that saying by Einstein, Mac.
You would enjoy it MM. Bristol Bay, is truly one of the wonders of the world. As is most of Alaska.
Aeon, I've been keeping up with that fight. Walker wants an open pit iron ore mine. It would be thelargest in the world. It lies very close to a hugewatershed.
I'm hopeful that more people from Wisconsin join the fight against this.
Even as our victory in Bristol Bay was being celebrated, John McCain slipped in a rider to the Defense bill that ''gave'' 2400 acres of public land to a foreign mining company. In exchange, the people of the US received 5,000 acresin plots indifferent areas of AZ. that is mostly desert. Of course under the 2400 acres lies a huge copper deposit. Additionally, this 2400 acres is ''sacred land'' to the Apache, within it lies, ''Apache Leap'', the most sacred of land. The bill was signed by Obama.
There is no end to the destruction of the US. People like McCain, whose palm is being greased have no problem giving up public land, for the betterment of himself.
Keep up the good fight.
McCain was well aware of this ''rider'', he Flake and others have been touting it for years.
He is also the one that for years attempted to have the Navajo and Hopi give up their water rights for a promise that they would always have water...LOLOL. yeah, trust a promise from the government.
As for land, the government has over the years ''taken'' Indian land. This is not an unusual thing, they just do it by changing the law. Many of our National Parks were once park of Indian reservations. The government simply declared them National Parks and pushed the Indians off of them.