A Moment of Light

This week, Indigenous communities, environmental activists, and commercial fishers celebrated a hard-fought victory in their decades-long struggle against the proposed Pebble mine near Alaska's Bristol Bay: Invoking a rarely-used power under the Clean Water Act, the Biden administration blocked the copper and gold mine project, citing its impact on the Bristol Bay watershed and its millions of wild salmon. The decision had me smiling. It also got me thinking about just what it takes for activists keep on keeping on during these protracted battles.
 
The Pebble mine was first proposed in 2002 — when I was a senior in high school. So much has changed in the intervening years. Here in the United States, we have cycled through four presidents. Social media has fundamentally changed how we share and consume information. The US Capitol has been attacked by those wishing to overthrow our government, and a global pandemic has brought widespread suffering. Through all that, and so much more, those on the ground in Bristol Bay have kept their eyes on the ball. They’ve organized community members, built coalitions, and launched national campaigns to halt the mine. They’ve celebrated victories and moved past losses. They’ve welcomed young activists into their fold and helped build the next generation of movement leaders. And following this latest victory, they’ve already made clear that they won’t stop fighting until the project is finally and truly dead.
 
I wish the win had come sooner; that it hadn’t taken so many people so many hours to help us arrive at this watershed moment. And I know that the mine could yet come back to life: The company behind it could appeal the decision, for example, or future administrations could try to backtrack.  
 
But for now, more than anything, I’m in awe of those who have kept up this fight for so many years. And I hope they are relishing in this moment of light.  

Photo of Bristol Bay by Todd Radenbaugh

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