Salmonids and Mining

General Mining Information

• Predicting Water Quality Problems at Hardrock Mines: A Failure of Science, Oversight, and Good Practice (pdf file 351 kb)

Salmon and Copper

• Summary of: Copper: Effects on Freshwater Food Chains and Salmon. A Literature Review (pdf file 56 kb)
• Copper Effects on Salmon Scientific Abstracts - compiled by Dr. Carol Ann Woody (pdf file - 133 kb)
• Copper, Effects on Freshwater Food Chains and Salmon: A Review (pdf file - 349 kb)
• The Impacts of Dissolved Copper on Olfactory Function in Juvenile Coho Salmon - Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheres Service
• Baldwin, D. H., J. F. Sandahl, J. S. Labenia, and N. L. Scholz. 2003. Sublethal Effects of Copper on Coho Salmon: Impacts on Nonoverlapping Receptor Pathways in the Peripheral Olfactory Nervous System. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 22(10):2266-2274. (pdf file - 171 kb)
• Clearwater, S. J., A. M. Farag, and J. S. Meyer. 2002. Bioavailability and toxicity of dietborne copper and zinc to fish. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part C 132:269-313. (pdf file - 1 mb)
• Baker, R. J., M. D. Knittel, and J. L. Fryer. 1983. Susceptibility of chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), and rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson, to infection with Vibrio anguillarum following sublethal copper exposure. Journal of Fish Diseases, 6:267-275. (pdf file - 4.78 mb)
• Dethloff, G. M., D. Schlenk, S. Khan, and H. C. Bailey. 1999. The Effects of Copper on Blood and Biochemical Parameters of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhychus mykiss). Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 36:415-423. (pdf file - 311 kb)
• Dethloff, G. M., H. C. Bailey, and K. J. Maier. 2001. Effects of Dissolved Copper on Select Hematological, Biochemical, and Immunological Parameters of Wild Rainbow Trout (Oncorhychus mykiss). Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 40:371-380. (pdf file - 172 kb)
• Hecht, S. A., D. H. Baldwin, C. A. Mebane, T. Hawkes, S. J. Gross, and N. L. Scholz. 2007. An Overview of Sensory Effects on Juvenile Salmonids Exposed to Dissolved Copper: Applying a Benchmark Concentration Approach to Evaluate Sublethal Neurobehavioral Toxicity. NOAA Techincal Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC-83, 55p. (pdf file - 901 kb)
• Sandahl, J. F., D. H. Baldwin, J. J. Jenkins, and N. L. Scholz. 2007. A Sensory System at the Interface Between Urban Stormwater Runoff and Salmon Survival. Environmental Science Technology, 41:2998-3004. (pdf file - 150 kb)

Pebble Mine Information

• Alaska Law Review - Pebble Mine: Fish Minerals, and Testing the Limits of Alaska's "Large Mine Permitting Process" (pdf file 573 kb)
• Pebble Hydrogeology and Geochemistry Issues - Dr. Robert Moran (pdf file 219 kb)
• Pebble Engineering Geology Issues - Dr. David Chambers (pdf file 811 kb)
• Potential Impacts of the Proposed Pebble Mine on Fish Habitat and Fishery Resources of Bristol Bay - Dr. William Hauser (pdf file 141 kb)

Importance of Bristol Bay Fisheries

• Freshwater Fish Harvest and Use in Communities of the Kvichak Watershed, 2003 - ADF&G (pdf file 7.06 mb)
• 2007 Bristol Bay Area Annual Management Report (pdf file 1.03 mb)

Mining Exploration at Pebble: No Effect?

Exploration at the Pebble prospect has been ongoing since about 1988. Hundreds of exploration drill holes and an unknown number of seismic survey lines have been made near salmon streams. Below is a letter I wrote to DNR asking questions raised by fishery stakeholders regarding impacts of exploration on water quality, flow and fish. DNR's response, see below, states drilling is having no impact, however, no data to support this statement was provided.

• Pebble Limited Partnership exploratory drill hole locations (pdf file 2.65 mb)
• Letter to DNR regarding impacts of exploration on water and fish, April 2008 (pdf file 3.57 mb)
• Response from DNR to April 2008 letter (pdf file 119 kb) [Attachments to letter - pdf file 1.89 mb]

Pebble Drilling Operations	Drilling Polymer	Drilling Effluent

Photos compliments of Cook Inlet Keeper. (click on images for larger view)