Trout Unlimited’s Alaska program is proud to announce the third year of its Save Bristol Bay Guide Ambassador Program. Starting in 2020, TU has worked with guides in the Bristol Bay region to directly provide education and outreach to visiting anglers and hunters in southwest Alaska. In 2022, the program has 75 guide advocates spread across the region that work daily to share why Bristol Bay needs permanent protections.
Meet the 2022 Save Bristol Bay Guide Ambassadors
The Guide Ambassador program was initiated in 2020 to build an organized and powerful coalition of people who have boots on the ground in a high-profile and high-risk destination. In 2020, the formerly proposed Pebble mine was in the final stages of permitting, on track to be granted its most important federal permit. During the summer, Guide Ambassadors were diligent about communicating the need for Pebble’s permit to be denied, and encouraged visiting anglers to take action against the mine proposal that threatened the most prolific sockeye salmon fishery on the planet
Guide Ambassadors compiled this video calling on Governor Dunleavy to stop his active support for the mine proposal in 2020.
Guides were part of the local people and organizations calling for Pebble’s permit to be denied, and were echoed by thousands of hunters and anglers nationwide. In November 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied the permit for the proposed Pebble mine, citing Pebble’s failure to meet Clean Water Act standards and being “contrary to public interest.”
Despite Pebble’s key federal permit being denied, guides and advocates for Bristol Bay are continuing to work towards permanent protections for the region. Without safeguards in place, the Pebble Limited Partnership – or another mining company – will return in the future to develop the region.
During the 2022 season, Guide Ambassadors in Bristol Bay will be educating visitors on the importance of permanent protections and the dual track approach that can be used to achieve durable safeguards for the region. Specifically, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must use its authority under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to prohibit or restrict mine waste from being discharged into Bristol Bay waters. Additionally, Congress must pass legislation that would retire the mineral leases in the Bristol Bay region.
Clean Water Act protections were first initiated in 2014 and widely supported by recreational anglers, commercial fishermen and the Tribes, but protections were never finalized. In 2021, the Biden Administration committed to finalizing these protections for the Pebble deposit area.
In 2020 and 2021, Alaska’s senior Senator Lisa Murkowski publicly committed to advancing permanent protections for Bristol Bay. She hosted listening sessions in the region last summer to identify needs by local stakeholders in a durable solution to protect the fishery. Guide Ambassadors and Alaskans continue to communicate the need for Congressional action to permanently protect Bristol Bay, and will advocate for legislation to be introduced as soon as possible.
If you are taking a trip to Bristol Bay this summer, check out the list of Ambassadors and see if the lodge or outfitter you are going with has an Ambassador on staff. These guides will have the latest update for you in the effort to advance permanent protections for Bristol Bay, as well as tips on how to catch your trophy rainbow trout.
Not traveling to Bristol Bay this year? You can still support the Guide Ambassador program and Bristol Bay by taking action today! Ask your elected officials and the EPA to advance permanent protections for Bristol Bay here.
Webpage: www.savebristolbay.org
Instagram: @savebristolbay
Facebook: @savebristolbay
