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Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Cont., No Pebble Mine by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Continued,
NO PEBBLE MINE Pictures from Ground Zero 
by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Thank you to the EPA for recognizing the value of the Bristol Bay fishery. 
NOW, what can we do to protect this habitat further? 
Mission: To protect the national parks and national refuges of southwest Alaska, 
and the Bristol Bay fishery from the development of the Pebble mine, and other commercial risks.



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Due to the size and quality of the photos included in this blog, and as too many photos tend to slow a blog down, we have opted to host these previous entries on a separate post in order to best optimize your reading experience. Enjoy!

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Wednesday, August 5, 2015 

NO PEBBLE MINE #151, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #151, Pictures from Ground Zero:   The further upriver we got, the more difficult forward progress became. It was raining hard enough to make everything VERY wet, and the scree and boulders had become dangerously slippery (and sharp!). The walls kept getting steeper and the pools kept getting deeper. Then we arrived at this juncture: fast water, deep pools, and really slippery, steep rocks to traverse. SO I scrambled up the big boulder to “scout.” Getting around this complex of pools and falls would involve numerous risks, and the canyon beyond just got more vertical. It did NOT look like it was taking us to a summit, and was now in fact, winding away from the one we had targeted. More amazingly, just above this sizable section of pools and flowing water, the river disappeared again and went back underground. In a momentary larger cosmic view of it all, I realized these volcanic scree mountains were catching considerable volumes of rain and filtering it down through their rocky cores, where it might occasionally appear, like this, then disappear again. Take that reverse osmosis!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, July 29, 2015 

NO PEBBLE MINE #150, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #150, Pictures from Ground Zero:   As our side canyon rose, it also narrowed... AND THEN a creek appeared. Because of the porous nature of the scree, and our volcanic surroundings in general, a fairly big flow of water simply went underground. This is why we could hear it, but not see it when we were lower in the canyon. As we progressed, navigation became tricky as some hillsides were so steep, or shear, we were forced to walk in the water, and there were plenty of pools that were deep enough to go over our boots. (Yes, we are doing ALL of these hikes in knee-high rubber boots!) At the moment it appears that we can still get further upstream, and that there may be a “saddle” around the bend, giving us access to the summit, and so we clambered on.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, July 22, 2015 

NO PEBBLE MINE #149, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #149, Pictures from Ground Zero:   As we turned into the “notch” we ABUPTLY left the tundra, and entered a VERY different world. There was no river, yet certainly evidence of a massive water flow that created a “river” of scree. The scree flow seemed to rise gradually, and then narrow, so we began to follow it up. This craggy canyon we were entering echoed strangely, and not only did we hear the clatter of our own footsteps bouncing off the rising walls, but the wind carried other odd sounds in to us. It began to rain harder, and the temperature dropped noticeably as a cold front passed through. Fresh snow began to appear on the surrounding summits, however we were all “dressed-for-the-occasion”, and so we pressed on. #Excelsior! Or, #TheHigherYouGetTheHigherYouGet! Funny thing, between the rain and the wind, we all had the same auditory hallucinations that we could hear flowing water.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, July 15, 2015 

NO PEBBLE MINE #148, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #148, Pictures from Ground Zero:  There was little-to-no point in our taking a frontal assault on the scree dome, as that amounted to one-step-forward, then sliding six-steps backward.  So we worked our way across the base of the summit that we were targeting, to the point where a notch appeared. In this shot you can see it in the distance, just past the especially black band of volcanic rubble. The actual entrance to this ‘V’ cut is out of sight, behind the lone tree. We had hoped this might be a gateway to a more solid route up, as it might have been formed by a creek, likely meaning there would be vegetation, and a more stable terrain. A light, steady rain settled in, and the landscape blew-up with color under the bright overcast sky! Luminous, sparkling with diamond-drops of water, and still waving at us, the tundra-scrub beckoned us onward, into the mouth of our next "excellent adventure". Apparently we were off for another interesting day in Alaska!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, July 8, 2015 

NO PEBBLE MINE #147, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #147, Pictures from Ground Zero:   Most of us passed-out in the spongy tundra while watching the sunset sky show. The cold finally woke us, and we crawled off to our tents. The next morning the weather had come back and it was raining intermittently, yet it wasn't too windy. The reality of camping in cold weather is that you can't stay in camp in your sleeping bag to keep warm. If you want to be warm, you dress appropriately, eat, and keep moving (take a hike!) Since we had previously done such a long day in the meadows, today we decided we would try to summit a scree hill nearby for the “big view”. Wearing several layers, and suitably "fueled," we were off. By the time we reached the "base" of our target, we were toasty warm from the walk, and all those wiggly, colorful plants were waving to us in the breeze once again.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, July 1, 2015 

NO PEBBLE MINE #146, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #146, Pictures from Ground Zero:   Purple-tounged and completely pigged-out on blueberries, we stumbled down to the rocky beach, and ambled back to camp. Food prep started immediately because we all needed to re-energize. As the evening wore on, the wind picked up again, so out came more layers of clothing. Inside our “cocoons” of #Capilene, fleece, and shells, the food kicked in and warmth flooded back into our bodies (TY, @Patagonia and @HellyHansen – I was groovin’). We were definitely tired, and a bit sore from the long day’s walk, but the wind was blowing the storm to pieces of the peaks and the basin was putting on a light show. In one last glorious hurrah for the day, we found a big patch of spongy tundra facing the lake and lay down to watch the “special effects.” The FANTASTIC visuals were accompanied by sense-around sound as well. First we would hear gusts coming from up in the summits behind the second lake.They would then stream toward us across the water, bluster about our camp shaking tree branches and rain-flys, only to scuttle off and down the outlet of the #ChilikadrotnaRiver (to the left in this image.) It was QUITE a concert.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, June 24, 2015 

NO PEBBLE MINE #145, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #145, Pictures from Ground Zero:   The day was wearing on, and the long Alaskan evening was beginning. We had been hiking for nearly 12-hours, and had covered some remarkable territory. The weather seemed to be breaking off, as sun holes lit up the surrounding mountains, and our meadow trekking finally brought as back to the lakeshore of our camp. We were tired, buzzing, and hungry, thus looking for dinner, BUT there was yet one more treat before we hit the beach. The sky/basin show was kicking into high gear AND then we came upon THIS! The rolling hill coming in from the left of the frame is a mix of lichen and DENSE blueberries. Yum! Once again we all fell to our knees and began grazing. Snack break! View break! Ah, wilderness and the privilege of being wild. Hope your children will all have a chance to experience something like this. They will if you SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, June 17, 2015 

NO PEBBLE MINE #144, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #144, Pictures from Ground Zero:   The dense scrub bush on the lakeshore eventually gave way to more open tundra meadows. Fortunately the weather began to back off. The wind died, the rain stopped, and all the walking warmed us up, SO we decided to change our viewpoint once again, and wander through the micro-niches of vegetation surrounding us. There were some stands of impenetrable stunted spruce, and occasionally a marshy stretch of shallow, black water, and grasses. For the most part, however, the spongy tundra could be selectively traversed, and the variety of “things” we encountered seemed endless. I am not even sure what this is: it seemed fluffy, like cotton-y flower heads that had gone to seed, yet closer inspection suggested it was a kind of lichen. Who knows, at this point everything seemed a bit alien and wiggly, BUT we were having a great day, so we just kept wandering.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, June 10, 2015 

NO PEBBLE MINE #143, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #143, Pictures from Ground Zero:   “Rain, rain go away...” is probably what we were all wishing as we navigated the slippery slope down! And THEN we hit the beach! UH OH! Rain, and the overcast, always make colors pop. On one section of the lake shoreline, however, the fall colors were RIDICULOUS. Well, we were too, but in a good way! I wonder if the bears can see this color, or care! Bears ARE already down on all fours, as WE had been in the tundra garden, so one would hope they enjoy the seasonal color, as well as the berries. Oh well, on with the hike. Warm food, and a dry tent are increasingly attractive.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, June 3, 2015 

NO PEBBLE MINE #142, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #142, Pictures from Ground Zero:   I am not sure if it was the light rain falling, or the snacks we just had, but when we hit the #tundra gardens on our descent, they seemed even more vibrant than they did on the climb up. Yeowser! Once again everyone began groveling around on their knees. A consensus arose amongst us that it would be ideal to be covered with fur, and to be able to eat lichen, so we could hang out here indefinitely! Unfortunately that was not the case. We needed to keep moving to stay warm in the wind chill that had arisen, and so we grazed our way slowly downslope to the lake shore.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, May 27, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #141, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #141, Pictures from Ground Zero:   The combination of warmth, good snacks, and a long lens final took hold of me and I slipped into some moments of abstraction. The steep walls that formed the opposite shore of the upper lake were streaked with dark scree, fall colors, and avalanche fields that flowed through them like rivers. I played with this “flat” canvas for a bit, so please indulge me here. Eventually the wind began to pick up, and the saddle became blustery and cold. We closed up our daypacks and headed back downslope toward the lakeshore. Rain returned and some SERIOUS gusts ripped through, however it only made it seem all the more amazing that we were out here: virtually alone in a very large, WILD place, in some marginal weather, at a marginal time of the year. AND we were having a GREAT time! Thank you, @Patagonia, and @HellyHansen! Happy 50th Anniversary to The Wilderness Act! Protect #LakeClarkNationalPark, and SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, May 20, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #140, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #140, Pictures from Ground Zero:   Looking across the saddle at the range on the other side of the lake it's clear what a remarkable cirque of summits surrounds #TwinLakes. We were still basking in our spot of warming sunlight, yet rising clouds on the opposite shore revealed rugged peaks covered with a light dusting of snow. It reminded us of how lucky we were to be right at the apex of fall color before winter sets in. Our group grew quiet as we slipped into personal reflections of the moment. A symphony of wind and rushing water sounds from the river below took over. The glacial erractics just stood watch, and kindly, the bears chose NOT to join our picnic.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, May 13, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #139, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #139, Pictures from Ground Zero:   Across the saddle from our snack-point, a valley opened back into the range. The mountain slopes on either side of the drainage were basically volcanic and scree covered. Interestingly, from our saddle you could see the U-shape of the valley, which had been cut by a glacier now long gone. We were, in fact, sitting at the mouth of that GLACIAL valley. Above us the slopes were spare, as in this view of the cross-valley mountain. Below our vantage point, however, the RIVER cut V-shaped walls into the scree that tumbled steeply into the valley below. Vegetation grew progressively more dense as the growth descended toward the water, and where the valley flattened out on the river plain, it became positively lush... a truly impenetrable deciduous thicket, crowding up to the edges of the water.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, May 6, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #138, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #138, Pictures from Ground Zero:   By the time we reached the saddle of the rise overlooking the river valley, the skies opened, the sun came out, and the high #tundra / bush #meadow surrounding us continued its morning show radiating peak fall colors for about an hour. It was clearly time for that “snack” break, and some quantitative observing. It wasn't as if we had anything better to do! As you study this #landscape, note what appears to be "rocks" poking out of the bushes. In most cases, in fact, they are huge boulders! These are #glacial erratics; massive boulders scattered about as the #glacier that was carrying them melted away. That would be the same glacier that carved the valley that is momentarily out-of-sight, picture-right (next week.)
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, April 29, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #137, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #137, Pictures from Ground Zero:   I was part of a circle of friends in #Idaho that called themselves #TheDeckerFlatsClimbingandFrisbeeClub. Our club motto was: “The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get.” Now hiking in #Alaskan mountains, that is certainly proving true at this moment. In this view from our snack spot, I am looking back along the shore we traversed this morning. Our camp is out-of-picture to the right. What a world! Were it to be built, the #Pebble mine would be just beyond these summits into the distant right. #LakeClarkNationalParkandPreserve is one of the most beautiful and wildest of all the parks. In fact, in is likely one of the wildest places left in the US and it should remain so. PLEASE SAY NO TO THE #PEBBLE MINE!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, April 22, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #136, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #136, Pictures from Ground Zero:  As our ascent continued, the amazing “carpet garden” was replaced by a vigorous dense bush. We were headed-up to a "saddle" (a flattening shoulder of the nearby summit), which we hoped would provide a view of a side valley cut by a large river that flowed into the lake. There were only so many routes that could be used to get up there, and so a good game trail appeared which we began to follow. The weather seemed to be opening up around us for awhile, and our increasing elevation allowed views out across the lake and into the heart of the surrounding range. Best of all, the wind was subsiding. If the sun-spots continued to open up, the saddle seemed like a great place to warm up a bit and have some trail “snacks.”
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, April 15, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #135, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #135, Pictures from Ground Zero:  Eventually our walk brought us to a point where there was no beach.  The dense bush also subsided, and a steep, volcanic, scree slope covered with tundra gardens ran down to the water’s edge. This would be our staircase upwards. Our progress was slow, not because it was difficult, but because all of us found ourselves frequently down on our knees, groveling around in the amazing mosses and lichens. Truly, this hillside expanse we were exploring was like an amazing, bejeweled rug. Rain, and the overcast, made scree rocks almost black, a perfect foil, setting off the myriad vibrant colors in the tundra. It was so beautiful, we practically had to remember to breathe!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, April 8, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #134, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #134, Pictures from Ground Zero:  Farther along the shoreline, and now more deeply into the basin, we are on a gravel beach strewn with driftwood. The bush here is so dense it is almost impenetrable, but that means nothing to bears, so this walk is slightly spooky because if bears are in there, we would never see them. The weather is still uneven, and it remains cold enough that some of the squalls come through as snow flurries. Ideally we would like to find some access through the bush, and into the tundra of the high country, so we can have an elevated view that will give us a new perspective. (At least we will be able to see the bears coming....)
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, April 1, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #133, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #133, Pictures from Ground Zero:  There were no discernible game trails near our camp, so to start our morning walk we followed the shoreline, working towards the junction with the upper lake. It was still early, cold, and windy despite the breaking sky, so frosted fall colors were everywhere. For most #photographers, fall is their favorite time of year because of color. But for me in Alaska, fall in the mixed tundra / scrub bush offers up NOT ONLY color, but also an ASTOUNDING array of textures. Once again the word “trippy” comes to mind, perhaps it was just the energy of the morning.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, March 25, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #132, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #132, Pictures from Ground Zero:  Oh, what a difference a little rise makes. Our tents were between a cluster of stunted trees and a low hill. I am now standing on top of that hill and taking in this perspective of the ENTIRE lake basin. Yeowser! The previous post is a detail shot of the same golden trees you see here, but they seem almost insignificant in this larger setting.We couldn't get our food and daypacks together quickly enough! All of us just wanted to be out, in this, and moving through it. We were all pretty sure this world was welcoming our presence and inviting us to play.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, March 18, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #131, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #131, Pictures from Ground Zero:  The weather hadn't cleared, yet the sky was broken, and spotlights of sun would randomly illuminate parts of the #landscape. The wind was still blowing pretty hard, and you could see snow banners coming off the summits. With breakfast going, and our tech clothes layering us (TY! #Patagonia), we were all feeling pretty good about the forthcoming day. As we ate, the “show” just kept raging on in front of us. You could feel everyone’s palpable eagerness to finish up the morning camp and start walking... anywhere in any direction! I had a 300mm telephoto on when I took this shot. It is just a VERY small part of a much larger, STUNNING landscape that I will show you next week from a wider POV. Remember, in #Alaska, scale IS everything!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, March 11, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #130, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #130, Pictures from Ground Zero:  As the sun slowly rose, the light show just got better and better. The previous post is, quite literally, standing in front of my tent. In this shot I have moved all of 10-feet, and simply turned in the opposite direction. It looks like this is going to be a pretty interesting day for hiking around these #lakes. At this point, I hadn't yet had my morning “tea” and already things are looking pretty trippy! Turns out, these lakes were just starting to show off their colors. Coming here this late in the season was some fortunate timing. AND, here is a photo tip:  while I was NOT the only photographer in our group, I WAS the only one to get these shots. Why? Because I didn't have to set up my #camera! Whenever I camp -- regardless of weather -- I set up my #Pentax645 on my #tripod, loaded with film, cable release attached. ALL things ready to go. I THEN place a plastic garbage bag over my equipment overnight, and leave it prepped for action outside the tent.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, March 4, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #129, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #129, Pictures from Ground Zero:  Choosing a well protected place to camp is always essential in #Alaska. Here, this close to the heart of the range, and next to a large body of water, we knew it would get windy, and very cold when weather rolled through. The remainder of the day was spent securing camp for an incoming storm, and getting the boats “constructed.” By dinner the wind had picked up and the temp was headed downward... considerably!  By the time we finished eating it was blowing hard and starting to rain, so we retreated to our tents for the night. As I drifted comfortably off, the tent began to flap and bend as high wind gusts sweeped through the basin. The sound of wind, and eventually hard rain, continued all night. So much so, that when it stopped and grew quiet, it woke me up! As the first one out of his tent, this is how the morning greeted me.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, February 25, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #128, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #128, Pictures from Ground Zero:  The plane has dropped us (and our substantial gear) on a shore of #TwinLakes, near the outlet of the #ChilikadrotnaRiver, and departed. We are just standing around at the moment, trying to take it all in: and there is a lot of ALL to take in. Collectively we do agree that it looks like a change in the weather, so we start setting up camp in the protection of some stunted spruce trees.  In the course of the next few passing hours, I discover a unique quality in this lake. While it is true the #glacially fed waters generally appear a striking pale blue -- the color you might perceive a lake to be -- its color could change repeatedly and significantly as clouds, sunlight, and wind sweep across the #landscape. These changes will become very apparent in following #pictures. If the #cinder slope #foothills in the background look familiar, they are the same as those in the upper center-right of post #126.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, February 18, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #127, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #127, Pictures from Ground Zero:   Welcome to #TwinLakes in #LakeClarkNationalPark! From this perspective, the #ChilikadrotnaRiver is to the left. The first Twin #lake lies before us, in a relatively flat plane of #tundra, small spruce and volcanic rubble. The second Twin  extends away from us to the right. It's nestled into the heart of the #range, and is surrounded on 3-sides by significant peaks; a VERY dramatic setting. Note also the striking blue color of the water. Twin Lakes are glacier fed, and the fine alluvium suspended in the water causes this luminous blue coloration. As we will find out, even that changes constantly as it is influenced by reflected sky colors. This is going to be an "interesting" week!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, February 11, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #126, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #126, Pictures from Ground Zero:   Most of the #rivers in #LakeClarkNationalPark are less dramatic than the #Tanalian, and they meander quietly across the #landscape with minimal #whitewater. These are the ones favored by both the #fish and the #fishermen. I wanted to float one of these "destination" rivers, and I chose the #Chilikadrotna (aka "Chili") because of its proximity to industrial activity, and its viewshed of the proposed Pebble mine. Chili's #headwater is #TwinLakes (just barely visible in the upper left of this shot). Twin Lakes is in a gorgeous location situated deep in the heart of some of the tallest peaks in the park. So in order to reach it, my colleagues and I came out of #PortAlsworth in float planes, hoping to find a protected bay on the first lake near the Chilikadrotna outlet. Our intention was to camp and hike for several days, the float the Chili. The habitat surrounding the lakes has numerous micro-climates to explore, and as it was late Fall, we were hoping for spectacular weather and color, as well. Join me next week and let's ramble through an amazing landscape together!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, February 4, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #125, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #125, Pictures from Ground Zero:   Although there are many #rivers within #LakeClarkNationalPark, only a few have significant #whitewater. In previous posts #107 & #108, I showed you some of the more challenging yet navigable whitewater on the #NewHalenRiver that flows out of #LakeClark and into #LakeIliamna. Here is a another spectacular #falls that can be walked to without a bushwhack. To access Lake Clark #backcountry, it is very likely you will be flying out of #PortAlsworth, home to the National Park’s visitor center, but also a small community that chooses to live in a very remote place. From Port Alsworth, there is a well established foot path leading into the hills behind the village. Passing through alpine-like #meadows, #tundra, one or two boggy places, and several good views of Lake Clark, the trail finally enters a #forest of mixed trees. It then drops down into the #Tanalian River valley and offers up this spectacular view. No point in missing this if you have come all this way!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, January 28, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #124, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #124, Pictures from Ground Zero:   Not all cinder scree is in the #foothills, nor is it just #foothill size. Here is a side #canyon with a large #river wending its way back into the ranges. Clearly these are well vegetated #mountains. If you look closely at the slope, however, note there are patches of black #volcanic cinder rubble showing through. As you have seen, this is a park with a considerable range of micro-climates. So, now that you have some sense of this landscape from the air, next week we will come down to ground-level and see what all of this looks like up-close-and-personal!.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, January 21, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #123, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #123, Pictures from Ground Zero:   Here is another amazing visual created on the cinder scree slopes. Migrating caribou spread out across the landscape as they graze and they dine on moss and lichens that grow well on the volcanic debris, so they often leave the valleys and forage the scree. Mothers with calves and small groups of adults follow in each others footsteps. Wolves and bear also track the migration as well, so you are looking at well-used game trails and they trace across most of the foothills in the park.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, January 14, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #122, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #122, Pictures from Ground Zero:   The "painted" #landscape effect I mentioned in the previous post was especially dynamic one late afternoon at #TwinLakes. It had been #raining on-and-off all day and there was some #snow at higher elevations. We had hiked above the #lake into a #scree #canyon with a small #stream, and as we headed back down, the overcast light and wet, saturated colors in the #tundra were off-the-chart. Inevitably there will be those that are "sure" this is "Adobe color." IN FACT, this is what I like most about #LakeClark National Park, the absolutely astounding #landscape, and here it is putting on a show that I am simply recording. A place that looks like this (virtually EVERYWHERE) does not need to be enhanced.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, January 7, 2015 
NO PEBBLE MINE #121, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #121, Pictures from Ground Zero:  In the heart of the largest #ranges, the #cinder #mountains are especially striking in their scale, and I find the interface between the steep slopes and the lowland vegetation that is trying to establish itself especially beautiful. In this #image, #scrub, #tundra, and a stunted #Sitka spruce #forest attempt to push upslope, while cinder scree flow pushes back down. In the isolation of the #lens framing, the #landscape seems more like painted brushstrokes than rocks and trees.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2015, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, December 31, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #120, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #120, Pictures from Ground Zero:  This view is of a #slope / #tundra #meadow relationship, as in the previous post, only here it is playing-out over several #valleys and #ranges. The #summits and the #valley floors have established #flora, but the #cinder walls are steep and unstable. Melting# snow and occasional torrential #rainfall have created dramatic flow patterns in the cinder scree terrain. Hiking while looking up at this is a great view! Hiking on top in the tundra meadows is a GREAT view! Unfortunately, hiking between the two is NOT hiking, and NOT so much fun....
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, December 24, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #119, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #119, Pictures from Ground Zero:  The presence of #volcanism in #LakeClark manifests in many ways. The #cinder #mountain in the previous post had some considerable scale, but entire #ranges and #summits have been created from #volcanic deposits. This makes the country more accessible by foot, HOWEVER climbing up can be a slow process if the #slopes are #cinder #scree instead of solid. On this #massif, some nice #meadows have established themselves above the dark cinder band and just below the line of the first #snowfall. Now just how would you get to them...?
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, December 17, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #118, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #118, Pictures from Ground Zero:  The previous post shows the #headwater of the #Chilikadrotna River from the air, and as I said, I did float the river, so here is the ‘Chili,’ from a river’s eye view, just shortly after leaving #TwinLakes. Those rolling hills have considerable height at the river’s edge, but as you can see, the vegetation is spare ashore and easy to hike through. Significant to the visual drama of this image is the background hillside, notably #volcanic. Previous posts have pointed out that the distinct look of #LakeClark National Park is, in part, due to the dynamic volcanic #landscape, and the steep foothills of this background are the base of a #cinder mountain with virtually no vegetation and very striking scree flow patterns.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, December 10, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #117, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #117, Pictures from Ground Zero:  You are now looking at the #headwaters of one of the more important rivers in #LakeClark. This is the #Chilikadrotna as it leaves #TwinLakes and heads towards #BristolBay.  Still many, many miles away by the way this river meanders around. As you can see, this #terrain is VERY different from the previous #image posted. This particular part of the park is in the rain-shadow of several ranges, and the #mesas have no trees. Instead, the mesas are covered with #tundra and #scrub, and the hilltops are exposed and rocky. I floated the “Chili” and because of the drier, less bushwhack terrain there was some good hiking, which you'll see images of later in this blog. Next week, what does this specific place look like at ground level? How big are those hills ? How steep is the shore ? Stay tuned for a "rivers-eye" view of this exact spot!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, December 3, 2014 


NO PEBBLE MINE #116, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #116, Pictures from Ground Zero:  Previously in this blog I commented on the varied #terrain of #LakeClark, where some parts are more lush and wetter than others. Here is a particularly beautiful system of #lakes and #streams situated in the park where it's wet enough to sustain both forest and wetlands. #Tundra even crowns the hilltop elevations. Ironically, down on the ground, getting around in this terrain is more difficult as you will soon see when we “go-for-a-walk” in future posts. For now, enjoy this complex little niche and drink in the variety of the #organic forms that grace this #landscape. Next week I will show you a major river #headwater in a MUCH drier terrain of rambling #mesas.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, November 26, 2014 


NO PEBBLE MINE #115, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #115, Pictures from Ground Zero:  This view encompasses an alpine-summit-to-lake-basin #habitat that covers some substantial terrain, but probably NOT 20-square-miles. I bring that “20-square-mile” figure up because that is the estimated scale of the containment ponds for the highly toxic cyanide-iron-oxide-acid-slurry to be generated by the proposed Pebble mine. In perspective, those ponds would flood ALL of the valleys visible here and more. Besides that being an entirely stupid idea in the #headwaters of this #fishery, at the risk of repeating something said earlier in this blog, how do you keep the #wildlife and #wildfowl from thinking the poisonous slurry ponds are just more lakes-in-the-landscape, and stopping by for a drink? How many #moose, #wolves, #caribou and MILLIONS of birds in the #PacificFlyway will die, and what is THEIR value in this equation?
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, November 19, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #114, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #114, Pictures from Ground Zero:  Here a valley between rolling foothills begins a #headwater to some #stream. As it flows downward, it will merge, and merge again, growing in volume and size, feeding into the huge fishery system that is #BristolBay. These pristine parks, wild lands, and pure waters are the essential habitat of THE LAST GREAT AMERICAN FISHERY THAT IS NOT CONTAMINATED! All of these recent images posted would be immediately adjacent the Pebble mine site were it to be developed.  ANY mistakes at the mine would immediately flush-out into these headwaters. Trading American food resources and an annual $1-BILLION+ RENEWABLE fishery industry for foreign investor-driven, gold-greed is just wrong – SAY NO THE PEBBLE MINE!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, November 12, 2014 


NO PEBBLE MINE #113, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #113, Pictures from Ground Zero:  Flying under broken skies is one of my favorite conditions in which to photograph.  Stuff happens that can't be anticipated, and when it does it's more-often-than-not an OMG moment! Here, floating through the valleys of a foothill range, skies parted and the “god-light” blew up the fall colors in the landscape/  Only moments before the landscape had been lost in the dark overcast of early morning. Valley / mesa systems like this wind off in every direction across the landscape of Lake Clark.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, November 5, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #112, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #112, Pictures from Ground Zero:  The terrain of #LakeClark is considerably varied. Alpine, snow-covered much of the year, and host to many #glaciers, the heart of the ranges is rugged and vertical.  As their rain and melt drains downslope, however, it feeds into a world of smaller foothill ranges, high mesas, lake systems, and lush river valleys that inter-connect. In spite of the relentless #weather against the slopes of the higher peaks, some places in the expanse of Lake Clark National Park stay very dry. Flying on any given day is always an adventure:  exaggerated wind conditions arise without much warning, weather rolls through constantly, and the deeper valleys and river systems touch off dense ground fogs. On this morning we are flying in what we HOPE is a clearing storm, but we ARE flying in the only “holes” of visibility at the moment.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, October 29, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #111, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #111, Pictures from Ground Zero:  Like much of the landscape we have already visited, #LakeClark has numerous small lakes that dot the terrain, but it also has a number of large lakes in spectacular settings, often at the foot of the impressive ranges. I particularly enjoy some of the tricky-to-say-yet-poetic names given them:  #Tazimina, #Kontrashibuna, #Kijik, #Turquoise, and #Telaquana. Many of these lakes are also glacial fed and they feature a remarkable range of blue colors from lake to lake.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, October 22, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #110, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #110, Pictures from Ground Zero: To really see the heart of #LakeClarkNationalPark, we will leave #PortAlsworth and cross #LakeClark headed north. Looking back at Lake Clark, it appears there is weather in the pass... how unusual! Ahead of us, we are going to enter a terrain of rivers, lakes, big mountains, and broad mesas all marked in some way by signs of #volcanic activity. Your encounter with the #mountains is especially impressive in this park because the huge #AlaskaRange meets the #AleutianRange. Besides numerous #volcanoes being part of this landscape, Lake Clark (and the Alaska Peninsula) have one of the highest #earthquake frequencies in the world.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, October 15, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #109, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #109, Pictures from Ground Zero:  At the head of the #NewHalenRiver, the expanse of #LakeClark opens up. The only humans living in this landscape are in Native villages, or one of the few private inholdings. All others live in the very small town of #PortAlsworth, the starting point for most adventures in the national park and preserve. Lake Clark is actually very close to #Anchorage by air, and small planes connect from Anchorage to Port Alsworth through #LakeClarkPass, a spectacular flight when the weather is kind. When the weather is not, the dynamic between storms off the #BeringSea, the tall mountains of the #AlaskaRange, and the funnel of Lake Clark Pass create some pretty horrific conditions and high winds are common.  Check the swell from high wind fetch on the lake!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, October 8, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #108, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #108, Pictures from Ground Zero:  For those of you that are river-running enthusiasts, I have stated that the #NewHalen is a world-class #whitewater #river with a couple of especially breathtaking sections. This is one of the more aggressive encounters, and ALL of the choices are challenging. As there are several sections that divide, and then re-unite like this one, and the river is a relatively short run, if you were well organized you could make several runs in one day and try all the choices.  Provided, of course, that you actually survive each attempt!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, October 1, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #107, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #107, Pictures from Ground Zero: Flying around the north shore of #LakeIliamna and headed to the east, the small town of #Iliamna and its airport lie ahead. We will veer further north over the #NewHalen river and into #LakeClark National Park and Preserve. The New Halen is a spectacle of #whitewater flowing out of Lake Clark and into Lake Iliamna. Not only is the river big, it is also fast and cold. As it leaves the lake it seems placid enough but then it narrows at this bend and plunges downward through a series of whitewater sections that are world-class. The haul road for the #PebbleMine would bridge this river at its outlet and parallel it all the way to Lake Iliamna. If there is going to be traffic on / around this river, I call on my friends at Patagonia and Sobek, explore the New Halen, and make the traffic on this river recreational users who will provide a renewable income to the local economic grid, not an extractive one. Help us say NO to the PEBBLE MINE!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, September 24, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #106, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #106, Pictures from Ground Zero: Having crossed the #Kvichak river, our flight now travels up the northwest shore of #LakeIliamna toward #LakeClark National Park and Preserve. Along the route we pass over the spectacular #TalarikCreek drainage. Compared to some of the other #river systems it is relatively small, HOWEVER it is one of THE MOST FAMOUS trophy #flyfishing #streams in the world. Many lodges are close enough to "compete" for the limited amount of usage the #creek can handle, and pilots have actually crashed planes trying to get clients to Talarik before dawn so they can establish the best fishing spots! All of this "combat" fishing happens near the outlet into Lake Iliamna, and it is a little more than I care to deal with, so I usually walk up into the #watershed. On one amazing warm, breezy fall day I had SEVEN different #grizzly encounters (in the best way) in the course of my 5-hour walk.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, September 17, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #105, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #105, Pictures from Ground Zero: Looking at the #Kvichak river in the opposite direction, away from #BristolBay (to the lower left), this is the beginning of a section called "The Channels". To the top right, the river continues to its origin at #LakeIliamna, and #TheChannels expands and becomes more complex as previously shown in post #64. A favorite location for recreational #fishing, The Channels are also considered a prized section of the river by the #Native villages living along it. Many Native #Alaskans have property they own in their favorite fishing, hunting, or berry-picking areas. If you look carefully at this pic, you can see two Native fishing "camps," accessible only by boat or plane. These are not commercial recreational fishing camps, these are highly valued #subsistence locations kept in generational families. Ponder also how many other #streams and #rivers you can see feeding the Kvichak in this shot.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, September 10, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #104, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #104, Pictures from Ground Zero: With #Katmai behind us now, our flight takes us over the southwestern end of #LakeIliamna and across its outlet which becomes the #Kvichak river, one the most productive in the #BristolBay fishery. In this view, we are looking downriver and Bristol Bay is in the distance, to the left of the rain squalls. This river is connected to a massive #watershed, a portion of which I have been showing you. #Iliamna has its own headwater/river valley (previous posts #72-75) but it is also fed by rivers flowing out of Katmai National Park to the south and #LakeClark National Park to the north. This is a HUGE interconnected watershed ALL funneling into the Kvichak. There is NO PLACE for the toxic byproducts of mining in this system - SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, September 3, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #103, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #103, Pictures from Ground Zero: The designated "Wild and Scenic" #Alagnak #river is only a small part of this amazing system. Here you see #Paul'sCreek, clearly much smaller, yet still an important part of both the commercial and recreational #fishery of #BristolBay. The #lakes and #glacial #ponds in the distance may not have the grand scale of those in #Katmai and #LakeClark National Parks, but there are thousands of them that stretch across the #landscape to the horizon in every direction. Around the river corridors you can see the denser vegetation, the rest is tundra and quite treeless in lowland locations because the soil is so saturated by water the tree roots rot.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, August 27, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #102, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #102, Pictures from Ground Zero: Fed by rain and snow from the #Aleutian Mountain Range that runs through #Katmai National Park and Preserve, the designated Wild and Scenic River, the #Alagnak, is a sizeable and complex system that departs the park and flows through its "protected" corridor outside the park into the Bristol Bay fishery. Internationally known for its FANTASTIC fly-fishing, people from all over the world spend a great deal of money to come in for a week and float 74-miles through this remarkable habitat. There are definitely #salmon down there, HOWEVER it is the chance of catching a truly giant rainbow #trout (25-pounds) that is the most desired experience.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, August 20, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #101, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #101, Pictures from Ground Zero: As the #lakes of #Katmai slip below the wings of my plane, it's clear this is considerable #wilderness. These lakes are seldom ever reached on foot. They are #fished by fly-ins, or those that have floated into them from some #river. In this image the farthest #mountains are the northern shore of #LakeIliamna rising up into #LakeClark National Park, our next destination. Lake Iliamna is between us and them, and not yet visible. To the left is the outlet of Iliamna, which forms the head of the #Kvichak river, one of the most productive rivers in the #BristolBay fishery. Almost invisible, coming into the middle of the picture from the right, is one of the most famous of the myriad rivers in Katmai. Scale is everything in Alaska, so at the moment those barely visible river braids might not seem like much, however....
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, August 13, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #100, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #100, Pictures from Ground Zero:  The #rain stopped. The #sky cleared a bit. The #wind died down, so the #lake calmed, and my plane came in... SO let's go flying! We are headed back to #LakeIliamna to continue around the south shore, eventually crossing over the #Kvichak river, and although we will be going back over some of the same #landscape seen coming in, I have NEVER flown over the same landscape on different days or at different times and EVER thought it looked the same. In this view, #Katmai is being left behind and #BrooksCamp and the #IliukArm are now out-of-sight to the upper right. The massively braided #Savanoski river winds across the middle of the frame and our flight path is beginning to cross over some of the myriad of lesser lakes. Down there somewhere are 2,000+ happy bear. Hail Katmai! Hail Wilderness! Happy 50th Anniversary #WildernessAct (@Wilderness)!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, August 6, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #99, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #99, Pictures from Ground Zero: This meadow, quite near to #BrooksCamp, was often the playground of mother #grizzlies and their cubs. After a night of hard rain its grasses are saturated, being whipped about wildly as strong gusts of wind blow through from off the lake. Given the weather, no one is around, not even the bears!  As I stood pondering the biological magnificence of #Katmai, the patterns of the wind moving through the grasses became hypnotic. In a VERY Hunter S. Thompson moment, the sound of the wind and the motion of the grasses became transcendental. I felt as if I were flying above this, not standing in front of it. Soon enough, however, I would be in a plane flying above it, headed out of Katmai National Park and Preserve back toward #LakeIliamna and the huge #Kvichak river, as I continue my tour for you of the places that would be affected by the development of the proposed Pebble mine.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, July 30, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #98, Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #98, Pictures from Ground Zero: If you have followed this blog, you know I am taking you on a journey through areas of #Alaska that will be affected by the proposed development of The Pebble mine. We have "floated" down the #Nushagak #river from the mine site to #BristolBay. We have gone around the northwestern shore of #LakeIliamna and up the #IliamnaRiver valley. Then we crossed to the southwestern shore of the lake and entered #Katmai National Park and Preserve which I have been highlighting for the last few weeks. Today we will leave Katmai to continue our journey but first, as it was a beautiful, rainy morning, I wanted to walk around #BrooksCamp one more time to enjoy its lush diversity.
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Wednesday, July 23, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #97 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #97, Pictures from Ground Zero:  #Katmai National Park and Preserve is around 4-MILLION acres, of which 3.3-million is designated #wilderness, SO HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY TO THE WILDERNESS ACT!  Katmai is one of its crown jewels. Home to 2,000+ bear, countless other animals, millions of birds and fish, the #Alagnak (a designated National Wild and Scenic River), dozens of volcanoes (many of which are active), and a massive fault zone.  Katmai is the SIZE OF TWO YELLOWSTONES, and one of the least-disturbed wild places on the planet. It would seem the largest industrial open-pit #copper and #cyanide #gold-leach #mining complex in the world would make a VERY inappropriate neighbor.  SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE!  Protect the habitat and fishery of #BristolBay.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, July 16, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #96 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #96, Pictures from Ground Zero: On the bus ride back to #BrooksCamp I continued to ponder the grim little "vision" I had standing at the edge of the #KnifeRiver (see last post). The thought of a #river of #toxins pouring out into this #landscape was chilling. As if to underscore that risk, we were hardly back into the camp zone when we were greeted by this mother #grizzly bear and her cub scavenging the shoreline for dead #salmon. At the risk of repeating myself, I ask you to ponder once again that the #cyanide-slurry #lagoons for the #Pebble mine complex would cover 20-square-miles. Even if the earthen dams were never breached by #earthquake or #volcanic eruption, how exactly will the toxins be contained and prevented from leaching into the #groundwater? Can ANYONE do that in perpetuity, because #cyanide slurry NEVER breaks down? And, to prevent the moose, bear, wolves, caribou, and many others from mistaking the lagoons for #water, will the mining consortium have #Halliburton build a "fence" like the one they have on the US border? Will one of the sports arena designers suggest they can also construct a dome over the lagoon so the MILLIONS of birds on the #PacificFlyway don't land here?
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, July 9, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #95 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #95, Pictures from Ground Zero: The return to the bus required ascending a trail from down in the #KnifeRiverValley. At this pause you are looking up-valley, #Novarupta #crater and other #volcanoes still active are about twelve miles distant. As I stood enjoying the view and pondering the reason that brought me to #Katmai - the nearby development of the Pebble mine - this particular vista allowed me a terrific grasp of a possible reality were the mine to be built. The Pebble mine proposal calls for 20-square-miles of #toxic #iron #oxide-cyanide slurry "lagoons" contained behind earthen dams larger than 3-Rivers Gorge in #China. How do you keep animals from drinking from this? How do you keep the greatest #bird #migration in the world from landing on it? Such a place would be the size of this valley but the dam walls would be higher... until another epic #earthquake or #eruption in the area. Then the contents of the #lagoon would look like this and be flowing out from behind the shattered dams and into a vast wild #landscape and #groundwater system headed for #BristolBay - The Last Great Salmon Fishery. Tell Northern Dynasty to abandon this terrible project - SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE!!!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, July 2, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #94 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #94, Pictures from Ground Zero: Because I was a "daytripper" on the daily bus the National Park Service (#NPS) provides for guests to visit the #Valley of 10,000 Smokes, I only had a limited time to walk and explore. I covered some miles of distance and found some VERY strange-beautiful places, but I think it would be a fantastic experience to hike and camp throughout this 12-mile valley of #volcanic ash desert. As the #rivers reasserted themselves, their relentless carving has cut through many layers of volcanic debris from the #Novarupta #eruption. With the rivers exposing and eroding these different layers, the #shorelines are littered with rocks and stones of every imaginable color and tone. Some of the largest are sometimes also the most lightweight, and some smaller stones have the density and heft of lead. It is a weird world that does not look like it supports much life, but I know there are also animals out there somewhere... wolves?
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, June 25, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #93 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #93, Pictures from Ground Zero: Hardly active and relatively stabile, today the #Valley of 10,000 Smokes in #Katmai National Park is an amazing #terrain to hike in. #Trails have been well established connecting a few huts and the nearly vegetation-free #landscape makes off-trail walking less difficult than struggling with the dense bush in the rest of Alaska. A strange-beautiful moonscape, here I am standing in the valley of the Upper #Ukak River, which over the decades has cut through about 250-feet of #ash, finally reaching #bedrock. Imagine an event the scale of the #Novarupta #eruption occurring again and the effect it might have on some of the proposed plans for the PEBBLE MINE.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, June 18, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #92 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #92, Pictures from Ground Zero: On June 6th, 1912, #Novarupta #volcano in #Katmai National Park exploded in a 3-day event that that was 30 TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN THE ERUPTION OF MOUNT ST. HELENS. The initial #explosion created the most extensive #pyroclastic flow ever documented. Parts of the flow swept miles down the valleys of #KnifeCreek and the upper #Ukak River, incinerating all life forms.  And then, in the ensuing hours, #ash deposits buried both #rivers, turning their V-shaped #valleys into smoldering flat plains of steaming #fumaroles. #Ash from this #eruption reached Africa! In the years since then, The Valley of 10,000 Smokes has stabilized and cooled, becoming a hiking and backpacking attraction within Katmai park. In this post you are looking at the Knife River and a confluence with a small #sidestream, as the collective #waters have reestablished a river valley, cutting through hundreds of feet of ash deposit.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, June 11, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #91 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #91, Pictures from Ground Zero: After the lush #valley, the road rises briefly again and almost immediately things start to change. We will find the shelter hut overlooking a large, high #river valley, that runs west through #Katmai towards the #Pacific Ocean. But, as we approach the hut the #tundra covered hillsides suddenly begin to look like a desert of #sand dunes. We are at the edge of the ash debris and pyroclastic flow from an epic eruption. In 1912, #Novarupta volcano began a violent 3-day event that is considered greater than #Krakatoa and THE most powerful eruption of the 20th Century. When it blew, people over 750 miles away in #Juneau heard the blast 1-hour after it occurred!!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, June 4, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #90 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #90, Pictures from Ground Zero: As the road nears it's destination, it levels off briefly in a lush valley of #beaver #ponds surrounded by #tundra #foothills densely covered in vegetation. Drink in this beauty as it will stand in stark contrast to where we are going. When you see all of these living things before you in such an expansive #landscape, it is hard to imagine that they could all be wiped away in seconds by an act of #nature, but this is The Ring of Fire and just up the road we are going to be provided with a viewpoint and a small shelter hut that overlooks a spectacle of destruction consider one of the greatest #volcanic events in human history.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, May 28, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #89 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #89, Pictures from Ground Zero: #Katmai National Park has another interesting feature besides the attraction of the fish and the bears. Katmai is a significant hotspot on The Ring of Fire. The #Alaska and #Aleutian Ranges are one of THE most #seismically active areas in the world and Katmai, specifically, is one of the world's most active #volcanic centers (HELLO - good reasons NOT TO BUILD THE PEBBLE MINE anywhere near here!). Five of the 16 volcanoes within the park are considered active, and there have been eruptions in recent decades. SO, I am traveling up this valley that is navigated by one of the few short roads in the park - there are plenty of fish in the river, the surrounding spectacle of peaks and terrain is magnificent, moose and bear appear occasionally... BUT I am on this road because it is taking me to a very unique destination.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, May 21, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #88 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #88, Pictures from Ground Zero: Within #Katmai National Park and Preserve, there are as yet no fish camps as permanent structures, but the National Park Service does permit guide groups who create lodging like this. It may look "rustic" but the tent-cabins are warm and dry, the meals are good and often part of the fresh catch, the privy has a great view, AND it is a clean sightline from the tents so you can see if #bears are around. From here - float, fly-in, fish the shoreline - all advised by guides. Less tips to those guides, the pricing of this wilderness fishing runs between $500-$1,000 per day, usual with a minimum stay of 5 days. Men and women who love to fish come from ALL over the world to fill many camps like this during the season. Outside the park, at the private lodges that ARE permanent facilities, well, those prices are a whole other blog!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, May 14, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #87 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #87, Pictures from Ground Zero: Many sport fishermen consider the Alagnak river in Katmai one the most outstanding destinations in the world. Designated a National Wild and Scenic River in 1980, the 60+ miles of the upper Alagnak lives up to the appellation. Besides all five species of salmon that run the river, it is also host to HUGE rainbow trout, grayling, char, and pike. The abundance of the river corridor supports many non-aqautic species as well including fox, wolverine, mink, wolf, eagles, beaver, otter, caribou, moose, and a VERY SIGNIFICANT population of both black and brown (grizzly) bear. There is also a section of the upper river that narrows into a steep canyon offering a Class 1 thru 3 whitewater challenge that gets considerably trickier after a big rain when the river is high and flowing fast.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, May 7, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #86 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #86, Pictures from Ground Zero: Another entire group of recreation users that love #Katmai National Park and Preserve are the #fishermen. Some work the #lakes and #river mouths from boats, or with #waders #onshore. The true "wilderness" fishing in Katmai, however, is on the big #rivers. Here, the broad meandering #SavonoskiRiver wends its way toward #NaknekLake. The Savonoski can be floated using a small plane to get to the starting point, or it can be approached from #Brooks Camp by boat, canoe, or kayak. Walking around out there and fishing the braids can be spectacular, AND very productive; as long as you are watchful and recognize that you are NOT THE ONLY ONE fishing these braids.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, April 30, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #85 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #85, Pictures from Ground Zero: Then there are those days that are spectacle, but really not fit for man nor beast. Neither the boatperson, the fisherman, nor the hiker find much refuge from this. There are also those that just don't care - the #bears! Once on a day like this, I sat in full raingear on the edge of the forest at the shore, and slightly sheltered by the dripping trees, watching two young, but sizable, male #grizzlies, quite literally bodysurfing 3-4ft shorebreak waves that the high winds were driving onto the beach. They totally had it down! My friend Nick Nichols at #NationalGeographic (@NatGeo) says he has seen #hippos in #Africa doing this as well.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, April 23, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #84 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #84, Pictures from Ground Zero: The mixture of moisture-laden #weather off the #Pacific and the taller summits of #Katmai National Park create a daily sky show. On the best days, it is a great thing to watch from one of the parks lesser #summits. As a rule, however, this weather is pretty fast-moving and usually has significant wind with it, so regardless of your viewpoint, YOU need to be prepared as some part of the storm will eventually reach you. Hikers can hunker down, but out on these big #lakes it is another story. The scale of this #water allows the #wind to build up significant #wave fetch which I have seen come ashore as 6-FEET of surf at #BrooksCamp. Timing a paddle crossing from one #shore to another requires critical weather judgment because these #storms sometimes come up very quickly, and it isn't just the struggle of the paddle; getting ashore may be an even bigger adventure.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, April 16, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #83 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #83, Pictures from Ground Zero: #Katmai National Park and Preserve may be best known for the bears, but there is much more to enjoy than just that. This is TRULY wild country, but there are trails to hike, and you can also stroll the considerable shoreline, as long as you are willing to "share" it with the bears, as they like to stroll along it as well. The lakes offer day-fishing charters, canoe and kayak camping, and I have always been a fan of the spectacle "where the mountains meet the water." The sheer size of these #lakes and the height of these #mountains which draw in #weather off the #BeringSea create a daily sky-show that can be breathtaking to watch, ...and if you're canoe/kayak camping, breathtaking to endure!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, April 9, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #82 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #82, Pictures from Ground Zero: #BrooksCamp is marginal lodging and food provided by the National Park Service (#NPS), but what is lacking in amenities and convenience is made up for because of the positive interaction with #bear most visitors have while at the camp. Brooks Camp is located in the trees at the mouth of the #BrooksRiver where it enters #Naknek Lake. The main viewing area for watching bear is a series of falls farther up the river from camp, BUT when #salmon are running, bear are EVERYWHERE. These cubs are feeding in the rivermouth in front of camp while more salmon splash in the background. I am standing on a shoreline less than 100-yards from my cabin. Bear have been walking through camp and along this beach ALL DAY!!  AND, FOR THOSE THAT DO NOT KNOW THIS, #RIOTINTO, THE LAST SIGNIFICANT PARTNER IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROPOSED #PEBBLEMINE, HAS WITHDRAWN. These animals and the amazing parks and habitat that support them have a reprieve from massive industrial development. Now lets see if we can do something with this resource to utilize it meaningfully without destroying it and those who live there.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, April 2, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #81 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #81, Pictures from Ground Zero: Finally our flight enters the most public part of #Katmai National Park and Preserve. We are above the #Iliuk Arm of #Naknek Lake, colored in this way, in part because there is much glacial till suspended in the water, and partly because the incredibly still lake is reflecting blues in the sky. Directly in front of the plane's view is Mount #Katolinat and flowing from its feet, off to the left, is the braided and meandering flood plain of the #Savonoski river which comes into the Iliuk Arm. Off to the right, and at this scale invisible in the trees, is #BrooksCamp - lodging, food, and other services provided by the National Park Service to give the public access to this amazing wild place and let them have a safe, up-close-and-personal experience with the magnificent grizzly bears that are, quite literally, everywhere.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, March 26, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #80 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #80, Pictures from Ground Zero: As our flight proceeds, the heart of #Katmai National Park and Preserve begins to unfold beneath us. Big, perpetually snow-clad #mountains are everywhere, as are big #rivers full of #salmon and #trout, and large beautiful #lakes. We have entered designated #wilderness and it IS #wild. The abundant #habitat provides food for a lot of predators of which #bear and #wolves are most visible. In fact, Katmai is considered one of the greatest bear-viewing experiences in the world. #BrooksCamp is lodging services provided by the National Park Service. It is always filled with international guests because it is walking distance to a river / #waterfall system that features dozens of bear in close proximity to the safe viewing platform while bear compete for salmon running up the river. Those same bear also amble through camp on a regular basis providing further "excitement" for those walking between their cabins.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, March 19, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #79 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #79, Pictures from Ground Zero: As you leave the presence of #LakeIliamna and enter the domain of #Katmai National Park and Preserve, the #rivers remain everywhere but the steeper terrain hosts less #tundra #ponds and more significant #lakes. This is some of the most beautiful, wildest, and most exciting recreational #fishing, #floating, #camping and #kayaking that you might every do in your life. These many rivers are a significant part of the multi-million$ RENEWABLE recreation industry growing in this region and although they would not be directly impacted by the construction of the proposed Pebble mine development, the ENTIRETY of this park would have its air and water quality significantly affected.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, March 12, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #78 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #78, Pictures from Ground Zero: Flying south, away from the southern shore of #LakeIliamna, our flight path heads for #Katmai National Park and Preserve. #Lakes grow larger and there are less small #ponds, but #rivers are everywhere. At the horizon of this picture Lake Iliamna is in the distance and beyond it rise the mountains of #LakeClark Park and Preserve. In the lower half of the frame, a relatively large river system winds itself past a couple of #lakes, and if you look carefully at the one in the foreground, you will see two airplanes have landed on the water and are sitting in a spot of sunlight. Most likely the occupants have come to fish the less accessible stretches of this river.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, March 5, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #77 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #77, Pictures from Ground Zero: #KatmaiNationalParkAndPreserve is a fisherman's paradise but the park is publicly well-known as one of the greatest bear-viewing areas in the world. As our flight follows the southern shoreline of #LakeIliamna toward #Katmai, increasingly more bears become visible in the landscape. In this image, where a small #river flows into the #lake, you can see numerous seagulls in the water and along the edges of the sandbars. They are there because #salmon are spawning and coming up the #stream. The seagulls are "cleaning-the-beach" feasting on spent salmon carcasses. However, they are not alone! Look very carefully at the sand spit where the river enters the lake on the lower, left of this image - there are two very large grizzlies cruising the shore.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, February 26, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #76 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #76, Pictures from Ground Zero: Leaving the #IliamnaRiverValley which we flew above in the last few posts and returning to #LakeIliamna, my flight now follows the southern shore of #Iliamna (seen in the background) as I begin to approach the perimeter of #KatmaiNationalParkAndPreserve. ##Streams, #tundra ponds, and smaller #lakes stretch out over the #landscape unto the #horizon. There are MANY #bear, #caribou, and #wolves down there, ...and LOTS of #fish, #fishermen and #fishing. Very few human beings have ever walked large parts of this #landscape and the ones who do are either #Native #subsistence #hunters or fishermen that have landed a float #plane on one of the lakes. What a world!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, February 19, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #75 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #75, Pictures from Ground Zero: Eventually the #IliamnaRiverV valley narrows and becomes a maize of meanders, braids, and inflowing sidestreams. If the haul road for the proposed #PebbleMine were built here, how much "engineering" of the #river will be required? How many bridges will have to be built, disrupting how many #salmon streams? AND, if all of this construction is done, how much of the #soil and #debris from it will flow downstream and into the pristine waters of #LakeIliamna?
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, February 12, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #74 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #74, Pictures from Ground Zero: Expanding your view out in front of the plane, you are now looking up the #IliamnaRiverValley (right) and are beginning to get some sense of this valley's size. Building a substantial haul road through this valley for the #PebbleMine will alter the habitat of this river FOREVER! Note, too, it is not ONLY the #IliamnaRiver that would be affected. There are hundreds of streams feeding into the main river. In this picture, directly in front of me (middle of picture) is a deep #canyon, carved by a considerable flow of water. These "feeders" descend into the valley from all sides, and building a road will cause them to be "engineered" as well.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, February 5, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #73 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #73, Pictures from Ground Zero: Scale in #Alaska is often difficult to determine, but these next few images will help clarify the size of the #Iliamna river valley. In the previous post, the view is from the valley, looking toward #LakeIliamna. This shot is the reverse position, looking just slightly up the river valley. With the plane at a lower altitude, details begin to define size. Trees are sometimes helpful, but for me the considerable amount of large debris logs on the sandbars give me the clearest sense "how big" things really are. The angle of the plane is also reflecting clouds and blue sky off of the water. #Salmon were running at the time and particular spots in the river would suddenly turn red with their densely packed bodies.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #72 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #72, Pictures from Ground Zero: As you round the end of #LakeIliamna and enter the #Iliamna #river #valley, you have passed #PedroBay and a maize of #islands (upper portion of image). The sizeable Iliamna river then begins to wind its way deep into the #AlaskaRange. A spectacle of untouched meanders, meadows, and tributaries that feed the larger river, this #ecosystem would be forever altered by the haul-road for the proposed #PebbleMine and inevitably a number of #salmon stream tributaries to the Ilamna will be altered or obliterated by construction. As the valley narrows and the #mountains rise, #snow depth will be another issue that will likely make keeping such a #road open; dangerous, difficult and expensive. Of course, dozens of hauls-a-day and all that diesel/gas fume belched into this pristine #environment will not be beneficial to ANY part of this #habitat.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, January 22, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #71 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #71, Pictures from Ground Zero: The last few posts have focused on #LakeIliamna, so I close with this #image for orientation because we are now going to explore the #watersheds that feed all of this. We are above #PedroBay in #LakeIliamna, looking at #PorcupineIsland among others and in the top right, the length of the #lake is so great the #shore is over the horizon. You are looking toward the #outlet of the lake from whence the #Kvichak #river flows out to #BristolBay. To the left rise the #mountains of #Katmai #NationalPark and Preserve, one of the three watersheds we will explore. Behind me in the other direction is #LakeClark #NationalPark, the 2nd massive watershed, and to my left is the #Iliamna #river-valley. The proposed haul road for the #PebbleMine would travel up this valley through a pass, arriving at a dock facility in #CookInlet to offload the #ore - so 1st, we will explore this watershed...
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, January 15, 2014 
NO PEBBLE MINE #70 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #70, Pictures from Ground Zero: Of course, big #weather can make working with #cameras more difficult. After years of being in the field in #Alaska, I have developed some truly ridiculous, but effective ways of keeping my equipment dry and functioning. Why? Because every once in awhile, the #storm breaks at just the right moment and you want to be ready. Before #Adobe, this is #transparency #film at its best and #LakeIliamna is putting on a show. A Native friend joked with me that the #salmon swim out of #BristolBay, up into the lake, just so they can see this.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, January 8, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #69 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #69, Pictures from Ground Zero: And then there are OTHER days!!! On this particular morning, I was in #Katmai National Park and expecting to get picked up by plane and flown north into #LakeClark National Park, inevitably crossing #LakeIliamna. At dawn, in camp at #Katmai, there was a rising wind out of the north and it was bringing #weather. #NaknekLake, where the pick-up was scheduled, was wide, open water facing north and in no time, wind fetch created 6-foot waves on the shoreline. Nonetheless, a radio message confirmed my pilot was on his way and I would meet him at another lakeshore with a protected cove. He arrived, we departed, and predictably the flight was rough, BUT one of the more amazing moments of the morning occurred over #Iliamna - flying directly into the extreme headwind which peaked as we approached the lake, a 10-15min crossing took the better part of an hour because the plane could barely move forward against the building storm.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, January 1, 2014 

NO PEBBLE MINE #68 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #68, Pictures from Ground Zero: You take a lake as large as #Iliamna and position it at the foot of 12,000-17,000ft mountains, all of which face into the #BeringSea, and you will create some VERY interesting #weather. As I have previously mentioned in this blog, there is considerable year-round weather in the form of rain and snow, but sometimes none of that is happening. This is a 60-75mph blow, coming right at me and generating waves on the lake. A pilot friend of mine flipped his plane on an early morning takeoff when a wave clipped his float/pontoon. Down below, fishing? ...Wind chill is stunning!
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, December 25, 2013 

NO PEBBLE MINE #67 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #67, Pictures from Ground Zero: The #NewHalen river is certainly one of the most significant rivers flowing into #LakeIliamna because it comes out of the massive drainage of #LakeClark but MANY rivers feed #Iliamna. Water is everywhere. Along the more level shoreline of the lake, expanses of open #tundra are dotted with small lakes and ponds - hundreds of them, and through this maze, numerous smaller rivers feed into the lake. It is these smaller rivers that are the home-waters for the spawning #salmon, coming up the #Kvichak and into Iliamna from #BristolBay.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, December 18, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #66 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #66, Pictures from Ground Zero: #Lake Iliamna is fed by some very large expanses of #headwater, which is why it is also so large. From the north, a substantial portion of the #LakeClark drainage is channeled through the #NewHalen river which connects Lake Clark to Lake Iliamna. The New Halen is a spectacle of whitewater; big whitewater. It is also a vital connection for spawning #salmon to the numerous lakes and rivers in #LakeClarkNationalPark. The haul road for the proposed #Pebble mine would follow a portion of the southern shore of Lake Clark, then bridge the New Halen and parallel it to the shoreline of Iliamna, before turning west. The integrity of habitat for both Lake Iliamna and the park will be inexorably altered by this kind of industrial activity.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2014, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, December 11, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #65 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #65, Pictures from Ground Zero: #LakeIliamna is the source of the #Kvichak river. #Iliamna is one of the largest #freshwater #lakes in the world stretching over 60-miles in length and 2-3 miles in width. Rivers feed into Iliamna from its own headwater/valley connected to the deep heart of the #Alaska #Range, but also from #Katmai and #LakeClark National Parks and their vast mountain/river systems. Iliamna has numerous islands, great recreational opportunities, AND it supports a unique species of freshwater seal, similar, but not the same as those in #LakeBaikal (#Russia). The mine-to-port haul road for the proposed #PebbleMine would be built along a substantial portion of the Iliamna shoreline, over MANY productive salmon streams, and through the Alaska Range, following the Iliamna river valley. REALLY... during the winter? LOL!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, December 4, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #64 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #64, Pictures from Ground Zero: The #Kvichak connects #LakeIliamna to #BristolBay and although the #river is not great in length it IS a big river fed by many other large river systems. This is a particularly impressive section of the Kvichak is known as "#TheChannels" and if you look closely, at the top-middle of this image, you will see a substantial #inflow to the Kvichak from another drainage. The Channels are an important destination for recreational fishermen, and also for the 6 #Native #villages that are located on the shore of the river.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, November 27, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #63 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #63, Pictures from Ground Zero: My/our journey has now taken us down the #Nushagak #river from the site of the proposed Pebble mine, all the way to the #Pacific and #BristolBay. The Nushagak drainage, and the numerous related river systems that feed into it, is one of the two #headwaters MOST important to the commercial #salmon fishery in Bristol Bay. The other river, the #Kvichak, is shorter in length, but larger in size, as it collects water from #LakeClark, #LakeIliamna and #Katmai, a VAST headwater of tall mountains and significant snowfall. The only other "city" in #Southwest besides #Dillingham is #KingSalmon-Naknek located on the #Naknek river that feeds into the Kvichak. The double name reflects the commercial fishing town of #KingSalmon and the quite nearby Native village of #Naknek, located literally at the junction of the two rivers. EVERYBODY fishes ! I mean, seriously... King Salmon?
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, November 20, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #62 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #62, Pictures from Ground Zero: #Dillingham, #Alaska sits at the mouth of the #Nushagak #river, one of the two most productive rivers in the #BristolBay #commercial #salmon #fishery. The town(s) of King Salmon-Nakek lie slightly further upriver on the #Kvichak, the other major river, but ALL face the fierce weather that rolls in off the bay and out of the #BeringSea. In the summer, constantly changing weather systems provide some dynamic skyshows, here a massive storm cell unleashes on the far shore of The #Nush.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, November 13, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #61 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #61, Pictures from Ground Zero: #Dillingham, #Alaska is a vital supply line for all the villages in #Southwest, and it is located near the mouth of the #Nushagak #river so that barges can offload supplies for residents and so the #fishing fleet can launch into the bay. Facing directly into #BristolBay and the #Pacific, Dillingham sees significant #weather most days of the year. Here, on a cold, clear morning, Dillingham and its 5,000+ residents disappear into a bank of river #fog.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, November 6, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #60 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #60, Pictures from Ground Zero: The #Nushagak #river is big now, #BristolBay is close. One of the only towns in #Southwest, #Dillingham, is just ahead. At this point, the river is close enough to the reach of the #Pacific that it is affected by the tidal flux of the #bay. In the light of dawn you can see from the exposed mud flats along the #shoreline, as there is currently a low tide. AND, it looks like there is going to be some weather coming in. How unusual... LOL!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, October 30, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #59 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #59, Pictures from Ground Zero: Beginning with my work on the Hudson River, I have always shot “random” #panoramics of 2-3 frames that I exhibit as continuous. I say random because they are not measured out with perfect digital seams – nor do I care – it is the #idea / #view that matters, AND the #flow / #rhythm between the #pictures. Here for your enjoyment is a #twilight #diptych from the lower “Nush” after a day of big #weather. The lightshow went for hours in the long summer eve !
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, October 23, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #58 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #58, Pictures from Ground Zero: As our trip down the #Nushagak #River below the site of the proposed #PEBBLE #mine nears its mouth at #BristolBay, the river is wide and flowing with a lot of volume. The #horizon is relatively flat, while big #skies overhead roll in from the #BeringSea. The “Nush” may appear to be still, calm water, BUT it – and you - are moving at a good clip. In a slow-to-steer, heavily-laden float boat, a large #tree on the bank that has fallen into the river – a sweeper – could appear suddenly on a bend. Our LARGE boat could be crushed or sucked under it if we did not avoid it – not always a simple task. For scale, THAT is a sizeable tree floating thru the middle of this image.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, October 16, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #57 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #57, Pictures from Ground Zero: Extremely high in #Omega3 oil and protein-rich, #salmon are a gift to ALL that live within their cycle – NOT just the humans. However, within the #Native villages, salmon is an essential part of their diet and they have learned to prepare, flavor it, and store it in every conceivable way. Here, it is being hung to “dry” out-of-doors, a traditional way of preserving the #fish without refrigeration. (I personally like mine dried in sticks, smoked, and jar-stored with a little Jalapeno... YUM!)
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, October 9, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #56 Pictures from Ground Zero: NO PEBBLE MINE #56, Pictures from Ground Zero: Many #Native villages in #Southwest #Alaska / #BristolBay are NOT connected to any road system. Located on #rivers, the #water is their highway. Many #villagers commercially #fish Bristol Bay, so some have larger vessels to do that job, but ALL villagers fish #salmon for their personal use, so when you arrive at a village, the shore is a busy place and it becomes clear how dependent these lives are on the presence of the river and the salmon.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, October 2, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #55 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #55, Pictures from Ground Zero: A “big” #river now by any description, the lower “Nush” draws closer to its mouth in #BristolBay and #villages begin to appear along its #shoreline. These are #Native villages, and for most #inhabitants of these #communities, #subsistence #hunting and #fishing puts the #food on their table. They live “off-of-the-land”, or in this case, off of the river and its many gifts.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, September 25, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #54 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #54, Pictures from Ground Zero: Big #weather off the #BeringSea streams into #BristolBay and out over the #landscape of #Southwest feeding the #river systems that make up the #headwaters of one of the greatest #fisheries in the world. Here the #Nushagak - 1 of the 2 most productive rivers in the #fishery – broadens and grows in volume as it heads towards Bristol Bay - to the right in the distance.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, September 18, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #53 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #53, Pictures from Ground Zero: As the hills that define the proposed PEBBLE mine site recede further into the distance, the downslope waters continue to merge into the Nushagak river drainage. Ever bigger, ever more volume, the Nushagak continues to grow. As U can see in this image, we r so far downslope now, EVEN THE FEEDER systems are sizeable rivers unto themselves.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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 Wednesday, September 11, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #52 Pictures from Ground Zero:
NO PEBBLE MINE #52, Pictures from Ground Zero: My #images have been taking us #downstream, below the site of the #proposed #PEBBLE #mine, describing how small #streams are collectively feeding into the #Nushagak, one of the two most important #rivers in the #BristolBay #fishery. In the distance are the #hills near the proposed mine site. Think of how much #water is coursing thru this #landscape based on what I have shown you! ...and we are only ½ way to the #Pacific.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, September 4, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #51 Pictures from Ground Zero:

NO PEBBLE MINE #51, Pictures from Ground Zero: Not all water flows flat and blue. As many small #tributaries feed into the larger drainages of the #BristolBay #watershed, sizeable #rivers are created. Most meander lazily down thru subtle valleys in the rolling #tundra hills, but occasionally more rugged features in the landscape create some pretty impressive #whitewater. For scale, middle-top of this image there are several float boats on the #beach of a quiet-water #eddy in the river. Spawning #salmon are very determined and will swim thru this to get further upstream. Hey, @Ray Troll, "spawn 'till you die", right?
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd @RatFishTroll

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Wednesday, August 28, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #50, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
NO PEBBLE MINE #50, Pictures from Ground Zero: As the #salmon swim up into the ever smaller #rivers and #streams of the #BristolBay watershed, the WATER is headed the other way and those small streams are now collecting into sizeable rivers. Peaceful in appearance, water volume and rate of flow on a big river is significant and at flood stage it regularly changes its course as indicated by the patterns of the growing trees. In the center near the top of the frame, an oxbow "lake" has been created because the ever-shifting river cut that meander off.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Wednesday, August 21, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #49, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
Once "home", female #salmon lay their eggs on gravel bars which the males swim across and "milt". Look carefully, though, someone else is also interested in those eggs. Hovering just above the eggs and just below the salmon is a #rainbow #trout nearly as large as the salmon. This is a trophy fish, grown huge from gorging on salmon eggs, and sought after by hi-end #fishermen from all over the world. These trout are #catch-and-release only, and the experience of pursuing them in a wild #Alaskan river contributes about $10-15million to the southwest economy. The waters of #Southwest #Alaska are THE MOST DIVERSE FRESHWATER HABITAT in North America. Say NO to the PEBBLE MINE - there is no place for it here. 
Photograph © 2013 #@GregSyverson @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine 

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #48, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
When the #salmon come out of the #Pacific and begin to collect in #BristolBay, you can see them from the air shimmering in clusters in the water below. BUT in the immensity of the bay it is hard to realize how many fish you are looking at. Once they start up the #Nushagak and #Kvichak rivers, their density increases as the waterways narrow. When the salmon leave the main system for the smaller tributaries where they will spawn, it is quite a crowded stream. I would like to thank friend/photographer #GregSyverson who took these pictures for one of my books. Greg thought it would be interesting to don a drysuit and with a waterproof camera, float downstream thru the fish traffic migrating in the other direction. 
Photograph © 2013 #@GregSyverson @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine 

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Wednesday, August 7, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #47, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
As we are traveling #downstream below the proposed PEBBLE mine site, we are witnessing endless #streams feed into small #river #valleys which in turn merge into the ever-larger system of the #Nushagak #river. Beneath these waters, one of the greatest #salmon #migrations on earth is headed upstream. Coming out of the #Pacific, the salmon enter #BristolBay and the largest numbers of fish go up the #Kvichak and #Nushagak, two of the largest rivers. These rivers are too large and flow too fast, however, for the salmon to #spawn. The fish are headed for THESE waters (pictureed here), slower - quieter - meandering - and with plenty of #sandbars where they can lay their eggs.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine
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 Wednesday, July 31, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #46, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
My visual journey is taking us #downriver from the proposed Pebble #mine site. We are following many, many #streams as they collect into the #Nushagak river, one of the two larger rivers most vital to the #BristolBay #salmon #fishery. Some "feeder" #streams occupy substantial #valleys, others are like small squiggles as they meander over the #landscape. As I have said before in these posts, the larger aerial view always astounds me and in this shot, I see the very fabric of existence of life on Earth. The PEBBLE MINE will alter this environment FOREVER -- SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE!
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Wednesday, July 24, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #45, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
As the waters collect from the #tributary #streams BELOW the proposed Pebble #mine site, they will eventually coalesce into the #Nushagak #river, one of the two principal rivers that support the world's most productive #salmon #fishery, #BristolBay. Initially the "joined" waters meander erratically down lush, swampy #valleys thru the rolling #tundra #landscape. But, as the water descends, hundreds of "arms" in this #aqueous spiderweb create ever-larger drainages that are substantial river systems in and of themselves - #Mulchatna, #Chilikadrotna, #Koktuli, and #Stuyahok.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine
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Wednesday, July 17, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #44, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
The #water-saturated #headwaters of the #BristolBay #fishery will begin to drain into the #open-pit of the proposed PEBBLE mine as soon as ground is broken. As I showed in previous post #42 of the #BerkleyPit in #Montana, the downflow of water creates significant #erosion #channels in the walls of the pit. Were the PEBBLE to be constructed, the erosion would be constant and massive, coming from surface water, large amounts of #rainfall, and significant #snowmelt. In the MUCH DRYER environment of #Utah, this catastrophic slide is what recently happened at the #BinghamCanyon open-pit mine. And, if this might happen to the pit walls of the PEBBLE, how about those nearby earthen dams larger than #ThreeRiversGorgeDam complex in #China that are expected to "contain" the 20-square-miles - literally a #sea - of #toxic #iron-acidic, #cyanide-laced water... are they eroding away as well?
Photograph © 2013 Ravell Call, Desert News, @RavellRay @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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Wednesday, July 10, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #43, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
If you will recall, I diverged on my #downriver trip from the proposed #open-pit Pebble mine site in #Southwest #Alaska to explain a bit about #open-pit #mining, citing the #BerkleyPit #mine in #Butte, Montana. Clearly one of the issues with ANY open-pit mine is pumping the inflowing #groundwater and #toxic stew out of the mine pit and into "containment" lakes (you hope). Historically, most open-pit mines have #containment problems, and in an area with this much surface water directly below the mine site, ANY spill would flow immediately into the #headwaters of some of the most productive #river systems in the #BristolBay #salmon #fishery.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, July 3, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #42, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
So, a #lake, somewhere, is being created from the pumping of the #toxic stew out of the #open-pit #mine to keep the mine from flooding. However, #groundwater is always leaking in, as is the #rain, so the pumping-out and lake-making must continue in PERPETUITY. At the #BerkeleyPit in #Butte, #Montana, the water table the mine eventually breached was subterranean, unfortunately at the site of the proposed PEBBLE MINE, the water table is virtually at the surface, water will flow into the pit from the 1st shovel they dig, and then it will rain, snow and melt out ON TOP OF THAT- note the water #erosion ravines on the side of the Berkley pit - NO PEBBLE MINE.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, June 26, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #41, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
At ground level, that "lake" being created from the water pumped out of the #Berkley #open-pit #mine does not look like a good place to #fish -- or #swim-- and certainly NOT to #drink. What keeps these #toxins from seeping back into the #aquifer? Isn't moving this stew of #poison from one place to another really just a house-of-cards? Imagine the scale of the Pebble mine "lagoons": 20-square-miles, and because of the #cyanide the lagoons will ALWAYS be toxic and must be MAINTAINED IN PERPETUITY. #Southwest #Alaska is a significant resting/feeding stop during #bird migrations up and down the #Pacific #flyway, hosting hundreds of thousands of birds and dozens of species... what will they think these lagoons are? Say NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE!!!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, June 19, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #40, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
The actual #open-pit #mine is only part of the #footprint. As the mine digs below the #watertable and water flows into the pit, the pit must be perpetually pumped out and the #toxic stew has to be put somewhere else. In the case of the #BerkleyPit in #Butte, #Montana, the stew is pumped above the mine into a small valley creating a "lake" - as you can see from this aerial view, quite a large "lake." The PEBBLE mine proposed for #Southwest #Alaska / #BristolBay will create a series of such #lakes. Referred to as #slurry #lagoons, the toxic stew from the PEBBLE will sit in these plastic-lined "ponds" projected to cover 20-SQUARE-MILES. Highly #poisonous, these ponds must be maintained IN PERPETUITY, and they will be "retained" by a complex of earthen dams LARGER THAN THE #ThreeRiversGorgeDam COMPLEX in #China - "retained", that is, until the #LakeClark fault throws off a big #earthquake...
2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, June 12, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #39, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
The #BerkleyPit in #Butte, #Montana is about 1,000-feet deep, but as it went down it dug below the water table of the valley so water began to flow in. Rain and melting snow carry #chemical #pollutants from the ground site into the pit as well, and as the water in the pit interacts with #iron from the #mining process, it #acidifies, turning the reddish color seen here. THIS WATER IS SO #TOXIC THAT NOW THEY ARE ACTUALLY MINING THE #WATER! The mine must also pump water out of the pit 24/7/365 FOREVER to keep the toxic water from rising to the point that it would flow back into the #groundwater #aquifer of Butte and the entire #river valley. BUT, where are they pumping it...?
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, June 5, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #38, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
Major #petrochemical accumulation is showing up in the small #fish that constitute the 1st tier of the #foodchain in the #GulfOfMexico, a result of the @BP #oil fire / spill. As bigger #fish eat them, the #toxins accumulate in the bigger fish in increasingly larger concentrations. #BristolBay, #Alaska is the last major #CLEAN #fishery left in America. A new study by the #UniversityOfAlaska (@UA_System) places an ANNUAL #economic #value on the fishery of 1-1/2 BILLION dollars! How could anyone, even a politician, think putting a #cyanide-leach, #open-pit #mine in the #headwaters of this fishery is a good idea? Wake up America, you can't eat #gold and #copper - SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE, keep Alaskan #salmon 'doin the CLEAN wild thing!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, May 29, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #37, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
As the mine ages, some buildings and equipment are #abandoned on site. Accumulating discarded industrial equipment often #leaks #petrochemicals furthering the #poisoning of the ground. Here #rainwater has collected in a pool, now #acidic because of #iron #oxides, BUT given the presence of the structure and trucks now sitting in disuse, other #hazardous #chemistry is surely in this pool as well. Eventually it will percolate into the #groundwater. A valued #fishery is NO place for a mine like this, SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, May 22, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #36, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
As the #open-pit #mine grows larger, so does the infrastructure. More buildings are erected, more roads built - the "crater" of the mine is ever-deepening and ever-widening. As this goes on, besides the #tailings created from the mining, significant #industrial #debris from construction accumulates as well - some of it #toxic. Any heavy #rain or #groundwater interaction just mixes the debris deterioration in with #toxins from the #mine - a stew is brewing! Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, May 15, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #35, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
The previous 5 images in this folio circumnavigate the proposed sight of the Pebble mine from the air. Should the Pebble be allowed, this is how the #landscape will be transformed - 1st a substantive community of buildings and roads must be created to support such a massive dig in such a remote place. Then the extraction of the #earth begins with #explosives used to pulverize the rock / dirt so it can be scooped up, trucked off and processed. This is the #BerkleyPit in #Butte, #Montana - the color of the exposed dirt is the result of #iron #oxides formed as the soil is exposed to water and air - in a liquid form these iron oxides are HIGHLY #acidic.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, May 8, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE, Pictures from Ground Zero #34: 
At the flight angle of the 4 previous pictures you do not fully perceive the amount of #water on the #landscape. Larger #rivers and #lakes are visible in those shots, but only from directly above can you finally see the spiderweb of smaller streams and #wetlands that feed into the ever-larger river systems. An "accidental" spill of a liquid #toxin in this habitat would spread EVERYWHERE! Say NO to the Pebble Mine! 
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, May 1, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #33, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
As the line of flight / sight travel moves away from the "hills", the #river #valleys are less defined, and the #landscape starts to flatten out into massive gently rolling swells. Even so, #water flows into every depression. Small #streams meander across the landscape, collecting into ever larger #rivers headed toward the #Pacific. In this image, I can see 6-7 feeder streams coming into the larger, foreground river. The Pebble mine would be at the far horizon; those hills will likely be gone, replaced by a 2,000-foot deep hole in the ground.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, April 24, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #32, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
As the #tundra #vegetation channels the #rainfall into gullies, those small #streams collect into ever larger #rivers that wind their way through the broad rolls of the #landscape, connecting #lakes and #ponds. It is going to take a lot of surface disruption of this landscape, stream diversion, and electric energy production to perpetually pump groundwater from the 2,000-foot deep #pit of the Pebble Mine to keep it from flooding in a #toxic stew.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, April 17, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #31, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
If you flew towards what appear to be small hills in the distance of my last post (FB post #30) - effectively flying across what might become the 2,000-foot deep, #open-pit of the Pebble Mine - the scale of the #landscape that will be altered by the #mine becomes more apparent. The hills are NOT small and because of #rainfall off the #BeringSea captured by the #tundra, #streams flow down every crack and gully virtually year-round (4 or 5 are visible in this picture alone).
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, April 10, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #30, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
When discussing the Pebble Mine, you regularly read / hear the terms "footprint" and "downstream" - so let's take a look at the #footprint and follow the #water #downstream. This is the #landscape where the footprint will be most visible - were the Pebble to be constructed THIS would be a 2,000-foot deep hole in the ground AND over 2-miles across, rim-to-rim.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, April 3, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #29, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
Beneath the carpet of #tundra and stunted #spruce lies a #water system as complex and intermixed as the vegetation it supports. #Rivers not only wind through the landscape connecting #lakes to the #Pacific, but in some places they intermingle BENEATH the surface, flowing through porous rock from one drainage into another. #Cyanide #slurry or #iron #acids released into this environment "by accident" from the PEBBLE MINE would #poison everything.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, March 27, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #28, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
This is #tundra - a complex, stunted world of intermixed systems and species that covers most of the #terrain that will be imprinted by the Pebble mine. It is also a #microcosm of the larger, even more complex SYSTEMS the Pebble mine will impact. These #plants, the #animals, the #fish, the #water resource, the #air quality, some of America's most beautiful #parks, and OUR #publichealth will all be compromised - SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, March 20, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #27, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
To me, the most #habitat / #fisheries threatening part of the Pebble mine "footprint" is the 20-SQUARE MILE #toxic #lagoon complex. #Cyanide #slurry NEVER breaks down and must be maintained FOREVER! - behind earthen dams larger than China's 3 Rivers Gorge Dam complex... what? Problem is ALL OF THIS SITS ADJACENT THE #LAKECLARK FAULT, home to numerous active #volcanoes, and site of the largest #earthquake in North American history (1964, 9+ for over 6-minutes), YIKES! Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine


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 Wednesday, March 13, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #26, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
Besides the impact of the actual #mine site, the system of roads and their industrial #pollution will also affect #LakeIliamna and beyond. This is the #IliamnaRiver above Lake Iliamna. The road from the mine to the shipping port will traverse this #river and #valley, disrupting it and all of its #tributaries. Try keeping the road open in winter! 
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine


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 Wednesday, March 6, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #25, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
One morning, on a walk up the #Talarik Creek drainage the #water was teeming with #fish. I encountered 3 #grizzlies (at different times, fortunately!), a #moose, several #eagles and 10 or so #recreational #fishermen. I also saw #caribou tracks and #wolf prints. Why trade this vibrant #habitat for a #toxic hole in-the-ground called The Pebble Mine? 
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine


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 Wednesday, February 27, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #24, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
Considered to be some of the world's finest #flyfishing, #Talarik Creek's vibrant path flows across the bottom of this photograph. In the distance is #LakeIliamna, one of the world's largest #freshwater lakes, and home to a unique species of #seal. This whole #habitat is part of a multi million $$ American #fishery, and one of our wildest, most pristine national #parks, WHY PUT THE EXTREMELY #TOXIC PEBBLE MINE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS?
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, February 20, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #23, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
In a stunningly visual overlay of geologic time in #Southwest #Alaska / #BristolBay, #rivers and #lakes that support the current #fishery sit atop massive #glacial #striations in the rock. Disrupting all of this with the largest #mining complex on earth, staggering volumes of #toxic #debris, and miles of industrial roads is just wrong - SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, February 13, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #22, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
The #Obama family received my two books on #Southwest #Alaska and #BristolBay as a Christmas present. Last week the Natural Resources Defense Council (@NRDC) and #RobertRedford dropped a full-page ad in the @WashingtonPost (w/my pic) asking the President to stop the Pebble mine and save Bristol Bay. NOW IS THE TIME!!! E-mail President @Barack Obama at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments, and ask him to SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE. Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine


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 Wednesday, February 6, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #21, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
Low tide at the mouth of the #Kvichak river reveals " #DeadmanSands ". Out beyond the bar lies one of the greatest #fisheries left in the world, #BristolBay - an American fishery, a #clean #food #resource for American people, and a provider of thousands of American jobs. Why would we allow a #Canadian #mining company funded by a #British #investment firm to build The Pebble mine here and compromise this resource?
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, January 30, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #20, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
Because of litigation over the shortcomings of their 1st plan, the #Alaska Department of Natural Resources (@DNR) was directed to revise and reconsider. The new DNR plan just released has good points but insults #native communities by not recognizing #subsistence #hunting. There should also be greater consideration of #moose / #caribou winter #habitat, and ALL #STREAMS ARE HABITAT, navigable or not!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, January 23, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #19, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
There is NO WAY you can put the largest #open-pit #mine in the world and its 20 square-miles of #poisonous #lagoons in the middle of this fish-rich, water world and not impact the #habitat and the #fish significantly. Aside from the mine's #toxicity, there will be #coal burned for electricity altering #air-quality, and roads built that will impact dozens of #rivers and #lakes with their construction and industrial traffic.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, January 16, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #18, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
The #habitat of #Southwest #Alaska supports the most productive #salmon fishery in the world, but there is also #arctic #char, #dolly #varden, and huge #rainbow #trout in abundance, not to mention all the other #animals, #birds, and epic American parkland. President @BarackObama has my books to ensure that he and his family can SEE what is at stake. Contact him now, tell him to support the @EPA and direct them to say NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, January 9, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #17, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
#Southwest #Alaska is one of the cleanest and most diverse #freshwater #habitats left in North America. As #clean #water #resources elsewhere are ruined by industrial consumption, #fracking, and bad #mining practice, perhaps we should prevent the PEBBLE MINE from "accidentally" impairing this huge clean water system. It is not JUST the #fish, PURE water will be more valuable than #gold in the near future.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, January 2, 2013 
NO PEBBLE MINE #16, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
The state parks, national parks and wildlife refuges of #Southwest #Alaska are the essence of wild land. These habitats are also the #headwaters of the #BristolBay #salmon #fisheries and the most diverse #freshwater #ecosystem in North America. Parks and fish are renewable resource job providers. THERE IS NO PLACE IN THIS #ENVIRONMENT FOR THE #TOXIC BYPRODUCTS THAT WILL BE INTRODUCED BY THE PEBBLE MINE COMPLEX.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, December 26, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #15, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
#BristolBay, the most productive commercial #salmon fishery in the history of the world is not the only renewable resource at risk if the Pebble Mine is developed. This industrial mega-development will impact, 2 national parks (@LakeClarkNPS & @Katmai NPS), 3 national wildlife refuges (#Togiak), and 4 state-designated sanctuaries (#Wood-Tikchik) - home not just to #fish, but #bear, #moose, #caribou, #wolf, #walrus, #marten, #fox, #eagle and 1000's of migratory #birds.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, December 19, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #14, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
#Southwest #Alaska and the #AlaskaRange host many #volcanoes and are adjacent one of the most significant #seismic zones in North America. The Pebble mine plans to store #cyanide-toxic #mine #slurry in 20-SQUARE-MILES of plastic lined, lake-like pits supposedly contained IN PERPETUITY by a series of earthen dams larger than #ThreeGorgesDam located in #Yiling District, #Yichang, #Hubei province, #China. HELLO !?!?!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, December 12, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #13, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
The Pebble Mine #ore deposit is apparently part of an ancient #volcano. #Lava flows and #volcanic #debris have built much of the #Southwest landscape. BENEATH THE POROUS STONE SURFACE, THE WATERS FLOW - sometimes literally THROUGH the rock layers. Many Rivers and watersheds are "connected" in this way. Containing any spills from the 20-SQUARE-miles of #cyanide #slurry lagoons created by the Pebble Mine would be virtually impossible.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

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 Wednesday, December 5, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #12, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
This is #LakeIliamna, one of the largest #freshwater lakes in the world and home to a unique species of freshwater #seal found nowhere else. #Iliamna is also the #headwater of the massive #Kvichak river, the most productive commercial #salmon river in all of #Southwest Alaska. ASTOUNDINGLY, THE NEARBY PEBBLE MINE WILL PRODUCE 3,000-pounds OF #TOXIC #TAILINGS FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD LIVING ON THE #PLANET TODAY, and to neutralize these #acid producing #tailings, the mine developers have suggested dumping the them in the lake!!!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

 Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/littlebearprod/conservation-no-pebble-mine/
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.little-bear-productions.com
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 Wednesday, November 28, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #11, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
#Oil still oozes from shoreline sand in #PrinceWilliamSound. Oil and other #toxins saturate the #GulfCoast. #Cyanide and #acidic #iron #oxides should NEVER BE INTRODUCED into the #BristolBay #environment. Say NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE and keep the greatest wild #salmon fishery in the world (also #herring, #halibut, etc.) a clean American food and job resource. Don't allow #Southwest #Alaska to be trashed by international industrial development.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

 Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/littlebearprod/conservation-no-pebble-mine/
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.little-bear-productions.com
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 Wednesday, November 21, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #10, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
If constructed, The Pebble will be the largest #open-pit #mine ever built, however in addition to the mine site a "haul" road system must also be carved through the 10,000 -17,000 ft #AlaskaRange to reach a port in #CookInlet (also to be built as part of the complex). GOOD LUCK KEEPING SUCH A ROAD OPEN IN THE WINTER! Will American taxpayers be deluded into subsidizing this road as they were for all the timber extraction roads in the #Tongass #rainforest (@TongassNF)?
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

 Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/littlebearprod/conservation-no-pebble-mine/
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.little-bear-productions.com
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 Wednesday, November 14, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #9, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
The @EPA has determined the Pebble Mine will damage #salmon #rivers, destroy salmon #habitat, and is a threat to the #BristolBay #fishery... THANK YOU!!!! This IS Ground Zero and you can see why a #toxic (#cyanide) #mine leaking / draining water downstream affects everything - follow the water in this picture (clue: it is where the life is).
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

 Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/littlebearprod/conservation-no-pebble-mine/
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.little-bear-productions.com
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 Wednesday, November 7, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #8, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
The Pebble mine would be 2,000-feet deep and 2-miles across. There will be a constant influx of #groudwater that will require pumping 24/7/365 to keep the #mine from #flooding. That liquid, tainted with #cyanide and #iron #oxides, will be pumped into "lagoons" that spread over 20-square-miles of the landscape. #Birds on the #Pacific #flyway will see that, expecting this...
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

 Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/littlebearprod/conservation-no-pebble-mine/
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.little-bear-productions.com
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 Wednesday, October 31, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #7, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
This is #TwinLakes in #LakeClark National Park (@LakeClarkNPS). Beyond the distant mountains to the right, the proposed Pebble mine complex would be belching industrial auto #smog, AND a #mercury laden #haze from #coal-fired power generation. Their 20-SQUARE-MILE #cyanide #slurry lagoon would seem ocean-like from shore-to-shore. How can foreign corporations be allowed do this to American resources?
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

 Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/littlebearprod/conservation-no-pebble-mine/
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.little-bear-productions.com
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 Wednesday, October 24, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #6, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
Besides a massive complex of roads that will define the Pebble mine #extraction site, a long "haul" road must be built to get #minerals out. The haul road will bridge the #NewHalenRiver coming out of #LakeClark National Park @LakeClarkNPS); it will run adjacent the shoreline of #LakeIliamna for miles bridging / disrupting dozens of #salmon streams and possibly the unique species of freshwater #seal that lives in the lake.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

 Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/littlebearprod/conservation-no-pebble-mine/
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.little-bear-productions.com
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 Wednesday, October 17, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #5, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
#Southwest #Alaska / #BristolBay is a world of water.... Water everywhere, and right at the surface. The fishery thrives in this world. The Pebble mine, proposed as the largest #copper / #cyanide #gold-leach mine ever constructed has NO PLACE HERE! Keep American fisheries clean - say NO to The Pebble mine!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

 Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/littlebearprod/conservation-no-pebble-mine/
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.little-bear-productions.com
______________________________________________________

 Wednesday, October 10, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #4, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
The Pebble mine will use more electricity on a daily basis than #Anchorage, the largest city in #Alaska. The Pebble intends to generate power from burning #coal mined on-site. Coupled with the industrial vehicle #smog the mine will generate, you can kiss the air quality of #LakeIliamna, #LakeClark National Park (@LakeClarkNPS), and #Katmai National Park (@KatmaiNPS) goodbye... and good luck keeping the #mercury particulate from coal burning out of the fishery! The Pebble mine threatens American jobs and clean food resources say NO!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

 Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/littlebearprod/conservation-no-pebble-mine/
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.little-bear-productions.com
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 Wednesday, October 3, 2012 
NO PEBBLE MINE #3, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
The #NewHalen river flows between #LakeClark (@LakeClarkNPS) and #LakeIliamna, and offers some of the least tried Class 6 whitewater in North America. It will also have a bridge over it and a haul road next to it if the Pebble mine is constructed.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

 Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/littlebearprod/conservation-no-pebble-mine/
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.little-bear-productions.com
______________________________________________________

 Wednesday, September 26, 2012
NO PEBBLE MINE #2, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
Upper #Talarik Creek, a world class #fly-fishing destination. Recreational fishing / tourism generates $millions of annual revenue and American employment IN PERPETUITY if well managed. The Pebble mine's life will be short but it will generate millions of gallons of #toxic, #cyanide-leach solution which will have to be stored IN PERPETUITY to protect these #waters and the connected American #fishery.
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

 Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/littlebearprod/conservation-no-pebble-mine/
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.little-bear-productions.com
______________________________________________________

 Monday, September 24, 2012
NO PEBBLE MINE #1, Pictures from Ground Zero: 
Today I am starting something new which I hope you will continue to follow, like and share so more will know about this: PEBBLE MINE - pictures from Ground Zero: This is #LakeClark National Park (@LakeClarkNPS) which will SHARE A BORDER with the Pebble mine. Should these kinds of American natural resources be squandered in the pursuit of fashionable jewelry?
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @NRDCBiogems @OrvisFlyFishing @iLCP #NoPebbleMine

 Follow Robert Glenn Ketchum's Photographic Activism Online:
PINTEREST: http://pinterest.com/littlebearprod/conservation-no-pebble-mine/
SOCIAL MEDIA by #LittleBearProd: http://www.LittleBearProd.com
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