Washington, D.C. — Today, the Biden administration announced it would resume work on permanent protections for Alaska’s Bristol Bay, following a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. This move from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), if fully completed, will help protect Bristol Bay from future mines, allowing the world’s most productive wild salmon fishery and the people who depend on it to thrive. In response, Christy Goldfuss, senior vice president for Energy and Environment Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
The Biden administration has finally answered the yearslong call of tribes and fishermen in Alaska and acted to protect this magnificent place. Today, EPA Administrator Michael Regan committed to reopen the process for protecting Alaska’s Bristol Bay. In a year of climate-fueled extreme weather disasters across the nation, and as salmon disappear from the rest of the country, Bristol Bay’s record-breaking salmon catches have sustained the traditional lifestyles of more than two dozen tribes and the robust commercial fishery key to southwest Alaska’s economy. With today’s announcement, the president is delivering on his America the Beautiful commitment to support the priorities of tribal nations and to conserve 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030.
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