Dear Representative,

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) believes our earth is worth fighting for because everyone has a right to clean air, water, lands, and a safe, healthy community. Each year, LCV publishes the National Environmental Scorecard, which details the voting records of members of Congress on environmental legislation. The Scorecard is distributed to LCV members, concerned voters nationwide, and the media.

We urge you to vote YES on amendment #90 offered by Representative Jared Huffman to H.R. 2740, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Legislative Branch, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2020, which would prohibit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from finalizing the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Pebble Mine, a proposed gold and copper mine, would wreak immense and irreversible harm on the waters of Bristol Bay, which contain the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery and most prolific king salmon run in the world. The Bristol Bay fishery forms the foundation of a robust and sustainable economy, including commercial, sport, and subsistence fishing; sport and subsistence hunting; and recreation and tourism — resulting in over 14,000 jobs and generating $1.5 billion annually in economic activity. Additionally, the salmon are important to the way of life of over 30 Alaskan Native communities who have relied on the watershed for generations, which also serves as critical habitat for bears, eagles, wolves, and many other species. Pebble Mine would poison the Bay with up to 10 billion tons of mining waste, which is why it is overwhelmingly opposed by the people who live there, including tribes, village corporations, commercial, subsistence and recreational fishermen, hunters, businesses, conservationists, and more.

The Bristol Bay watershed is one of America’s last great wild places, but Pebble Mine would threaten its future and the people, salmon, wildlife, and economies that depend on it. Again, we encourage you to support the Huffman amendment #90 to prohibit the Army Corps from finalizing the EIS and protect Bristol Bay once and for all. We will strongly consider including this vote in the 2019 Scorecard. If you need more information, please call my office at (202) 785-8683 and ask to speak with a member of our government relations team.

Sincerely,

Gene Karpinski President