Pebble Watch team to present at science conference
Members of the Pebble Watch science team will participate in the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Arctic Division, taking place in Dillingham, Wednesday, September 21 through Saturday, September 24. The conference includes panels, technical sessions and a poster session around the theme “Ecosystems: Understanding the Cycles.”
Tiel Smith, BBNC Land and Resource Manager, will discuss “Mining in Western Alaska,” Thursday, September 22, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the Bristol Bay Campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, on a panel that includes Alaska House District 37 (Dillingham) representative Bryce Edgmon, Pebble Partnership CEO John Shively, Former Alaska State Senate President Rick Halford, and Ed Farley, Ph.D., a fisheries biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Pebble Watch team will also be presenting during a poster session, Thursday, September 22, from 6 to 7 p.m. at Dillingham Elementary School. The team’s poster, “Pebble Watch: An educational and fact-based initiative,” outlines BBNC’s educational outreach efforts related to the proposed Pebble mine and explain why the corporation continues to support this “impartial, educational and fact-based” effort. Pebble Watch includes a print newsletter and this web site, both of which provide summaries of existing scientific data and current news about the status of the development.
For information on when and where to find the Pebble Watch team, see the schedule that follows:
Thursday, September 22
Mining in Western Alaska Panel
10 a.m. – 12. p.m., Bristol Bay Campus
Al Teich, moderator
Panelists:
- Bryce Edgmon, AK Representative (D-37)
- John Shively (CEO of the Pebble Partnership) or his designee
- Rick Halford, Dillingham resident and former Alaska State Senate President
- Tiel Smith, Land and Resource Manager, Bristol Bay Native Corporation
- Dr. Ed Farley, fisheries biologist, NOAA
Thursday, September 22
Poster session
6-7 p.m., Dillingham Elementary School
Dillingham residents may attend sessions for free (meals not included). Walk-ins to individual sessions are on a space-available basis. Residents who wish to attend the entire conference should register beforehand.