Kate Shugak!

She looked around and found the man himself emerging from the one enclosed office, hand outstretched and a beaming smile on his face. I‘m so glad you could drop by. He looked around. Where‘s Mutt?

This remark bespoke a personal knowledge of Kate‘s personal life that alarmed her a great deal. Before she could snub him for his presumption he put a hand beneath her elbow. Let me show you around.

He escorted her through the room, introducing her to everyone as Kate Shugak, chair of the board of the Niniltna Native Association, the largest village closest to the Suulutaq Mine. The words Suulutaq Mine appeared to be the most relevant ones, as people‘s eyes lit up and she was welcomed warmly into the fold. When the royal progress was complete, Kate looked at McKenzie and said, You do know I‘m not against the mine.

He grinned again. Not yet you‘re not. Give us a little time and we‘ll convince you. She cocked her head. Well, I haven‘t met any bomb-throwing fanatics today, I‘ll give you that much.

We keep them in the basement, he said.

Much against her will, it drew out a smile. Okay. Make your pitch.

A map of Alaska covered the entire eastern wall, with an inset of the Park superimposed on it. Okay if I start from go?

Sure. I‘d like to hear what everyone hears.

He nodded and in an instant shifted from genial host to crusader. He positioned himself in front of the map without obscuring the area in question and pointed to locations when he mentioned their names. The Suulutaq Mine is a proposal by Global Harvest Resources Incorporated to build one of the world‘s largest gold mines in interior Alaska, approximately fifty miles north of the shores of Prince William Sound.

Good sound bite, Kate thought. Everyone hearing the words Prince William Sound immediately flashed on a picture of a dying sea otter covered in some of the eleven million gallons of crude oil spilled there thirty years before by the RPetCo Anchorage. A subtle tarring of GHRI with RPetCo‘s brush. Work with what you‘ve got. Global Harvest has not yet applied for permits, but they are in the process of drilling for core samples to determine the extent of the deposit and the amount of recoverable ore. So far, estimated deposits include over forty-two billion pounds of copper, almost three billion pounds of molybdenum, and almost forty million ounces of gold, which would make it the second largest gold mine in the world. Clever again, Kate thought. While gold had its practical application in electronics and aerospace, it was best known for its luxury use in jewelry. Who cared if Donald Trump‘s thirteenth wife got her Cartier wedding set? Especially if it came at the expense of something that you could be convinced was far more precious. Guilt by useless luxury association.

Global Harvest has yet to apply for permits, but they propose to build a large openpit mine as well as an even larger underground mine. Both endeavors will require a great deal of water, which Global Harvest is proposing to acquire from creeks here, here, and here. All three feed into the headwaters of the Gruening River, which then flows through this gap into the Kanuyaq River. These creeks are flourishing habitats for five different species of salmon, a source of food for Alaskans native to the area going back ten thousand years.